This was my first experience with such a crazy hot spring.
I followed animal feces dotting the bed of a dry river and found watering holes for mustangs.
The undeveloped hot spring was full of instructions.
Middle of nowhere
Beside the U.S. Route 93 between Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada, there is only the deserted landscape.
I was reluctant even to walk outside where was hotter than 100 degrees F in summer.
Crossing a cattle grid, I entered the dirt road down to the hot springs.
The road conditions were bad, so I parked my car and followed the trail in the left side.
I passed under the bridge of Route 93.
Hot and stinking
I saw the road disappeared, and found a draw looking down from the cliff.
Carefully I climbed down the rock face, and walked around 1.5 miles on the wash.
It was a harder trail than expected.
Flash flood washed out the sand, which made it difficult to walk due to the soft surface.
It smelled like animals in the extremely hot wilderness.
There was a massive amount of dung everywhere.
I gradually understood that trailing the fecal remains made it easier to pass the rocky areas.
As the smell became stronger, I finally found three mustangs.
Both of us got surprised; I stopped walking, and they escaped climbing up the cliff.
The hot springs was located at the place.
Animals seemed to temple the land, full of new dung covered in flies.
The hot springs worked as the watering place of wildlife.
I found several cautionary statements around the man-made pool.
"STAY OFF WALL"
“PLEASE DO NOT PLUG OUTLET”
“ENTER AT RIGHT”
It was just like a bathhouse fussy about manners.
The water outlet was above the surface, drilled on the rock face.
The tasteless and odorless water was around 100 degrees F at the gushing point, and 93 degrees F in the pool.
It was waist-deep when sitting on the bottom, covered by moss.
Still I was in the stinky smell and fighting with flies.
The crazy hot springs let me go of pressures and conflicts in the daily life.
Summary
Kaiser Hot Springs, Wikieup, Arizona, U.S.
My rating
Type: Undeveloped
Rule: Clothing optional
Chlorination: No
Water temp: Up to 100 degrees F
