Re: 5/21- lets make sure every1 is nude at the spring!!

Saturday, May 21, 2011 was a busy day at Deep Creek Hot Springs. My little Honda Shoebox (also call "The Element) was mostly full of hiking gear, backpacks and people (Sonja, Tina , Jasper and yours truly). We departed Irvine at about 7:00 AM. The drive was pleasantly quick and we stopped at McDonalds in Hesperia for pit stops, coffee and to pick up another passenger, Nic, from L.A.. The day was already beautiful, although windy and cold, but we knew that it would warm up. We greeted a sleepy Mike Castro at the Ranch. He gave us a trash bag, we drove to and parked at the campground, loaded up and headed down to the "Goat Trail." The hike for me was, even after 41 years of being a Deep Creek Hot Springer, exciting. As we hiked down, the scenery became more and more dramatic. Soon, we could see and hear the beautiful Deep Creek, the only stream in the San Bernardino Mountains once nominated as a national "wild and scenic river." Soon, we rounded the last bend on the trail and hiked as quickly as we safely could to get to the waterway's shore. Off went our clothes and with packs and boots held high, we waded across the chilly stream. There were already a fair amount of people there, some obviously overnight campers. We then enjoyed a lovely soak in the Anniversary Pool. I was pleased to see that it had been expertly repaired and as far as I could tell, there were no leaks. Looking around, I saw mostly textiled folks. Oh, how I miss the culture of my very first visit, in 1970 when legions of mostly, but not all, young people wore their skins suits proudly and happily. Although many of my longtime friends enjoy hanging out at the springs and on the sandy beach we named "Deep Creek Del Mar" (soon after Mother Nature deposited many tons of sand there after a winter flood). When I bring folks to DCHS for the first time, I like to isolate our group upstream on a beautiful beach just a tiny distance away from rapids and a small waterfall gurgling loudly and happily. On Saturday, my friends and I spent the day in this oasis, clad in our suits of skin and enjoying our last day of existence (before the predicted Apocalypse, of course) sunning, swimming and playing with the 8 year-old boy with us, who found everything an adventure of delight.

With the sun heading towards the mountain, we packed up and headed back to the creek crossing. We dressed, regretfully, pulled the packs on our backs and headed up the trail. Each and every time I leave Deep Creek, I'm both happy and a bit sad to leave this Eden on Earth. I will be back, Mother Earth, and soon. ♥