McCall & Stanley, Idaho

Visited Sept. 25 - Oct. 1, 2021

By Janell

 

Here we are in McCall, Idaho, which sits right on the southern shore of Payette Lake. It was a beautiful day when we walked around McCall. There wasn't much to the town, but it was late September already. I think in the summer months this place is probably hopping with tourists.

 

Two days later, the weather had turned a bit, and we got a dusting of snow! This was our view, as the snow started, from the Beast's windshield in our McCall campsite.

Growing up in the Sacramento valley, the chance of snow was quite rare; and a trip to the snow was full of delight. So, while those of you who live in snow country are rolling your eyes, we're still pretty excited by a chance of snow!

The snow melted soon after hitting the ground, as the temp was about 34°F. It did begin to "stick" after a while but not for long. Within an hour after the snowfall had stopped, there was not a trace of snow anywhere in the campground.

The Beast peeks out at the snow.

 

 

Burgdorf Hot Springs

Originally a sacred site for Native Americans, these hot springs were then discovered by unknown Chinese miners. In the late 1860’s the area was settled by a German immigrant and gold miner named Fred C. Burgdorf. By 1870 Burgdorf had turned the area at the hot springs into a resort.

Calling it a “resort” is a big stretch by today’s standards. One writer described it as a “rustic back country oasis frozen in time”. Yep, that about sums it up!

The resort consists of the hot springs and nine cabins. The cabins do not have running water nor electricity, and one should be prepared to “camp inside a cabin”. Outhouses are close by, and firewood is on the porch to fuel the wood stoves. There are some battery-operated string lights in the cabins which brighten things up and add to the atmosphere. There are beds in the cabins, but one is expected to bring one’s own pillows, sleeping bags, etc. All this for $175/night for a cabin that sleeps 2, or $300/night for one that sleeps 6.

 

  

 

 It looked as though most, if not all, of the cabins had their own private lavatories.

 

Ah, but then there's the hot springs!

Due to Covid, the hot springs are only open to lodge guests . . .  however, if one calls or emails in advance, they'll allow day use of the spa during slow periods. We did, and we had the entire place to ourselves for our entire 2-hour visit! It was grand!

Every minute 150 gallons of natural hot springs water is fed into the pools, so there's always a fresh turnover. The water temperature where the spring comes in (into the two small pools in the wooden structure at the end of this big pool) is 113°F! Yowza! 

 

Emily, the manager at Burgdorf, told us that she soaks every day, and she does about 2-5 minutes in the 113° water. She advised that it's best to just get right in -- don't dally or dawdle, as you might change your mind! Also once in, stay still. We followed her advice (mostly), and it was good advice. Moving around encouraged a "pins and needles" feeling, while remaining still felt tolerable, almost relaxing. Emily also suggested using the 113° pools right before leaving the hot springs, so that you're not cold while walking to the dressing rooms. 

The big pool was quite comfortable; hotter near the small pools, obviously, but you could move around to suit your mood.

Not sure this is quite what Emily had in mind when she said that you could get a nice massage in the bath tub . . .

  Looking out from the small pools

 

One sunny day we took a drive around Payette Lake. This is a little finger of the lake.

We hiked eight miles in the Payette National Forest on the Boulder Lake Loop Trail, which skirts parts of three lakes: Boulder Meadows Reservoir, Boulder Lake and Louie Lake. The reservoir was nearly dried up, so not worth showing, but the others were pretty.

 

It was slow-going in parts, due to snow and ice.

 

The trail reminded us of the trails we hiked last fall in New Hampshire -- full of roots and rocks.

 

 

 

Autumn has arrived!

 

 

Boulder Lake

You can see Payette Lake and Little Payette Lake in the distance.

Louie Lake

This little guy gave us the eye. I think he was trying to tell us that this was his nut and that we should go find our own!

 

 This is one of my Yaktrax (in case you're not familiar with them)

We had our "Yaktrax" (which we've owned for 1 1/2 years but never used) in the backpack (that Marty carries), but we didn't actually put them on until the end of the trail. At the end there were bigger patches of ice that were impossible to skirt around, and after 5+ hours we were getting weary . . . so it was time to try out the Yaktrax!

 

They fit on the bottom of your shoe like this. 

 

They're coated in mud here because there was also mud at the end of the trail, in addition to snow and ice.  

 

The Yaktrax worked incredibly well on ice but not so good on the snowy patches. I had spent much of the hike avoiding the icy patches, opting for soft or crunchy snow instead; now, all of a sudden I had to retrain myself to just step on the ice! (A year and a half ago, I slipped on the ice and broke my wrist. Ever since, I've had a strong aversion to stepping on ice.)

 

Anyway, the Yaktrax turned out to be a worthwhile investment. $20 on amazon.com ($25 for Marty's size)

Moving on to Stanley, Idaho. We had planned to spend three nights in Stanley, but the weather forecast for Stanley's night-time temps was showing mid-teens! We chose to extend our McCall stay for two additional nights and came to Stanley for just one night when the night-time temp was in the low 20's. Every little bit of temperature difference can be a big difference in a motorhome. 

  Stanley sits right on the Salmon River. The river was very shallow and very clear.

We checked out Redfish Lake, which is just a few miles from Stanley. They have a lodge there, and it looked to be quite a popular place during the high season. There wasn't too much going on when we were there.

Having not heard of a "redfish" before (other than in the Dr. Seuss book, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish"), we wondered about it. The lodge's gift shop had redfish stuffed animals for sale. Hmmm . . . must look into this.

So, I consulted Google and found out that "redfish" are spawning adult sockeye salmon. They are blue and silver while in the ocean, but when they return to their spawning grounds their bodies turn bright red and their heads a bright limey green. The males have a large hooked mouth with sharp teeth. They look positively creepy, if you ask me. Dr. Seuss' red fish may be fictional, but these things are science fictional!

If you'd like, you can check them out for yourself with the below link:

Bright Red Fish

Obviously, the lake got its name from these fish. Legend has it that the lake used to shimmer a radiant red, and that one used to be able to walk across the creeks and streams on the backs of these red fish.