Trip Report for 8/2-8/4

I was down at the hot springs all weekend and monday and wanted to give a quick update. We hiked down Saturday around 3pm in what i would consider perfect weather. Overcast, cool breeze and chance of rain. Once to the hot springs, it was time for a quick deep in the creek and then some time in the hot springs. As usual for the weekend, the crowd was boisterous and load, and most could careless that anyone else was trying to enjoy. So to get away from the crowd, we hiked to our favorite camping spot, about a mile away from the creek. Setup camp, then headed back to the hot springs to cook some food. At this point there was already some light sprinkles. The crowd had thinned out and trash and abandoned camping gear was plentiful. Soaked in the springs, while the food was steaming. After dinner, one last soak, then back to the campsite. At this point far more rain. It rained on and off all night long. Sunday was cool in the morning. Packed everything up and headed back to the hot springs. Set up our hammocks then went for a soak. The water temp was perfect in the cooler air and the steam was rising off the pools. It was great. Except for the two college kids singing at the top of their lungs. It appeared that some people left in the middle of the night as there was more trash. Watching the weather, we left the creek about 430. Told my friend it was gonna get ugly and it was time to leave. Hiking packs on and out we go. We barely made the car before the downpour got to use. The lightening was very very close as we packed the car. But my journey continues. Picked up a different friend and headed back to the creek today. Another perfect day weather wise. Our hike started by encountering a 4 ft long rattle snake. It looked well fed. We passed several hikers leaving as we were headed in. Once able to see the creek from the trail, we could see the rain had done caused some slides. The portion of the creek upstream from the hot springs was brownish green and very dirty looking. The portion of the creek downstream was crystal clear. Scanning the hills, you could see were there were fresh slides and runoffs. Once in the canyon floor we went for a swim downstream, then headed up to the hot springs. There wasn't very many people. You could tell a lot of people had abandoned stuff from the day before. We spent the next few hours at the hot springs. Before leaving, we gathered up some trash to take out with us and moved some stuff onto the pile. Wish I could have carried out more. All in all, it was a great 3 days at DCHS.

Wildlife seen; assorted lizards, horned lizard, rattlesnake, squirrels, toads, assorted birds, assorted fish.
Wildlife tracks seen in the wet soil; two sets of mountain lion tracks, deer tracks, rat tracks.

That is it for now, see you next time!