Snowmobiling to Burgdorf Hot Springs

A little late, but over Christmas break Eric and I took a day trip out snowmobiling in McCall, ID and rode to the Burgdorf Hot Springs. It was December 26th, the 13th anniversary of the day Eric asked me to be his girlfriend on my Dad’s driveway in his old Jimmy. I remember it so clearly, and love that we have those memories together. The day we were to go snowmobiling was a high of something like 16 degrees but the cold didn’t keep us from going …also the non-refundable rental helped get us out the door. We bundled up, and thanks to the heated handlebars and insulated riding gear we were comfortable for the ride or it would have been miserable. The ride to the hot springs was a winter wonderland, it had snowed a ton in the days leading up and the day of was perfectly sunny and clear. The mountains and trail were heavily coated in pure white snow, all of the trees were weighed down from the snow and with every curve of the trail was another beautiful view to take in. I let Eric drive the whole time and I just enjoyed the view from the backseat. We visited the same hot springs over the summer but in the winter everything looks so different – every snow covered surface glistens in the sun. When we arrived at the hot springs, I was not looking forward to the barefoot walk from the heated changing room to the pool. But once I was in the water it was so relaxing watching the steam rise off the water and being surrounded by icicles and snow covered cabins. I didn’t want to get my hair wet because I didn’t want to ride back and have a freezing ponytail on my back, but Eric got his hair wet and after a few minutes it had frozen from the cold air. We dunked into a few of the other hot spring tubs and basically cooked ourselves they were so hot. One was so hot I could barely get in for more than a few seconds but it was fun to try. Surprisingly the wet walk back to change into dry gear wasn’t awful because my skin was so toasty from soaking – thank goodness! On the ride back the sun was setting with golden and pink light streaming over every mountain and snow covered meadow. It was a perfect day together and we soaked it all in – an adventure for two in the snowy wilderness.