Sam D., I think you were at the springs on 7/21, as I woke up at 5 am on Friday, 7/22 and already saw your trip report. I made it out to the springs yesterday, 7/22, as it was almost another June gloom day in L.A., and this at the end of July.

It was a relatively quiet day out there, and very disappointing for a diehard skinny dipper like me. If my last trip report back in June could have been subtitled Skinny Dipper’s Delight, this one would be something like Revenge of the Board Shorts. Coor’s Light Board shorts.

I got to Bowen Ranch around 8:20 am. As I entered the ranch, I noticed some blue tarps and a big campsite perhaps set up near the entrance point, but closer to the road. Perhaps it was not a campsite but something for an event or BBQ or something. In the parking area, there were only about three cars, and next to a big white pickup, an older man already nude for his freehike down. So I freehiked too, and far outpaced this fellow, who made it down a bit later. It was quiet, I passed no one at all, but the trail was busy: critters everywhere. Every trip down to Deep Creek is always so different. I saw tons of squirrels and a few Monty Python sized jackrabbits, had my eyes out for snakes as there was a lizard sunbathing on just about every rock you passed. I finally did come across a snake sitting in the middle of the path about ½ way down. I did not see a rattle on it, and it was not too big, maybe 2 feet. It got off the path as soon as it noticed me startled to see it. But I think I also saw a fox. It also was right on the path, and I saw it from behind from about 15 yards away, just going around a corner--when I got to that corner it was gone. It was relatively large, dog-sized, bushy haired especially its dark furry almost black tail, a real big tail. What do you think I saw? I did not see the front or head of the creature at all, so for all I know it could have been feline as opposed to canine, but I would guess fox.

So I got to the creek around 9 am. Could not see much presence of illegal campers from the ridge above, but did see one tent upstream. As I arrived creekside, there was one young guy in the nude on the beach, but I think he was just drying off and getting changed to hike out with his buddies. There were two groups of board-shorting teens at the springs, all guys, and one lone guy who had hiked down in the night, without a flashlight, and left sometime before lunch. As the day went on, more groups of teens arrived, and some parents with their teens. All textile. One group pretty drunk; upon arrival, one of the guys starting puking and retching uncontrollably behind some of the rocks on the beach. So it was like that. Really, I was pretty much on my own as a nudist down there yesterday, which I don’t enjoy. At around lunchtime, a guy came down from the Bradford ridge trail, he had been freehiking, and set up near my towel in the shade; another young couple came over and also set up next to me and sunbathed nude for about an hour. There was the old man I saw at the trailhead; and a young guy I’ve seen down there before, he is in good shape and never sits still, never stays at the springs, but keeps hiking all around and through it, walking with a backpack on all day. I saw him pass through the beach area or hike around the springs like five or six times. But that was it, pretty much: 6 nudes for a short period, mostly just 2 or 3 nudes to about 15 other visitors. So you can’t fault me for being overly optimistic today.

What I did enjoy about the springs on this trip were the many changes wrought in just a month since I had been there. The creek is as shallow as I’ve ever seen it, with all the sand that was pushed into the area from the winter. You can’t really jump from the Womb pool into the creek any more, it is too shallow. Folks have built a creek sitting pool below the Womb, so there is a new pool there, and there are two Arizona pools now! The water seemed to be flowing differently, and there were new miniature waterfalls cascading out of the main pool area and from below the Anniversary pool, and a lot of visible water coming out of the ground downstream from the pools, where now a lot of mud has been exposed for mudbaths. I took one around 2 pm, and let it dry in the sun, it was pretty great. There were two showers back in June, now back to one again. The pools were all in good shape, though the Anniversary pool seemed to be leaking in a few different spots.

I picked up some trash, and dismantled the fire ring I found directly on the beach, under the shade trees that I always sit under, near the big rock on the way down from the grass to the Arizona pool(s). Actually this stupid fire ring was built directly under one of the two trees there. Idiots. I threw the rocks here and there, and scattered the remaining firewood, and buried the rest beneath the sands. A helicopter came by once, and on the hike out I saw one again. I hiked out somewhat early considering the heat, around 4:30 - it would have been more wise to stay until later. I didn’t freehike, given the vibe yesterday, and was glad I did not, as I passed about 4 people hiking down, all young teens or early twenties kids. I don’t think I will go back to DCHS given the summer heat for a while, probably not until school goes back in session, given how the textile kids have seemingly taken over the place. By the time I made it up the last steep hill, and had the parking lot in sight, I saw a helicopter approach. It came pretty close and then began to circle the parking lot, getting lower, I thought it was looking to land. And then I lost sight of it behind a ridge. When I got to the parking lot, it hadn’t landed, but as I drove out, I turned to look at the main house at the ranch, and the fountain and various things there, and saw to my surprise the helicopter parked right next to the main house. Pretty cool.

Last thing: Bowen Ranch road as been graded again, and the major trenches opened up by the rains near the ranch house have been repaired and filled in. The road is in pristine shape and was as easy to drive as I’ve ever seen it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2011 12:56PM by neogeo.