Trip Report 1/13/09

My brother has been visiting from Australia so I took him and his 14 year old son out to DCHS yesterday. This was my first time going during the week. It was probably the best trip I have had.

We arrived at around 11:30am. There was one other person there when we arrived. Soon after we arrived, two guys arrived on horseback, a woman who jogged down the trail from Bowen Ranch in her bikini and three female hikers coming up the PCT. 5 more people showed up in the next few hours.

Not everyone went in the water but all those who did, except my brother's son, were naked.

The group of three women provided a few laughs. They live in Lake Arrowhead and had been hiking from there down to Deep Creek for years but had never been able to find the hotsprings. They were elated to have found them, they said.

Some of the people there yesterday are very old hands at DCHS and it was great to listen to their stories. One guy has been going there since 1972 and described what it was like back then. He said that he encountered members of the Manson family down there back then.

The pools are clean, the creek is cold and clear. The Arizona pool was particularly relaxing, as the water was just high enough so you could sit on the rocks with your legs and butt in the water. Plunging in the creek and then back into the pool was the best thing.

We left just before 2pm. There were two more groups on the trail as we hiked out to Bowen Ranch. We carried out a bit of trash obviously left over from the weekend. But, generally DCHS was in great shape and the trip was peaceful, relaxing and informative. I know my brother and his son are not going to forget this. They talked about it all the way home and then recounted the trip to my wife and sons after we got back.

I am planning on going back on Sunday with an eclectic group that includes local neighborhood friends from LA and children. I hope we get more of a crowd like we had yesterday.