Today was wildlife day! We were up a little after 6:30 this morning. It was cold! I was first to leave camp, hiking out around 7:15am. I hiked for almost 2 hours without stopping, but I got a little lost fording Holcomb Creek when I missed one or two of the crossings. They were washed out from floods earlier this year when excessive rains hit Southern California. Nearly all of our water crossing involved missing sections of trail which took some work to figure out.
Once I got myself back on trail, I continued to Holcomb Crossing Trail Camp where I met up with Jean Luc and Brain who had passed me while I was trying to find the trail. We stopped for a break where Phantom and Good To Go caught up and joined us. We agreed at the break to hike four more miles to a 90 foot steel/wood bridge over Deep Creek where we would rendezvous for lunch. It was a hot, shadeless four miles due to a fire a few years ago which burned out the vegetation.
Around noon we arrived at the bridge which was partially destroyed by the floods. We took an hour and a half break, lounging on a sandy, shaded beach, eating lunch, washing clothes and cooling off in the creek. We had 9.4 miles to hike to natural hot springs on the trail, so at 1:45 p.m. I took off in Rabbit mode and hiked for 2.5 hours with only a 15 minute break to filter water, despite a hot, dry afternoon trail. Around 4:30 I arrived at the confluence of the hot springs and Deep Creek. There were plenty of naked people around enjoying sunning themselves and swimming in the pools of Deep Creek and lounging in the hot springs.
From the trail, I looked down a few yards toward the springs/creek and saw Heather, Doodlebug, and Nitro stretched out comfortably under a shade tree in the grass. We had caught up to them! The gals had hiked 12 miles to the springs by noon, and then decided to sit out the afternoon heat in the shade. I washed my feet and legs but didn’t get too near the hot springs as there were a couple of naked men hanging out there (non-hikers). I joined the gals in the shade and cooked myself a large dinner while waiting for Brian + Phantom + Good To Go to show. They arrived about an hour after I did and headed immediately for a swim in Deep Creek.
Around 7:00 p.m. Doodlebug and I started hiking to find a campsite. We pushed 2 miles to a bridge crossing of Deep Creek in a narrow canyon. Remy and Heather (from Israel) were already set up on a sandy flat near the rushing waters off the creek. By 7:30 the whole crew was setting up for cowboy camping on the sandy beach. Tonight’s campers include Phantom, Good To Go, me, Doodlebug, Nitro, Brian, Remy, and Heather. Everyone is settling down quickly for bed or journaling as a three-quarter full moon is rising over the steep walls of the canyon above us. It is a balmy night with lots of singing crickets nearby.
I said it was wildlife day earlier in my comments! Today I saw my first deer up close, a horny toad, multitudes of lizards (a daily occurrence), an eagle soaring below me over the Deep Creek, a rattlesnake, and naked old men and women hanging out (literally!) at the hot springs. I knew for sure that I was not in North Carolina when I saw a posted sign that read “nude beach only!” Wildflowers continue to grace the landscape as we walk and today their fragrances were especially enjoyable; one plant gave a spearmint aroma while another smelled of lemon.
It was another big mileage day, and I am pleased that we caught up to Nitro and Doodlebug since we have been invited to return to Nitro’s home on Monday evening if we can make it to Wrightwood by then. My feet continue to improve. There are blisters, but most are healing or are turning into callous flesh and I have no residual tendonitis pain. The left knee is beginning to ache some, so I’ll probably invest in a brace next opportunity. I had a lot of solo hiking today and was able to do a lot of introspective thinking as well as some spiritual connecting with God and Mother Earth.
Today’s mileage: 22.0; cumulative mileage: 308.6. Sunny and cold, then hot. Low: 35; High: 90.
