Re: August 6 Visit

hello hiker, thanks for calling me a “gentleman”--it was good to meet/see you again down at the springs. I can confirm the general excellence of your trip report, it was a great day at the springs. For me, the conditions were so perfect that I couldn’t leave and it was one of my longest days spent there--arrived around 8:30 am and didn’t hike out until 6:30-ish pm. So I can add to your trip report a little bit:

I drove in to Bowen and there were about three cars and a campsite or two set up by 8 am. Free-hiked down all the way, there was a young guy and a kid--brothers? father/son?--slightly behind me (they had been camping at Bowen)--but I was hiking faster than them, so no worries with the free-hiking and I also passed no one on the entire way down. Saw very little signs of activity when I reached the point where you can gaze down into the Deep Creek basin. Upon arrival at the creek, it was indeed very quiet and mellow. I could see three people in the Arizona Pool, two nude, one not, and thought it a good sign for a skinny-dipping day at the springs. Had the Womb pool to myself for a full hour, in the shade, beautiful.

As I got out and made my way over to the shade / beach near the Arizona pool, things changed. A whole bunch of kids, a father and like 8 sons/friends, all boys, came out of the trees upcreek--to jump off rocks, fish, throw things, play with rafts, and generally hoot and holler and have a good time. But as you’d expect, no skinny dipping. The young guy and his kid arrived from the hike down from Bowen. Since the folks using the Arizona pool had retreated up into the grassy area, this left me as the only skinny dipper at the creek for most of the morning hours. I took advantage of this weird turn for a Friday morning and hiked up stream, and spent an hour or so by myself swimming and sunning on a secluded beach by the waterfalls there. Really beautiful.

By the time I came back there were a few more young couples, some momentary skinny dipping happening. I mostly retreated at that point to the shade near the Arizona pool.

Critter of the day was: the dragonfly. They were everywhere, and fighting/mating all around and over the Womb pool. There were also a LOT of fish in the creek -- maybe the lower level of the water just means you can see them now. I did have a big-seeming one nibble on my foot at one point and scare me witless for a sec.

Things started to change just before you arrived, hiker, just after lunchtime. A guy arrived on the beach where I was eating. Seeing I was nude, he stripped down too and went between the shade and waters (this was the guy you passed on your hike down, as he only stayed about two hours and then took the Bradford ridge out just before you arrived). Suddenly, ALL the kids at the creek left en masse, at the same time. This left the creek as quiet as I’ve ever seen it on a Friday--me, the new guy, and the three people from the morning who were in the Arizona pool. Basically 5 people at the springs, and all nude but one (there were two couples camped out further upstream, but they were not a presence at the springs until later in the day).

Shortly before you arrived, 4 Korean men, probably all in their 70s, arrived from Bowen. They had a good time, but struggled a bit with the rocks and at times people were concerned for them. The woman who was air-lifted out earlier in the week: signs of that were still present, I was told a pile of hiking shoes left on the beach, and some other things there, like a Frisbee, belonged to them. I’ll just say about the Korean men: they didn’t stay long, and left around 3:30 or so. I hiked out at 6:30, and they were STILL struggling up the trail, I passed them toward the end of my hike out. But they seemed OK.

And then you arrived hiker and things changed all for the better -- lots of great folks started showing up, almost all skinny dipping. Some great talkers in the pools, people were making me laugh, shout out to M from the Valley and F from Pasadena, it was really fun, couldn’t leave. Most of these people were camping--at Bowen, or some surreptiously near the creek--and it made me wish I had decided to camp for the weekend, as they are still there today, and some tomorrow.

I did see the rattlesnake near the Arizona pool. Some new arrivals had put their gear down next to the pool, and the snake came down into their gear pile to get to the water. I saw it as it slithered very slowly back into the bushes next to the pool. It was big and fat. These kids were determined to kill it, I couldn’t bear to watch. I don’t know if they succeeded. It does make you think about the folks who camp in those trees: there are rattlesnakes there, people.

Passed about 6-8 people hiking down as I free-hiked out, only one of them nude, all of them friendly and smiling, one of them singing.

I love Deep Creek.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/2010 11:02AM by neogeo.