camping at the springs

I went to the springs on Saturday. It was a great day, perfect weather, and as usual met and talked with a number of wonderful people there. We picked up a few bags of trash, scouring the downstream rock area especially. Trash wasn't excessive, but a lot of small things like cigarette butts, wrappers, etc. One thing that concerned me is that there seems to be an increase in the number of people camping (illegally, of course) near the springs. We could hear one group of people breaking up firewood as we reached the top of the hill on our way out. We also found a couple of fire rings on the downstream side when we cleaned up, and the ashes were full of glass. I hope that DCV can have some impact on decreasing the numbers of people who camp, burn fires, or otherwise endanger our use of the springs with flagrant disregard for USFS rules.

On the good side, it seems that our group has made and is making an impact on appropriate etiquette among daytime hotsprings users. I have heard a lot of positive feedback...the area is cleaner, not as much glass being used, proper toiletting making the place smell better, more of a family atmosphere makes the place more comfortable for women and children, etc.

Hopefully, with time and effort, we can spread the word more effectively among night users.