Re: What is to be done? Reaction to trip to springs 5-23-09

I forgot to mention that the Blue Sailboat that had been on the Freedom Trail is now gone. After I had called the USFS about it Brad Burns called me to inquire about its specific location and he said that he would try to get a crew up there to get the boat back up the hill and disposed of. Looks like they got to it before the crowds of Memorial weekend. While sitting there on the trail this boat had already received some new graffiti on it. There has also been some additional graffiti showing up on the Freedom Trail. I hiked to Deep Creek yesterday to a place I like and before hiking into the canyon I was checking out the view of the canyon from a rock outcrop way up high on the northern rim. I then heard something that sounded like a bullet had hit the rocks near me. I could see from my location the parking area of the Freedom Trail and there where a couple of vehicles there. I wondered if someone had taken a shot towards me from those vehicles and I quickly got behind a bush and got out my binoculars to get a better look at the vehicles. I couldn't see anyone around the truck and car there. I don't know for sure what that loud sound was. I got myself out of the line of sight of those vehicles and went on with my hike into the canyon. Beautiful day down on the creek with the stream temp now quite refreshing for a swim. There is a nice sand beach at the spot I went and I found that a fire pit had been built since the last time I was there and also there was a big pile of driftwood ( for firewood ) piled up on the sand next to the fire ring. I dispersed the firewood and fire pit.

Last year there was a really big thunderstorm in the area which created a real gully washer down a side canyon in this same area and when these flood waters ran into Deep Creek they deposited a very large fan of sand which actually created a dam of sorts across Deep Creek. I first noticed this large fan of sand in the creek back when I did my winter snow hike to DCHS on December 19 last year. There was a bunch of snow on the fan of sand and this feature stood out since I am quite familiar with that area. Then the flooding this winter down Deep Creek washed the sand away exposing big boulders in the creek that had also come down with the flooding of the side canyon. More sand going down Deep Creek to make new beaches. The flooding down the side canyon also exposed a cold spring a little ways up this canyon. I had noticed before ( I've hiked this canyon many times ) that there was an abundance of vegetation in that spot ( indicating water ) including lots of poisen oak but the bedrock where this spring emenates from was below lots of sand and dirt. I walked carefully past the water of the spring which was full of bees getting water there, me hoping that they were not those African Killer Bees :-)

Thought I would see ya on Saturday Jobe. Thanks for joining me on that desert naturist hike last week :-) We got to DCHS in the morning and were ready to go by late afternoon, getting home in time for a barbeque and a movie :-)