Trip Report 12/28

I went to the springs yesterday Sunday December 28th. The conditions were pretty much like what lblcarr described from his visit on Saturday. The Bowen Ranch Road was in pretty good shape with a few patches of frozen water early in the morning when I drove in. I was also dismayed to see so many cowpies on the trail down to the springs. Air temp was about 40 degrees when hiking down, but it warmed up later in the day to the mid 50s. I was the first one to the pools. The rock crossing was doable but slippery because of the ice on the rocks, so I opted to ford the creek. Very cold- probably about 35 degree water, but the level was lower than I expected (belly button level) because the snowmelt in Arrowhead hasn't started yet. After the crossing I immediately laid down in the Crab Cooker to thaw out.

I then soaked in the Womb and the Serenity Pool for a few hours. The Maple Leaf that Wizard saw on his recent visit was still in the Womb!Two guys were camping illegally on the sandy beach. They spent a couple of hours rebuilding the Arizona Pool by the creek. Unfortunately, they dug it out way too deep and they were unable to patch a hole on the upstream side so the creek water kept flowing in. Seems to me like the source of the water into the Arizona Pool is cooler than previous years. I moved up to the Anniversary Pool and vacuumed out the algae buildup. The waterfall wasn't set up but I was too relaxed to set it up! A few more people started arriving throughout the day. I was naked all day and the mix was basically half textile and half nude. Talked to a nice couple from Vancouver and some other good folks from the LA area and San Diego. I picked up what little trash there was and hiked out at dark. Overall, a good day except for the cowpies on the trail!