Trip report 5/19

Visited the springs on Tuesday morning. As soon as I got to the Bradford Ridge trailhead at 6:00 AM I knew it was not going to be very peaceful and secluded time at the springs because there were about a dozen vehicles already parked at the trailhead. So much for the theory about the middle of the week not being very crowded anymore. Once I started hiking in I warmed up rather quickly and was able to shed the clothes before the first switchback. I only passed three people on my way to the springs. Like SoCalFreeHiker reported the Bradford Ridge trail is in really bad shape once you get past the barbed wire fence, you really have to pick your footfalls carefully or else your feet will slide out from under you.
As I feared there was a huge group at the springs, and like SoCalFreeHiker's visit the previous day I was the only non-textile there for almost the whole morning. The same group of 25 or so must have been there from the day before. No one camped on the new beach but they were all in the areas just above and below the springs. Things were getting pretty trashy with all the people there, I picked up a few items but most of it was around the groups of people, hopefully they will pick up some when they leave. It was way too crowded for me and unfortunately I felt a little outnumbered being the only non-textile, so I left at around 11:00 AM. I'd say there were about 5 or 6 women/girls in the group at the springs and the rest were college aged men.
It was pretty warm when I left the springs, I'd say it was about 90 degrees. I just took my time and drank plenty of water on the way back. I got lucky and had some cloud cover every once in a while. I was able to hike out the whole way sans clothing, even though the springs themselves were not as nice as I had hoped it would have been for a mid week day, the hike out was totally enjoyable. There are a lot of flowers in bloom and there were a lot of birds and lizards to see. I did not pass anyone on the trail on my way back to my car.
Due to the coming summer heat this will probably be my last trip for a while, I will probably spend my time at San Onofre and Blacks beach until the weather cools down a little at the springs.