Hello Sam, I went up to DCHS yesterday with friends. The crossing of the creek from beach to the Crab Cooker area was about mid thigh with a clean sandy bottom in the creek. Creek water is still quite cold. Some people were crossing the creek at the rock crossing upstream but a couple of people fell also. The sand beach by the Rock Crossing has been altered by the flooding. Alot of the sand got washed away making crossing there strictly on top of the rocks more difficult. Yesterday was cold and windy around the parking areas with temps probably in the low 50's. Temps down at DCHS were somewhat warmer with lighter winds and partly cloudy skies all day. We didn't get any rain but when we went for a bite to eat in Hesperia after our hike a steady rainfall began. We were glad it didn't rain on us during our hike out especially since I had the Munchkins with me :-) All dirt roads in the area ( including the Bowen Ranch Road ) have been affected by the recent rainstorms. A small part of the beginning of the Bowen Ranch road was recently graded. The rest had runoff channels and erosion from the rains but all was easily passable by two wheel drive vehicles. The snow in the higher elevations was a beautiful site to see. The snow as of yesterday had melted up to about 4500 feet. No more remained at the parking areas or at the springs. There were quite a few folks down at DCHS with groups coming and going. I brought a bucket and small trowel down and spent a good while cleaning the rocks around the Crab Cooker, Serenity pool and the Womb. Saw a number of regulars and we all had a great time, as usual. The creek is looking cleaner since alot of the black mud has been washed out from recent flooding. I'm looking forward to all the new spring growth in the trees and plants which will be kicking into high gear real soon. Ron of the DCV group pulled a funny practical joke on me. When I got back to my vehicle I found it had yellow police tape around it and a note on the window which read " Van, Could not see your forest pass, ticket $20 payable to DCV ". I found out that Ron had pulled this joke on me the next day and we got a good laugh about it. Well hope this report is of help to you Sam. Good luck on your next trip to OZ :-)
