Ron Mercer ( DCV Group Coordinator ) and I went down to DCHS yesterday for DCV Day. Saturday was the scheduled day, but due to other obligations we had to make it Sunday instead. I arrived first around 10 AM and picked up trash, washed down the rocks around the main pools, then hit the Womb for a soak. I was just beginning a second round of Trash Hunting when Ron showed up, so we ended up working on this project in tandem. We covered all the areas from DCHS Del Mar, all around the Hot Pools, and across the creek to the other beach area. Afterwards we soaked and chatted through the afternoon with a number of folks. There was quite a good crowd, with maybe around 25 aprox visitors. The creek is at normal levels, easily waded,basically the same as summer stream heights. Also the Rock Crossing upstream is doable, just don't fall! The hotpools are all fine, except the Arizona Pool which is pretty low due to its excessive, and hard to find leaks. The Serenity pool could use a good vacum job. I'll have to look for that hose on my next visit. It was Prrrrrrrfct day with warm temps, blue skys, and no breezes. The Bowen Ranch Rd is in good shape with no problems. Hopefully well get some decent rains before summer, or them thar hills will be mighty dry! I saw a number of big Birds of Prey flying high over DCHS in late morning, possibly a couple of Golden Eagles. A Kingfisher came by quickly, flying up the canyon, and around sunset, believe it or not, I saw a couple of Bats. Now thats a Global Warming sign for sure, since those critters are usually sleeping in thier caves during winters cold months :-) Deep Creeks waters are wonderfully clear and because of the calm air, you could readily see the topography of the bottom of the Lagoon, where there are lots of granite slabs, and many individual rocks are exposed, due to last years Big Floods. There are seven new photos at the Wizard's pictures link below, all on page 44. Pics 4 and 5 were taken on a hike I did last week into Granite Mountains, just east of our home. Pics 6-9 where taken yesterday ( 1-29 ) at DCHS. Pic seven is for the Dreamers :-)
