A follow up on Monday's and Tuesday's report. Now that I have a few free days (it is difficult to freehike if you don't possess free days) I made a follow up hike today. Like yourself, lbcarll, I was astonished to see 8 small SUV-like vehicles parked at the beginning of the trail. It appears the large college-age group stayed for two nights. Unlike yourself, I arrived at 9:30 am and did not see the group of approximately 20 people until mid morning when they began their hike out and I was arriving. Ironically, because there were so many hikers with packs, at several locations they actually improved the path by forging and packing down some alternative routes. Once they had left, the springs were very quiet - with only a couple at the south end and 2 other naturists near the springs. A nice guy with a very long pony tail spent about 10 minutes cleaning up. Remarkably, the camping group seemed to pack out their trash. However, he did find a very large thermos and a light weight cart from my Monday drunk group. lbcarll, you might have enjoyed the springs more today.
After a quick dip, I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail west until the bridge. Other than a startled bobcat on the trail, I saw no one. In this section, PCT appears to be in very good shape.
A follow upon the Family canyon route. On Monday, I used this route back to the car. While very steep,I felt that my footing was more secure than when I used the ridge route today.
If I remember, I will bring a small shovel next time. However, unlike lbcarl, I was a tad chilled returning to the car as some cloud cover appeared and the wind had increased in magnitude. One reason I had not made a trip up to Lake Arrowhead until this week is that I have been concerned the hike is too cold.
While I enjoy San Onofre, with AM clouds and temperatures in the low to mid 60's, for me, it can be a chilly place. (Also, with the traffic, it can take me > 2 hours to return home. ) Oh well, maybe I will see you at San Onofre next week if I can get away.
