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Monday, July 18, 2011
Rice Fork Eel River at Crabtree Hot Springs, Lake County, California As I said before, we changed our plans and decided to go on a short vacation to Mendocino National Forest, but first, we stopped by the USFS Ranger Station in Upper Lake, to casually ask the Rangers about the condition of the road going through Crabtree Hot Springs, and during the conversation, one of the Rangers in the office just happened to mention that the private property owner at Crabtree, a woman by the name of Janice, was currently in the hospital with a very serious long term medical condition, and consequently, she's been unable to travel out to the hot springs for anything, so far throughout 2011. The Rangers also blabbed that there's been no caretaker anywhere near the hot springs either, so far during 2011, as the woman's boyfriend eventually got tired of it all by late last year, and had moved on with his life. We quickly surmised that all of her other party hearty rowdy friends were long gone as well, and sincerely thanked the Rangers for being so helpful. And so...after carefully considering what the Rangers were saying about the situation...with the woman being in the hospital...and no boyfriend around...it seemed like it would be an okay idea to drive out to the hot springs, and see if anyone was merely swimming in the river.
Walking along the trail, which was somewhat overgrown in places, we found two signs near the springs, one saying, "Private Property No Trespassing" and another sign, high up in a tree, stating that the hot springs were closed "temporarily" and thank you for not trespassing, however, as there were already people at the springs, we decided to join them. And besides...with the woman being in the hospital...and no boyfriend around...
At the hot springs, the river water level seemed to be fairly high for the middle of July, but not too cold, and some nice people had put a few sandbags around the lower pool, which provided for a comfortable and relaxing hot soak after the long drive in. Unfortunately, there's also an old rusted refrigerator and some other junk laying around, as an ugly reminder that "once upon a time" someone had a rather rude party there. All in all, it appeared that someone's wild & crazy 9 year party at Crabtree Hot Springs finally got over, although up the hill from the springs, their eyesore of junk and trash remains alongside the road. It's all locked up, but was starting to look neglected and abandoned, as a tree had fallen on part of it.
Luckily, we met three really nice young people in their 20's, by the names of Simon, Paul & Jessica, who were soaking & swimming among the turtles, that live in the river underneath the big rock at the hot springs. They had ridden in on their motorcycles, but didn't say how they knew about Crabtree. It was a carefree day, so we all smoked a bowl together, and had a short friendly chat about the status of the hot springs.
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