Trip Report 8/19 - 8/21

This was my first time camping down at the springs. I had only ever made day trips. It was also the first time taking the Freedom Trial in a car (Kia Rio). We left Tuesday morning at around 3:30/4 AM and got to the top of the trail at 4:30. We were down in the springs by the time the sun was rising, and set up camp upstream past all the rocks. It was very quite with only two other people that we saw. We spent the day swimming and in our own little worlds. A lot of time was spent giggling in the temporary pool. It was perfect with the overcast that kept coming and going. More people arrived around noon, but it still stayed pretty quiet all day. We were asleep with the sun.

The next day my boyfriend hiked his cousin back up the Freedom trail so he would not get lost, and they hiked up a few trash bags. The amount of trash at the springs right now is so upsetting. There are camps left, and people thinking that they are piles of trash. I have yet to see the springs be this bad and full of trash. Within the next week or so I'm getting a group of people together to go down for a day trip and hike up a lot of the trash. It is so sad what summer brings.

The second day was nice and calm. It rained for part of it and we stayed in the tent and ate soup that we learned you could heat up in the water! Up at the source. Even with the light rain, it was a perfect few days. I met a lot of really wonderful people. It was a quite trip. It was nice to have the springs be so calm. The last day I met a nice man who was adjusting the womb temperature to make it more comfortable. I didn't even know you could do that! I also met a very nice German man who introduced himself by offering beer. He was also spending his whole trip picking up trash people had left behind. My group and I hiked back as much as we could along with our camping gear.

Besides all the trash and how angering it is, it was a really beautiful time at the springs. I came back feeling very balanced and grounded.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2014 01:27PM by laurashane.