The last stop on our trip through Nevada was Kyle Hot Spring out near Mill City. This place is pretty easy to get to and you can camp right next to the hot spring. The tubs consist of two giant water troughs, one around 103 degrees and the other around 96 degrees. It was a little windy when we arrived so we jumped in the hot one and soaked for a bit.

After listening to Black Sabbath and drinking half a bottle of bourbon, we got out and lit up a fire. There was a giant rock fire pit and a bunch of wood scraps lying around so it didn’t take much to get the fire going. We cooked some vegan chili dogs and some soup then drank a few beers and soaked again. The moon was still very full and we had the whole place to ourselves. After about an hour we crashed out in the tent. Around 5 in the morning we woke up to coyotes barking and howling right next to us. I realized I don’t know what to do when coyotes are around so we just kept quiet until they went away.

This was the first time we made it out to Nevada to sit in some hot springs. There were a bunch of places that we wanted to go to but realized our car wouldn’t make it. Next time I’ll take the Blazer and we can blow a couple hundred bux on gas exploring the area.

Directions from Winnemucca: Drive the I80 east to Mill City and go south on the 400, after 16 miles you will see a dirt road on the left with a sign for Kyle Hot Spring. Drive 9.5 miles to a fork in the road and make a left. Then 1.5 miles to the hot spring which sits atop a small hill. Again I shouldn’t have to mention for you to CLEAN UP YOUR GARBAGE!

We took off early morning from Alkali Hot Springs and drove up toward Austin on the 376 to Spencer Hot Spring. We stopped in Tonopah to get some supplies then made our way through Big Smoky Valley and up toward Petes Summit. We were originally going to Diana’s Punchbowl Hot Spring but the weather forecast called for rain and we didn’t want to get stuck in the mud in the middle of nowhere in Melissa’s slammed down VW Rabbit. We played it safe and went to Spencer Hot Spring instead.

Spencer consists of two sets of hot springs, an upper and lower. When we got there no one was around, we had the whole place to ourselves for the day. We soaked in the lower hot spring the first night because the tub is temperature controlled and it was a little nippy out. We set up our tent right next to the hot spring and used the car as a windwall. We got a good 3 hour soak in, took a bunch of pictures, watched the sunset, drank a billion beers and made dinner. By the time we were done eating the wind was blowing furiously and we decided to seek refuge in our tent.

We awoke the next morning to zero wind, in fact it was nice enough to walk around without a jacket on. We cooked some breakfast and I took a huge dump. As I was plopping, a car drove down from the upper springs right past me, they must have drove up there while we were asleep, they got a free poo show. Since the weather was fair we drove to the upper spring for a morning soak. After a few beers we took off to check out Kyle Hot Spring, which will be the next blog post.

Directions from Austin, Nevada: Drive east on the 50 and make a right (south) on the 376. Make an immediate left (east) on NF-001 which is a graded dirt road with a sign for Toquime Cave. Drive 5.6 miles to a Y split, take the left side for 1.6 miles up a small hill to the round tub. Drive up the hill another 500 yards for the second pool. You can totally camp at this place, there is soft flat ground and fire pits. Just pack out all your trash and keep the place clean.

So Melissa and I were gonna go to Ringbolt Hot Springs for the night and then head back to Los Angeles, but we got stung by the adventure stinkbug and chose to head up the 95 to Alkali Hot Spring near Goldfield, NV. We got in at night but the moon was full so we could see pretty well without headlamps. We dropped trou, stepped in the tub and cracked a beer. We noticed there was a Magnum condom wrapper on the ground along with a bunch of other trash, then a few minutes later we saw the condom in the grass. Who the fuck wears condoms? Like seriously, if you are the type of person to pump outdoors are you really that concerned about std’s and children? Maybe if you are some gay bear pounding some random dude at the hot spring then yeah wear a condom, but there was no poo on this condom so I assume it was used specifically for intravaginal lovemaking. Just pull out bro and blast on the ground, that way it will dry up before the next person gets there and they don’t have to see your gross dong-wrap.

So we soaked for a few hours and then pitched our tent next to the car and fell asleep. We woke up pretty early to soak again before we headed out to our next destination. We cleaned up the place and dumped our trash in the can by the parking lot. Apparently this place is owned by some dude and he gets hella bummed cuz niggaz be trashin’ the place. Hopefully we prevented him from getting another hernia. My little advice to that dude, DON’T OWN A HOT SPRING, unless you want to deal with drug users, homeless people and public sex on the nightly. Seriously, it’s like you’re a fucking prison warden, you gotta put up with the worst people ever and you ain’t even getting paid.

Directions: From Goldfield Nevada drive 4 miles north on the 95 and go left on Silver Peak Road. After 6.8 miles you will see an abandoned power station on the left and a giant parking lot with a tree and trashcans in the middle. Park here and walk up toward the old building to the hot spring on the west side. De-clothe, crack open a brew-dog and clean up your fucking condoms!

Melissa and I took off for the day to visit Arizona Hot Springs near the Hoover Dam. This is one of the four hot spring canyons that runs along the Colorado River at the base of the dam. I have been to Gold Strike Hot Spring before but wanted to check out a new spot. The other two canyons, Palm Pool and Boy Scout, require kayaks so we chose to head to Ringbolt.

The hike in is 3 miles and took us about 2 hours. The canyon curves like crazy and we were weighed down with heavy bags full of beer and camping equipment. We chose to follow the wash all the way to the river then headed downstream to the mouth of the canyon and set up camp on a nice flat spot. It is possible to hike all the way down the hot spring canyon to the pools but we chose the easy path. We set up our tent an hour before sunset then headed to the pools for a soak. We climbed up the giant ladder to the top of the hot waterfall and walked over to the middle tub. There was a group of people from Utah and I think one of their buddies was from Alaska: Mike, Melissa, Katie and I can’t remember the other dude’s name. We drank beers, soaked and talked about the good old days. They hiked out that night but not before leaving us some of their camping food. After they left we had the whole place to ourselves.

We soaked in the pools for hours. I liked the lower pool the most since it was around 99 degrees and perfect for falling asleep in. Melissa liked the middle pool which was about 104. The upper pool was way too hot for both of us, I’m guessing it’s about 108. The moonlight made the entire place look like Halo 3 and these cute little bats flew by us all night eating the mosquitoes which kept us from getting bit up. Around 10pm walked back to our tent and made a huge feast then passed out under the full moon.

We woke up the next morning and hit the vault toilet along the riverbank before heading back up the canyon for a morning soak. A few people came to check the place out but didn’t stay to chat. We packed up around 3pm and hiked back out the canyon to the car. What we expected to be a 2 day vacation turned into an entire weeks worth of adventure, but more on that in the next post.

Directions: From Boulder City head Southeast on US 93 and cross over the Hoover Dam into Arizona. At mile marker 4.2 you will see a sign for the White Rock Canyon Recreational Area. Make a left into the giant parking lot and lock your car doors. Hike under the highway, down the giant wash and into the canyon. After 3 miles you will reach the Colorado River. You must look closely for trail markers on the left. Head downstream for about 5 minutes to the mouth of the hot spring canyon. You will see a giant sign alerting the dangers of Naegleria Fowleri. Follow the canyon up 5 minutes to the giant ladder which takes you up the waterfall into the pools. CAUTION: This hike can be very strenuous on hot days. Bring a fuck-ton of water or else you will die. Los Angeles Swimmin is not responsible for your unpreparedness. Hike out all your trash and leave the place cleaner than it was before you got there.

Sup homies. Sorry we didn’t invite anyone last weekend out to Deep Creek. We assumed everyone would still be at Tar Creek before the water runs out so we didn’t post an invite. Too bad for you culos because Deep Creek was AWESOME.

We drove out to Bowen Ranch in Apple Valley on Saturday morning, paid the overnight fee and parked. Hiked down the trail to the hot springs and walked right past it. We were on a mission to get to the other hot springs a mile upstream. These are some of the “secret” ones that you honkies don’t know about. Let me inform you, there are 4 sets of hot springs along Deep Creek. Only a few are soakable and we wanted to check them out. After about 30 minutes we arrived at the “Warm Spring” area. The term “warm” is used loosely, in fact these pools are almost the perfect temperature at 100 degrees. During winter and high water these pools are submerged in the creek, but early summer they emerge for THE SOAKENING.

Two pools are cemented into the north side of the canyon wall, they are noticeable from the trail across the creek if you know what you are looking for. There is a small spur trail that climbs down to the creek bed. One tub can fit 6 people and the other can fit two lovers comfortably. There are cliff jumping spots directly downstream reaching from 10 to 25 feet high. The water was 10 feet deep in some spots, just deep enough for Skorch to huck some wicked swan dives off. We camped out and spent the following day cliff jumping and soaking down at the regular hot springs. What an amazing weekend!

Directions: Deep Creek Volunteers

Enjoy the Video

What’s up hot springers? Winter is upon us, well Socal isn’t really feeling it, but the rest of the country is. Back in November The Shrine and Throb went on a US tour. After the first night in Oakland we drove to Salt Lake City. On the way there we stopped at Bishop Creek Hot Springs near Wells Nevada. Everyone was in the warm van sleeping as we rolled into the hot springs parking area around 7am. The road out there was pretty bumpy and the van was full of amps and guitars and drums and other gear so we had to take it slow. We drove as far as we could till we saw an ice patch in the road. Just to play it safe we pulled over and parked. Throb woke everyone up and we suited up for the 10 degree weather. The hike in was only about 10 minutes, it was cold but still pleasant. It is more of a walk than a hike.

The springs are the PERFECT temperature. That may change in the summer, but they were just right on this cold winter day. The springs flow like a river through the canyon. At one point someone built a giant soaking pool out of concrete that can fit about 30 people comfortably. This was the perfect pit stop on the tour, just what we needed to soothe or jangled nerves.

Directions: From I80 take the West Wells exit (exit 351). Drive down this road (Humbolt Ave) to 6th street and make a right. Drive through town and make a left on Lake street. Cross the choo-choo tracks and take a left on 8th street. Follow 8th as it curves around some houses, after 9.1 miles the road curves to the left, make a right turn on an unnamed dirt road. Drive as far as your vehicle can go. After about a mile you will see a canyon and a creek. Park anywhere and walk upstream. Walk into the canyon, after 5 minutes you will hit a dam. Stay to the right of the dam and walk another 5 minutes to the hot spring tub. The springs had zero trash when we went, please help keep it that way.