My friend Noah and I are going to find a remote hot spring tomorrow using my GPS. This is something we have been doing together for years and it’s always worth the efforts when you eventually find the spring. Natural hot springs are an incredible gift and every one has its own story.
Noah just told me about a Native American tribe that would soak in certain hot springs and get absorbed into a spiritual existence.
soak.net has the coordinates of every hot spring in the country. A great resource.
Addendum: We found the hot spring, but it was only a trickle and the pool had not been maintained. It is a beautiful spot deep in the Mendocino National Forest. The photo is of a swimming hole right at the spring. Unfortunately, the area is on private property and some asshole has put up lots of signs saying “Spring closed, thank you for Not Trespassing” and “Enter at your own risk” We found a huge junk pile up in the woods above the spring.
October 14, 2007 at 10:53 am |
I don’t know what to say – I’ve had to keep returning to this posting… ummm…. because the Californian scenery is so beautiful! Hope the trip was a good’un
I’m not at all jealous – we’ve got peerless blue skies and tonight the sound of migrating geese ringing through the stars and a grand fire to keep warm by
October 14, 2007 at 9:01 pm |
Looks like Crabtree Hot Springs. There has been a lot of bad feelings over the ‘adverse possession’ that seems to have affected these hot springs. One side of the river is national forest, while the other side is private property. However, the spring source is within the high-water mark of the river . . . therefore public land and not private. Unfortunately, the land-owner would have you believe otherwise.
October 14, 2007 at 9:46 pm |
Thanks for the info Nude Hiker. It is Crabtree and we were a little dissapointed. The flow was very weak and it needed to be dug out. Have you been there? What was it like?
November 4, 2007 at 10:02 pm |
bankupshins is incorrect! Rick really needs to get his facts correct. Both sides of the creek (and the springs) are PRIVATE PROPERTY! Crabtree was not aquired by “adverse possession” but legally purchased by the laws of our Great State. Anyone could have bought it, it just happened to be me.
It is CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC for reasons I do not wish to discuss here.
Anyone who enters is TRESPASSING, which is against the law! STAY OUT!
I would not come to your home and invade it or send others to your home
so please don’t do it to me. I am asking you to remove the picture and all
information on Crabtree Hot Springs from your website.
If you have any questions about the legallity of this property, contact the
Forest Service or the Lake Co. Sheriff’s Department. They both know that I am the owner and it is private property as I have had to contact them on trespass issues in the past!
Thank you, Janice
November 5, 2007 at 6:24 pm |
Janice, It seems I have stumbled into quite the little dispute. As I noted in my post, the hot spring’s flow seems to be very weak and there is no pool for soaking in, so I did not recommend it to others. However, I am interested in what your reasons are for attempting to close it to the public. This is the perfect forum for you to express why you are so adamant about not letting your fellow human beings enjoy this beautiful gift from God. You have a wonderful opportunity to show your generosity to humanity.
November 9, 2007 at 7:24 pm |
[...] Why do we insist on ownership? What is it about humans that makes us crave ownership and right to always think first of “Me” and “Mine”. I would like to connect this post to a past post on I did on a hot spring hunt that ended up on “private property”. Since I wrote about this hot spring and the hunt for it the owner has commented on the blog and was quite belligerent. Here is the conversation. [...]
November 11, 2007 at 10:45 pm |
My, my. Janice, I will not get embroiled into an argument with you on whether you own the hot springs or not. I merely state the consensus of the hot spring community over the situation and the vitriolic anger you show every time someone tries to discuss the issue.
November 14, 2007 at 2:04 pm |
Janice:
I need to speak my mind. All I can say is that before you “bought” the property, Crabtree was a nice hot spring that people respected and was kept clean. I enjoyed many visits there and met cool people every time who also respected a good natural soak. I showed up once after you bought the property and the place had turned into a total mess. Thanks for ruining it for everyone.
March 14, 2009 at 6:34 pm |
I spent my entire childhood growing up going to Crabtree. Then, one time we went there and there were foreboding private property signs. Once at the springs, the new “owners” gave us flak. Really they seemed to be wounded people, bearing lots of hurt and trauma. Nevertheless, they shouldn’t “own” the springs; in fact, they ruined the area, it’s one of the greatest tragedies I have ever personally witnessed. Things like genocide and terrible environmental degradation became immediately personal to me on that day. It’s hard to say where one becomes personally responsible for fucking up; are these new owners but victims of a traumatic life, or should they be held accountable for ruining what was literally a place of magic? I can’t really say. But I will permit myself to say this: They did ruin it (with “landscaping”, they chopped up the fucking hillside, caused massive erosion, litter, etc.)
Because there had been “problems” in the past- e.g. 2 19 year old girls drinking vodka there nearly drowned- the park service was eager to “find a solution”.
At one point there were many ‘owners’; they consolidated and sold to this woman Janice, and her man I guess.
That’s how it goes. Perhaps you’ve also experienced a magic place in nature get destroyed. It makes me think about evil.
August 14, 2009 at 2:21 pm |
Did Doug really sell out?
The landscaping was so Jabba could get up the hill. The first year they lived right at the springs which was infinetly more disgusting.
plh
jsh
March 15, 2009 at 5:37 pm |
It really is sad when we see such blatant examples of humans being selfish and ignorant and their actions send negative repercussions out into society. Human behavior can be viewed through an ecological lens and all action are part of an interwoven network of human systems. A few years ago I found a beautiful hot spring in the Long Valley Caldera on the east side of the Sierra near Mammoth. I went back to the same spot the next year only to discover that the BLM had bull dozed this gorgeous spring that some wonderful sole had put so much work into developing. It was a very sad discovery and one I still have a hard time comprehending.
July 2, 2009 at 7:00 pm |
I’m in the Mendo area a lot. I found your site googling ” crab tree hot springs ” after seeing a photo of it. Are there any others that you recommend ( I’ve done Vichy and will go to Harbin soon ) . I’m looking for other small ones like this. I’ll search your blog though. You may have more info here already. Thanks for the update on this spring. ~Amanda
July 6, 2009 at 6:53 pm |
Hi Amanda, I’m not aware of any other undeveloped hot springs in the Mendocino County area. You might want to check out Orr Springs Hot Spring, it’s a nice place similar to Harbin. Wilbur hot springs is also a nice place. Both these will cost you some money, but they are very relaxing places and well worth it if you need some space to decompress from city life.
July 6, 2009 at 7:11 pm |
Thanks for the info. I’ll google Orr and Wilbur.
July 11, 2009 at 9:49 am |
I am deeply hurt to hear that Crabtree has been damaged. That beautiful, mysterious, healthy and spiritual spot has been enjoyed for thousands of years. I have visited there severa times over 30 years. We love the hot pools and cold creek, and the pungent lemony plants, the smelly boiling puddles, dancing lizards and sandy camping spots. It was always a great trip and we were just planning another visit. I only hope it can be repaired and restored to its non-developed state at some point in the future. How can we help?
August 9, 2009 at 6:42 am |
Passed by crabtree recently, and there was no sighting of the wicked witch, nor any of her nasty warning signs, just the trash dump she once occupied.
Want to help? It is always easier for any property signs to disappear than it is for the wicked witch to conjure them up.
Without property signs – who’s to say which is witch’s.
Some kind folks dis a real good job rebuilding the rock wall for the lower pool. It was nice and hot – so is the creek. Thank you.
August 6, 2009 at 7:20 am |
crabtree is open. The new legal owner decided not to live on the property this summer, and all “no trespassing” signs have magically disappeared. The springs have been rebuilt, and all is peaceful. Enjoy.
August 6, 2009 at 10:50 am |
Only an exceedingly ignorant person would want to “own” crabtree, and only a fool would purchase crabtree with the intention on turning a profit by selling to tickets to swim in the hot springs.
The new legal owner is an ignorant fool, and deserves absolutely no respect for creating a huge toxic waste dump of trash on the property.
The property is under county jurisdiction.
Please send your complaints about the trash to:
Sheriff Rodney K. Mitchell
Lake County Sheriff’s Office
1220 Martin Street
Lakeport, CA 95453
Thank you.
August 14, 2009 at 1:13 pm |
I used to be the ’servant’ of one of the owners according to the 300 hundred pounder and her swastica tatooed love slave that still lurk above in a bus. White tarsh to the Nth degree but post are correct and if you claim you hiked through the river they can not do anything. If you bring the dog dragging love slave a 12pk of Steel Reserve he is more social.
peace love and happiness
jsh
August 14, 2009 at 1:20 pm |
^ That description is really hilarious!
August 14, 2009 at 2:26 pm |
Glad you liked it – won’t go into details but the Sherriff knows the rest of the DD story.
Wanna buy a map? Every other hot spring in CA – Google S-11 geothermal. I have a guide available…
plh
jsh
August 14, 2009 at 1:51 pm |
Sorry I didn’t read through all the posts first.
If you want a responable person – the one fourth owner I was friends with – has moved to the Big Bend area – i don’t have his data but he is always at the local springs or Hunt in the morning and oops -he pops up in Round Mountian 530.337.6650 – He will clean the place up. His original goal upon purchase with the witch/love slave/sister was to keep it open to the public.
As Janice has eluded to the public can can be a royal pain in the ass. The first weekend Doug and a friend of mine went to his new property there where beer guzzling drunks shitting – fortunatly – downstream chucking cig butts in the creek and camping 3 feet from the pool refusing to move on and not accepting it was private property – not a nice experience. The second trip yielded a couple of 16 year olds drunk and passed out in the lower pool which emits the same gasses that have claimed lives at ‘Big Soda’
The trail to the place and the springs need to be deeded to the NF officially so the owners are not liable for the publics actions.
Hi Doug-Claus has done alot of work here-plh
August 21, 2009 at 3:13 pm |
CRABTREE HOT SPRINGS ARE PRIVATE PROPERTY! NO TRESPASSING!
Regardless of what you may have read on mansonfamilypicnic.com website, the hot springs are CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC!
The 160 acres with the hot springs are well posted, NO TRESPASSING!
If the signs are gone it is because someone who trespassed removed them, as stated above.
Rick Downy or someone who associates with him has obviously recently TRESPASSED as there are current pictures of the springs on his website.
Is it he who VANDALIZED my fourty-one year old Vintage Bus, breaking the front windshield and stole my property signs featured on his website?
TRESPASSING AND VANDALIZM ARE ILLEGAL! IGNORANCE OF THE LAW
IS NO EXCUSE!
NO TRESPASSING, NO HUNTING! STAY OUT!!! JANICE – LEGAL OWNER
August 28, 2009 at 11:09 am |
Janice, when will you lighten up and just allow people to use the hotspring? As they have for many many years.
November 22, 2009 at 9:40 am |
Please Janice, let everyone enjoy the hot springs. I promise to be good!
December 18, 2009 at 3:14 pm |
well Janice,It looks like to me you got enough eveidence to put some pepole away for a while..I gusee the public don’t understand the word “NO TRESPASSING”…give them hell….
December 18, 2009 at 7:10 pm |
Gilby – Is your image some sort of pseudo swastika? Like the one on the guy that demanded the 12 pack off steel reserve sported on his chest.
Hike the river and tell the pond scum wastes of huge amounts of food to blow it out their shit in a bucket white trash asses to go to where they belong.
Merry Christmas
December 18, 2009 at 7:14 pm |
PS Learn some grammar and how to spell – guess that just hows how stupid you must be to side with that horrifically disgusting person.
December 21, 2009 at 6:57 pm |
Does anyone remember the family of turtles that once inhabited the springs? Species?
Whenever sunning themselves on a hot rock, the turtles always stayed within a few inches of the water, and could hop quickly back into the pool in a split second, dive to the bottom, and swim away really fast if approached even slightly.
But by being very quiet and sneaking up from behind, it was fun to catch and release them. The turtles are very docile when handled, but definitely don’t like the hotest of the water. Most peaceful of God’s creatures.
Has anyone seen the family of turtles at the springs in recent years, or know if they are okay?
or
DID JANICE KILL THE TURTLES?!?
December 29, 2009 at 11:43 am |
WOW,Scott,I must have hit a nerve..hey,I might not spell good,but,in your case,ingorance of the law is no excuse,it’s very simple,lamebrain..
“No Trespassing”priviat property..I know, if “you” had some land, you be the same way…
happy new year
December 29, 2009 at 1:06 pm |
I’ll assume Janice made turtle soup as she was too fricking lame to get up the hill to get to any food to feed her massive self or shit and piss anywhere else then a bucket – please ‘go around the rock’ she used to say so she could drop the kids off at the pool.
I do remember the turtles and chasing them around under water with a snorkel and face mask – infinite fun.
You don’t spell ‘well’ numb nuts and your use of commas is ‘lame brain’. The springs are below the high water mark thus are on a public water way in a National Forest. I don’t know what the fuck ‘priviat’ is – perhaps your ignorant ass could explain your new word. I was educated at the University of Michigan and have no knowledge of your new land classification.
You didn’t hit a nerve but you do profoundly represent the relative IQ of Janice and the mad max crew that have claimed ownership of the public properties that are in the NP.
I have defended Janice and Doug as seen above – I understand their dilemma and have offered solutions to no avail.
The law is CLEAR about water ways and the springs are well below the high water mark so lets have a New Years party there – all are welcome – just say you hiked the river and if they complain or try extort alcohol out of you please file your complaint here:
The property is under county jurisdiction.
Sheriff Rodney K. Mitchell
Lake County Sheriff’s Office
1220 Martin Street
Lakeport, CA 95453
Thank you.
gilby please come to my local hot springs so I can say Hi to your ignorant ass and you are welcome to visit my property in Wisconsin – hopefully you will win a Darwin award taking the canoe out for a trip.
December 29, 2009 at 1:45 pm |
no wonder your sooo dumb about Cal. laws,your a fuckin cheese head
December 29, 2009 at 2:39 pm |
It is ’so’ and CA laws are very detailed – you still need to learn how to use a comma. Perhaps you are the drunk thats likes to take his dog out for a drag on the freeway onramp – is that you? – or just Janice’s other half or should 1/8th
‘Your’ is not you’re you FUCKING MORON – I don’t own a cheese head.
EVERYONE PLEASE FORD THE CREEK AND SOAK AWAY IT IS THE LAW!!!!!!!!
Please provide Janice with all the high caloric cheese/fat/pig/lard she can eat so hopefully the springs can revert to the once peaceful and happy place they were before she started shitting in the bucket and living down there. RIP soon please!
I have no desire to deal with people that cannot compose a sentence so go FYS
December 29, 2009 at 4:14 pm |
OMG you were Janice love slave? how funny.I really dont care for spelling,as long as I get the message across.oh,and thank you for the invite.Thats really sweet of you..
December 29, 2009 at 5:56 pm |
“I have no desire to deal with people that cannot compose a sentence so go FYS”…back at ya.. “the one fourth owner I was friends with – has moved to the Big Bend area “…oh,just freinds..”I have defended Janice and Doug as seen above – I understand their dilemma and have offered solutions to no avail.”..and,”I used to be the ’servant’ of one of the owners “..how about that…”The property is under county jurisdiction”..no shit..”Sheriff Rodney K. Mitchell”..familey member…”I was educated at the University of Michigan “…and your point being? ”
Did Doug really sell out?…perhaps..and just think,this is really bugging you,the only thing you can do,is,go to anger management class didn’t you learn that at University of Michigan……let it go..there is nothing you can do..stay in Wisconsin …peace…
December 29, 2009 at 6:56 pm |
go scott go! take her to court!
she may own land on either side of the river, but she does not own the river, and the hot springs are in the river – well below the high water mark – the public owns the river – and the turtles!
December 29, 2009 at 8:43 pm |
by the way scott,
remember, in court, sometimes the government likes to condemn and confiscate private property without compensation to the owner – not a penny.
and she could easily be billed to remove all her trash.
so go for it! take her to court!
December 29, 2009 at 9:04 pm |
by the way again scott,
all you really need to win in most california courts is a legal argument the “feels good” – like saving the turtles!
one photo of her toxic waste dump of trash might easily convince a california jury that the turtles need to be saved!
good luck!
December 29, 2009 at 11:07 pm |
by the way again and again scott,
if the turtles at the hot springs are protected by state or federal laws it would be an extremely serious issue if their habitat was being threatened by her toxic waste dump of trash.
maybe with your university of michigan education, knowledge of the law, and determination you could lead the effort to save the turtles.
there’s your angle if you’re looking to get her thrown out – legally.
rally around the turtles – its happened before.
i’m here to help.
good luck.
December 30, 2009 at 9:32 am |
scott and all others,
i agree with the previous post, simply moaning and groaning about the hot springs being closed is not likely to change anything, however, fighting to save the turtles from her toxic waste dump of trash just might result in her property being condemned as a public nuisance, seized by the government, and she not get a penny. now wouldn’t that be sweet. you could rip her legally.
all you need is a very loud vocal public campaign, with lots of media attention, to save the turtles.
is there a wildlife expert in the hot springs community willing to study the turtles, and prepare a written document for the court case?
are there lawyers who care about the turtles and be willing to help with the court case.
maybe there’s a news reporter willing to assist the turtles by writing stories to dramatize saving the turtles.
go scott go! take her to court!
remember the turtles!
thank you.
“it is time for action, not words.”
December 30, 2009 at 10:16 am |
Ingredients for Green Turtle Soup Recipe
1 10-lb. turtle, already prepared for cooking
4 qts. cold water
1 tablespoon salt
1/3 cup butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup Madeira wine
10 whole cloves
½ teaspoon peppercorns
2 bay leaves,½ bunch herbs
2 onions
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
8 hard boiled eggs
Instructions
Place the upper and lower shell in a large kettle with 4 quarts of cold water, simmer gently until bones fall apart.
Put into soup kettle the head, fins, liver, heart, and all the meat; add all the seasonings, cover with liquor in which the shells were boiled and simmer until meat is thoroughly done; strain the mixture through a fine sieve.
Melt the butter and brown the finely chopped onion in it. Add the flour and cook together until brown.
Add a pint of the soup, a little at a time, and cook until smooth. Combine with rest of the soup.
Add the cut meat, the hard boiled eggs chopped fine, and lastly the wine.
December 30, 2009 at 10:40 am |
Ingredients:
12 frog legs
milk
1 cup flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. red pepper
1/4 cup corn meal
Directions:
Soak frog legs in milk for at least 1 hour. Mix flour, salt, pepper and corn meal. Cover frog legs with this mixture. Heat cooking oil hot enough to ignite a kitchen match and use enough oil to cover legs. Fry about 4 minutes or until light brown. Do not over cook.
December 30, 2009 at 12:58 pm |
anonymous,
do you have a recipe for snails?
thanks
December 30, 2009 at 1:11 pm |
All right it is getting really sick. I can’t believe Janice and all her FAT are/is still alive – perhaps there is not a God! SCUM SCUM SCUM SHIT IN A BUCKET WASTE OF FOOD!!!! Please die and make the planet a better place Janice once you are underground.
December 30, 2009 at 1:57 pm |
dear anonymous,
you got a recipe for disaster?
there’s some headcheese and leftover salmon around – what would you do?
thanks
December 30, 2009 at 2:28 pm |
8 Cups water
1 Package vermicelli noodle
2 lbs Pork hocks, cut chunks(option)
5 Cups water
1 or 2 Packages apple snail meat( sold at most Asian markets)
4 Cloves garlic, minced
� Cup minced lemon grass
1 Kaffir lime leaf
1 Tablespoon grated rhizome root
3 Sliced fresh galanga root, or frozen galanga root
� Teaspoon paprika
2 Tablespoons roasted rice powder
3 Canned chicken broth
1 Tablespoon creamy style pickle fish (pahok)
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 Tablespoons fish sauce
� Teaspoon salt
� Teaspoon black pepper
2 Stalks green onion, chopped
� lb shredded Asian water spinach *ta kuong* or � cabbage, shredded
A handful mint leaves
1 fresh lemon, slices
Handful of chopped fresh chili pepper(option)
Procedures :
Put 8 cups water in a large pot, cook till water bubbling, add noodle to boiling water, cook till noodle tender, pour noodles in to a colander, rinsed under cold water, drained and set a side.
Cleaned snails: Soaked snail in cold water, removed any shell fragments and snail�s stomach, carefully check each snail, snail meat will not taste good if you bite in to sand. Rinses well under cold water and put it in a colander to drained.
Note: (If prefer pork hocks with this soup, put pork hock with 5 cups water, cook till pork hocks tender. Removed cooked pork hocks from boiling water, then using the same water to cook snail meat.)
Put snail meat with 5 cups water in a large pot, cook snail for 10 minutes, removed cook snail from soup pot, put cook snail in a colander, rinsed and drain, and set a side.
Pour chicken broth in a large soup pot, simmering till chicken broth bubbling.
While waiting for chicken broth to boil, using mortal and pestles to manually pounded *boke* garlic with lemon grass, kaffir lime leaf, rhizome root, galanga, paprika and roasted rice powder till real fine, or grinded spices with food processor.
Add prepared spices, boiled apple snails and boiled pork hocks in to the boiling chicken broth, cook in medium low heat till chicken broth boiled again.
Seasoning with pahok, sugar, fish sauce, salt and black pepper, stirs well.
Add green onion and simmering for half hour or more to get great flavor from spices and snail meat.
In a large bowl, mix shredded water spinach stalks or shredded cabbage with mint leaves together, set a side.
TO SERVE:
Put some mix vegetables on the bottom of the bowl, add some noodle on top vegetables and pour soup broth with some snail meat(and pork hock) on top noodle.
Serve immediately with lemon wedge and chopped hot chili pepper.
December 30, 2009 at 2:30 pm |
dear anonymous,
p.s. the leftover salmon is okay, but the headcheese is going bad fast – need help asap!
thanks for all you do.
December 30, 2009 at 2:33 pm |
It’s really common throughout many Asian and European countries. But, unfortunately it seems really unpopular here in the states. Almost everyone I’ve mention this to has given me the “you’ve got to be kidding” look. It’s like a dirty little secret. Admitting you eat head cheese is as bad as admitting you eat and enjoy SPAM….gasp. I grew up eating this stuff in sandwiches with all its crunchy bits and gelatinous glory.
This is my dad’s own spin on this much avoided luncheon meat. Dad’s version strays from the traditional recipe in that the only part of the pig’s head that’s actually used are the ears….lots of ears. In his giò thủ he uses chicken meat, pork, pig’s ears, black fungus, peppercorns, garlic, salt, sugar, and some fish sauce.
The first step is to throughly clean the pig’s ears, scrubbing, and plucking away any hairs. He boils the ears in a pot of water until well done. He then slices the ear into thin strips. Next, it’s back into the pot where he tosses in shredded chicken, small pieces of pork, black fungus, and the seasonings. He adds a bit of water to get the gelatin from the ears going. Finally he pours the mixture while still piping hot into a cylindrical mold that he made from wrapping a large sheet of aluminum foil around a roll of paper towels. The aluminum foil “tube” is then tightly wrapped with several rubber bands and put into the refridgerator to set. A few hours later after everything has harden, just slice and serve!
December 30, 2009 at 2:46 pm |
“I’m lovin’ it.”
December 30, 2009 at 3:15 pm |
oops! my mistake. i meant cheese head, not headcheese. please forgive my typo.
thanks
December 30, 2009 at 3:24 pm |
Beef
Pork
Cook until Done. Save Juice cut meats into small pieces and add to juice. Add vinegar salt and pepper. Cook again untill well done. Drain and press down and seal tight in kettle.
Ive had head cheese before and i have to admit that the first time i ever tried it was a real interesting experience..Dad had brought some home from a local meat market and it (in my opinion) wasnt the highest of quality. I was offered a head cheese sandwich and lets just say i voiced my disaproval. My parents grew up on it. You still see it around here in the local meat markets but its slowly disapearing
December 30, 2009 at 5:26 pm |
scott, my son,
either take up a collection and buy her out
or
make her an offer she cannot refuse.
December 30, 2009 at 5:27 pm |
scott,
make an appointment with my nurse.
December 30, 2009 at 6:09 pm |
yeah,scott,put up,or shut up…
December 30, 2009 at 6:33 pm |
My Darling Scott,
When you and I are far apart,
I no longer live,
My heart is bursting from within,
with all my love to give.
forever your sweetheart
December 30, 2009 at 8:07 pm |
My Dearest Darling Scott,
I love you, and I know you love me too, but I love you even more than Michael Jackson loved children.
You are the sugar muffin of my dreams, you’re like a T-Bone steak with plenty of meat on the bone, or a fast car that drives me wild and crazy.
I love you, I love you, I love you.
Janice – Legan Owner of you heart.