Great hike! I'm still a bit sore from the hike a day later. Kinda sad when you see young girls just cruising along while I'm bring up the rear in my two party group. My hiking buddy said that they hike through here like they're going to a beach party.
Here are some of the things that I observed along the hike. Sorry if I'm repeating stuff already mentioned in other reviews.
- remnants from a motor vehicle wreck
- I saw a puddle of puke
- I saw what appeared to be baby wipes and toilet paper (I'm guessing someone had to take care of business)
- lots of lizards
- strung together dog leashes for rope
- young girls wearing what barely passes for a bikini bottom hiking the trail (how did they avoid scraps?)
- hikers playing music on crappy bluetooth speakers so you know when they're approaching (crappy music too in my opinion)
- a young couple engaged in what appeared to be an early phase of tantric sex (I don't claim to know anything about this topic but it's my best guess)
- hot spring pools with varying temperatures
- a huge phone on a selfie stick wielded dangerously close to the surface of the water
- crystal clear water at the river
- river water is very cold
- some douche with a GoPro (that was me)
- lots of empty plastic bottles along the trail
- couple of dogs
- lots of young couples
Tips:
It was about 87 degrees on my hike and I thought that if it was 5 degrees cooler, it would have been slightly better. For guys, wear river shorts if you have them. This way, you can frolic in the river or in the hot springs then just air dry. You might want to pack sandals for the river if you don't like walking barefoot on rocks. Bring lots of water! I ran out towards the end. Note: there is a white cooler along the trail where people can leave their extra water bottles. There is a sign on there that says, "you have 20 to 25 minutes until the end" (or something like that). This means that it's from the cooler back to the trailhead and not to the river. The app on my phone shows that it was 6.7 miles round trip with about 1450 feet of elevation change.