So I heard about a hot springs in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains from a friend and fellow youtuber davidsquall351.
(David's channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd6DvWHUFgacm1lMXqg08pA)
It was called Jordan hot springs and after hearing about it I had to check it out myself. I drove up highway 395 to Nine mile canyon rd. Which is the road to Kennedy meadows. I drove up into the mountains passed Kennedy meadows and all the way out to the Blackrock trailhead where we started our adventure. The trail started nice and gradual as we hiked through beautiful Casa Vieja meadows.
From Casa Vieja we headed down Nine Mile creek. Crossing it several times before reaching our destination at Jordan Hot springs!
Wildflowers and butterflys
Dropping down Nine Mile creek
Once we got there we had to walk around and check it all out. The place is full of old cabins and other ruins from the early 1900's when "Jordan Junction" was a popular resort.
(Here's a couple links where you can read more about the interesting history - http://www.owensvalleyhistory.com/sierra_names2/jordan_hot_springs_history.pdf and
https://goldentroutwilderness.wordpress.com/inyo-nf-trips/1-day/jordan-hot-springs/ )
We also found some of the hot springs, and we found a spot to setup camp not far from the springs.
The remains of the Jordan Junction resort
After setting up camp I decided to go and explore up Redrock creek. I had wanted to try to get all the way up to Redrock meadow but the trail was really tough. (There was no trail pretty much) It was covered in brush and down trees and just completely washed away for the most part, but the creek was flowing good and was a great place to relax and cool off in the water. After that little adventure we made our way back down to camp and walked around and explored along Nine Mile creek, finding a bunch of the many hot springs that dot the area. Some of them are really really hot!! A little later once it cooled of I headed over to the main hot tub and had a nice evening soak before heading back to camp for the night.
Some cool wildflowers by Redrock creek
Moonrise
The next day our plan was to hike down to explore the Kern river. So we headed down the trail through the remnants of the McNally fire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McNally_Fire) that had scorched the area in 2002. We got down to the creek crossing and then left the trail and headed downstream for our first little adventure of the day. Nine Mile canyon falls. An incredible 200 ft waterfall that plunges down into a deep rocky gorge!
Small waterfall on our way down to the big one
Looking off the top of Nine Mile canyon falls
Nine Mile canyon falls
Nine Mile canyon falls
From the falls we hiked backed up to the trail and continued along across Soda flats where there there are some privately owned cabins that are still used. From Soda flats we continued down along the trail dropping more steeply now and taking the southern split in the trail down to the bottom of the canyon and the Kern river. We headed up river and found even more old cabins that I think are still used by horse packers. We kept going up river all the way up to the Falls of the Kern where the entire Kern river plunges over a 40 ft waterfall. It is an incredible sight to see, the power of the water is just incredible! Below the falls we found some really nice pools and I spent some time fishing and swimming in the river.
The Kern river
The top of the falls
Rock outcrop above the falls
The nice pools below the falls
After enjoying my time at the pools we went back down to the horse packers cabins and from there we took the northern split in the trail up passed lower Nine Mile canyon falls. Another very awesome waterfall coming in at around 60 ft. We got back to the main trail and climbed back up and across Soda flats and back up through the burn zone to our camp at the hot springs. I spent the end of the day just relaxing at camp and enjoying a nice long soak in the hot springs!
Lower Nine Mile Canyon falls
View from the top of the falls
Cold creek falls
Views from the hot springs
The next morning we got up and got our camp all packed up and headed up the trail. We climbed back up Nine mile creek, up through Casa Vieja meadows, and back to the Blackrock trailhead where we started. 18.2 miles of fun and adventure in a beautiful area of the Sierra Nevada mountains. And with a hot spring to top it off, oh man, it doesn't get much better than that!
Crossing Nine Mile creek
Selfie with the wilderness sign
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