Trip Report 5-25-03 6: 45 AM

After reading on the forum about all the flowers around Deep Creek, I loaded up my camera with special flower taking lenses. I arrived at Deep Creek at 6: 45 in the morning, the weather was perfect for taking pictures. Upon arriving at the trailhead, I noticed a rock placed in a dangerous manner so that anyone running or rubbing up against it could possibly cut themselves. I moved the rock into a safe position so no one would be harmed. After removing the first rock, the second rock was placed in a hazardous position and even sharper. I wondered at who would place these rocks in such a way as to harm someone? After clearing the rock hazards, I marveled at the trail below as twice as wide as three months earlier when I was here last. Upon hiking further I noticed that someone had chopped bushes, juniper trees, and ephedra and placed them further down the hill. I wondered at who would be so evil as to rape this beautiful place? The only person that I could think with a monetary incentive would be Mike Castro. But, he would not put the rocks in such a way as to cut his own foot off. He is much smarter than that. I have seen him ride his motorcycle on this trail at least three or four times. So I thought it was perhaps maybe someone he would hire. But then I thought perhaps Barry Nelson but this is National Forest Land, not his jurisdiction. So that means it must have been a lunatic or our friends in the National Forest Service, it is their jurisdiction. Their mandate from Congress is to provide access for the public to the public lands.

So I assumed that they widened this trail to ride their 4-wheel drive ATV's to the hotsprings. Because before you used to only be able to ride a motorcycle down this now it is wide enough for their 4X4 ATV's. Then I thought perhaps they chopped all these trees and bushes down so that there is no place to hide from helicopters or the hot sun. As I contemplated this I came upon a beautiful juniper tree that I had sat in its shade and drank ice water many times. Now more than half of this beautiful tree is gone. While feeling sad, I heard someone let out a loud bear like belch.

Upon hiking further down the trail, I came upon a man with a hangover. He seemed to be a roots of the forest type guy. He said that he had camped in this canyon over here wrapped in his sleeping bags after being chased from the springs by rangers. After further question, he explained how he sat at the top of the hill watching law enforcement and the rangers sneak up on campers two hours after sunset. After finishing his bottle of wine, he climbed up the canyon and passed out in his sleeping bag. He said the there were forest ranger people on the trail the day before and they had spent hours chopping everything down making lots of noise for his hangover. So he needed a hanger cure of drinking some more to recover from the previous day's noise. At the end of the day these people loaded back up. Ten minutes after they left, about 20 or 25 Oriental hikers parked in the same place that the rangers just left. When they saw these branches on the trail, they promptly picked them up and placed them down below the trail and hiked down to the hotsprings. He marveled at their well timed arrival. And how all these people from the USFS work was for nothing!

They spent more than one hour just going down the trail and placing all the branches down hill and off the trail. He was further indulging in his pain relief. Going further down the trail, I was amazed to see oak trees cut out on the part of the trail that is held up by these trees. A further hazard as this hillside will someday slide down hill onto the trail leading to the springs.

Once at the springs it was pleasant to be there early in the morning. Met with some old friends. It was good to see them. Considered taking pictures, but I was too depressed and only took pictures of the mass destruction which didn't require special lenses. I will post these photos as soon as possible.

While holding my thermometer 10 yards in front of the Arizona Hotsprings beach, I registered the temperature of the creek water in the stream. It was 72 degrees 12 degrees hotter. The water temperature in the center of the Arizona hotsprings, it was 108 degrees, two degrees hotter than before.

Water in the center of the main pool was 103 degrees, two degrees hotter than before. The water at the crab cooker was 120 degress, that is right 2 degrees hotter. These temps were taken at 4:30 p.m. It was so depressing to see so much destruction. Then contemplating this awful mess. All day long with my friends. This was the 1st time in a long time I did not carry a huge bag of trash from the springs. Why should I with so much trash on the trail. It seems to me the forest service should remove this fire hazard, as soon as practical. After all their mandate from congress is to 'maintain access to public lands for the public.' Otherwise they are guilty of misconstruing the will of congress, and of littering and creating a hazard to the public. Laughing Sycamore was right on this one , some one has raped this trail.