Camping Notes
No camping/overnight use. Nearest
camping is in Salmon-Challis National Forest.Briefings
07.26.17
Clean as a whistle. The BLM takes incredible care of this special
place and cleans the pools every Wednesdy morning.
03.31.08
The two
resortish-like soaking pools at Sharkey were built by the BLM during
the summer of 2001, they were stellar. Even up to 2003, the date of
my previous visit, the two pools were still good. After this last
visit, I now consider the pools to be in moderate condition. Clear
signs of the worsening condition of the concrete housing were
visible, and each pool contained a fair amount of slick algae.
However, the most blatant difference I noticed is that trash was
everywhere! At least the restrooms and changing rooms were in decent
condition.
A
great soak was shared with a couple visiting the area from Montana.
About 20 minutes into our soak we heard quite the commotion. Someone
was shooting down the dirt road at a very high speed and came
ripping into the hot springs parking area. This pickup drove up to
the fence, perpendicular to the parallel parking spots, and almost
through it! It was the county Sheriff. Wow, quite the dramatic
entrance.
After a good sneer and a scowl, the Sheriff ripped on out just as
fast as he came in. The Montana couple made a few remarks about the
'law in these parts' after some talk about receiving a ticket
recently that wasn't legit. All I know is that wasn't necessary. If
the guy was really looking for someone, our vehicles and license
plates were clearly visible in the parking lot.
All of that
aside, it was a great soak with good company. The hot 102-103 degree
water was a welcome contrast to the cold, crisp mountain air. After
soaking, the couple even fired up one of the on-site grills and
shared some grub and brew. It was refreshing to have such a great
soak and meet some friendly folks, a combination I find to be quite
rare in Idaho sometimes. They even started picking up trash first,
FTW!
Sharkey is also
known as Lewis and Clark Hot Springs (along with a few others). Why?
Because Lewis and Clark came through here.
Rating:
B+
05.14.03
Sharkey was a treat. The BLM did a great job developing this area during
the summer of 2001. One could conclude that Sharkey has returned to a more
modern day rendition of what it once was in the twenties when it was a
large concrete pool complete with changing rooms. See the Pool Condition
above for the details of what Sharkey is like now.
Rating:
A [TOP] |