Labor Day weekend started out with a bang. I went down Saturday, parking at the Freedom Trailhead, I hiked in to find a group already camped at the creek. I ran into a regular on his way out who said that the group arrived late at night and started the music and set up the tents. During the day the number of groups continued to grow, but it was like a normal summer weekend for most of the day. There was a much better ratio of nudes to textiles then I've seen lately, I love it when people are comfortable in their own skin, it makes the whole vibe of the creek better. The creek water itself was very low and slow and quite murky. The pools are running warm, no surprise with the temps we've been experiencing in the area.
The day was very comfortable, warm with an occasional gusty breeze to kick up some sand. There were quite a few dogs and Jobe walked the area with his shovel to remove all the land mines he could find. I do wish people who do travel with their dogs keep an eye out and take the scat and properly bury it... deep and away from the creek bed. Ah, but I am just daydreaming here I guess, just like the garbage... there was still a couple piles, one at the beach sign and two smaller ones on landing beach, I took what I could out.
As evening fell, the crowds actually grew, and more people came in with large packs on their backs, and I know I saw some tent support rods on more than one of those packs. Hiking my way back out, just as I reached the parking area, I ran into another small group of seven... they were lost. The driver was trusting his GPS to guide him to Bowen Ranch, by coming up Powerline Rd. Needless to say, both cars were quite lost. I told them about the area the found, but they informed me they were meeting with more friends and camping at the ranch. I had one of cars follow me out, showing him the path to the ranch and how to get back to his friends in the other car. Can't trust a GPS or any of those other electronic devices for getting anywhere in the hills... they always have you taking the hard paths or don't have updates to tell you the road doesn't even exist anymore, LOL.
I'm hoping to hear more about other's experiences for the weekend. Saturday was nice, so how did the rest go?