Getting Lost

Hello Everyone -

I wish I could be posting here about my girlfriend and I visiting the hotsprings for the first time but I can't - because we never made it to the springs,and we barely made it back out of the desert.

Before I go into detail, I would like to thank Katrina for creating this site, and for attempting to help others have access to the springs, through directions, and through updates about various conditions (ie. possibly sketch characters).

HOWEVER - I'd like to get some directions that are clear!

After reading this site in some detail my girlfriend and I were thoroughly terrified of heading to DCHS through the Bowen Ranch road and dealing with Mike Castro. Whether that's your intent or not - to a newcomer, it described in such over-the-top manner that it's completely discouraging for anyone to come to the springs via that route. Alternately, based on your directions page, we read about the 2.5 mile hike in from Rt. 173 at the white bridge that crosses Kinney Creek that sounded like a nice length, free, and straightforward. Though we parked at the bridge without a problem, almost immediately the path to take became unclear. There were no signs, and certainly no obvious paths, rather, a half dozen small trails began near the metal guard gate and first hill. After taking a compass reading for the springs, we chose the trail that lead in that direction and seemed relatively well-traveled, which was a left branch dropping off the ridgeline of the first hill you climb opposite the parking lot. We never reached the prescribed metal fence of the Forest service, as described in the directions, and just about when the burned section of forest ended, we lost the trail completely. However, and this is fully on my shoulders, I admit, not on anyone's poor directions, based on my compass reading and clearly seeing the topography of the gorge where DC must be, we progressed north-east on our own. We eventually did find the creek, I believe, but after scouting along it's banks for a while and no hot springs and late afternoon coming, we decided we needed to find a trail back to the car or risk spending the night in the desert. Finding out way back was no easy task, and only due to some decent tracking skills and leaving markers for ourselves on the way back did we reach our car just as darkness set, 6 hours after setting out.

Primarily, I am disappointed we didn't reach the springs. It would have been our first trip to such a place, and we were excited. But also importantly, I am worried about the directions on this site being not nearly clear or detailed enough to warrant a new visitor being able to find their way to the springs, and risking some harm in the desert; and also that the depiction of the violence and Mike Castro are so great (they may be true, but any positives for that route are not represented here) as to really funnel people into taking the alternate and possibly more dangerous routes. Certainly, I didn't hike the 6 mile PCT route and that may be a cake walk, so I'll restrict my complaints to the directions I took.

I would appreciate hearing from the group about where I may have made my mistake in losing the trail; if a trail actually exists there and how frequently it is used, how often people take the Bowen Ranch route, and if the other trails may be more in a truly clear fashion.

Thanks, and I hope to try for the springs again soon, but only if I can find a decent path!