Many years ago before Mike ever bought the Bowen Ranch property there was another public route for access to the springs. About a quarter mile before you got to the Bowen Ranch you would turn left off the Bowen Ranch Rd and would then go south past an old area ( with buildings ) called the Moss Mill, then you would continue on south, and for a time the road was so good you could drive a two wheel vehicle all the way down to the lower USFS parking area at the bottom of that steep hill south of the Bowen Ranch, where the Kiosk sign is and trail 3W02 starts. It had BLM signs on it showing that it was an open legal route. It was the best way to go for driving to that USFS parking spot for a hike to the springs. A short section of that road did cross private property and there were BLM signs indicating this. There was also another way to go called route 2 which went around the west side of the Bowen Ranch down to the USFS parking lot and it too was a better way to go than the longer rougher road currently around to the Freedom Trail.
