Re: bradford ridge and trip report

Neo Geo, The right hand turn at the barbed wire fence you took which takes you down that steep ridge is more like an alternative trail to the one that goes straight which is less steep and precarious overall, and is the main extension of the Bradford Ridge Trail from the barbed wire fence to the PCT. The straight ahead trail hits the PCT some ways further downstream from where the steep trail hits it. I don't think the Bradford Ridge Trail is an " officially " recognized USFS trail so I'm not sure if its even shown on their maps. So when I hike in to DCHS on the Bradford Ridge Trail I do take that steep trail going down, but coming back out I generally ( not always ) take the other less steep part of the trail back up another ridge to the barbed wire fence which ends up being a bit longer and more time but is easier than going straight up that steeper trail.

I hiked to DCHS with a friend on this last Wednsday and it was a day like you said " DCHS was beautiful and quiet today. Maybe 6-10 people ebbing and flowing. All mellow and many very friendly ". I measured the creek water at 39 degrees. My friend got in it up to her neck a few times since she is part Polar Bear :-) The Arizona Pool when we got there started loosing water around the sandbags on the upstream side but we repostioned the sand bags and poured in some additional sand and got the leak fixed and the pool filled up. The creek was easily crossed and only about knee deep for me where I did it. My friend and I brought gallon jugs to bring the hot water back across when we left to warm up our cold legs with :-)