Elsies Nipple, Meadow Hot Springs & The Long Drive Home - Turktacular 2016

  • Updated: November 27, 2016
  • Post By: Matthew Hengst

November 27th, 2016
Elsies Nipple (8,368')

This was the last of the 5 day 2016 Turktacular trip and we knew most of it would be spent driving.  We had decided to try Elsies Nipple again and decided to divert slightly on the way home to visit a hot spring famous for having tropical fish in it.

We had camped once again off Notom Road this time a bit further back from the road.  It wasn't as protected but we didn't have to worry about traffic noise.


A storm had blown in overnight and we'd been smacked around by significant winds.  Fortunately the car camping tent I have is very sturdy.


We could make out some fresh snow in the mountains off in the distance and the clouds to the west looked like more might be coming.


Elsies Nipple

We had skipped this peak on day 2 on account of weather and now it seemed like we were hitting it again.

There was no beta (and only a single ascent shown on Peakbagger) so we just followed roads trying to get as close as we could.

We approached by a dirt road south of Loa.  We might have been better off in hindsight following Long Hollow Road and trying to get closer to the peak.  Past the Reservoir the road got much worse and the snow drifts weren't helping things

The section of road the stopped us

The moment we opened the door we were hit by a hard blast of cold air.  This peak just wasn't going to go easy.  But we were here and a pair of nipples are always better than just one.


I had on hiking pants and long johns and still suffered the entire time.  Kristen was almost incapacitated by the cold.  But we were here and we were going to get this damn thing.


Behold the majesty of Elsies Nipple.  We took the road until we were closer and then cut across to the summit wishing we'd brought more layers.



Op top we found a marker from 1952 and a small tower.  We didn't spend much time up for obvious reasons.


I briefly debated grabbing a nearby named bump called Moronio Peak but conditions were miserable and it really didn't look like anything interesting.

Back in the jeep and now only half frozen we decided to eat in town.  Which in Loa meant we had Country Cafe.

Fortunately the food was excellent and the waitress claimed to not have a sense of smell so our 5 days of dirt and sweat didn't offend too much as we scarfed down breakfast burritos and large amounts of coffee.  And even better there was a sign next door advertising showers.

At first it looked like the only option was going to be cold showers since the water was turned off and we were steeling ourselves for that.  But then the owner came over and said we could use the hot shower in a nearby apartment for just $5 a piece!  Which *really* made our day.

Meadow Hot Spring

Now thawed and smelling halfway decent for the first time in days we decided it was worth a little extra time to go check out Meadow Hot Spring on the way back home.  The weather wasn't great but I couldn't pass up a hot spring filled with tropical fish!

Access is via dirt roads and right up until the end they were nicely graded.  Getting the last little bit to the pools was a mud pit due to the recent weather so we went walking instead carrying our swimsuits underneath our down.


The first two pools had other parties already there and that combined with the weather made it less than appealing to jump in.


This is the pool with the fish.  We could make out some mollies and what looked like cichlids but with the stiff wind coming across the surface it was hard to see much.  And this one wasn't as warm as the others.  Facing a lukewarm swim followed by a cold wind blasted hike back to the jeep we decided to stay dry.

So it was a bit of a bust for us but worth the drive just to see and if we're ever back in the area I'd come back with a snorkel set like the websites recommend.

Driving Home



We stopped to eat along the 15 before Vegas since we expected traffic to be a nightmare after.  The first two places we tried for food and coffee were closed adding to my feeling half the state was shut down for the winter.  Finally we found Lupita's Mexican Food in Cedar City which is highly recommended.

We were in Vegas by 7:30 and by the time we made the Nevada border traffic was slowed to a crawl and our ETA home kept increasing.  At 10 pm I'd had enough and we pulled off near Cima Road and just threw out sleeping bags and slept for a few hours.  We got moving at 2:30 am.  We finally arrived home just before 6 am.

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