May 2nd, 2022 by Jon
We woke to lots of condensation on our tent, and our sleeping bags felt generally damp. I guess that’s what we get for camping right next to the water. The air felt cold, and it felt difficult to get up. But those morning miles feel like free miles because by the time we take our first break, we can knock out 5 or 6 miles. So up we got and began our morning packing ritual once again.
Packed up and breakfast eaten, we had to make our way back across the creek to get back to the PCT. Singsong opted to walk across in her flip flops, which is how we got across last night, but Seabiscuit (who we have been calling Biscuit for short) and I wanted to find a way across the river without getting our feet wet. After some careful navigating and a few sketchy jumps, we made it across. Thank goodness for trekking poles and all the ways they make those jumps easier!
We hiked back up to the PCT and continued our ridge walk from yesterday. We would continue this same basic view, high up on the ridge, for nearly 12 miles today. Our first stop this morning was going to be the hot springs. There are many hot springs out there, but Deep Creek Hot Springs are the only ones that are right on the PCT and don’t require a hitch to get to. Singsong and I hiked together most of the morning as we wound around each hillside, hiked into the canyon, and then around the next hillside. It was that. For miles. We did have an excellent view of the creek though, it’s big enough that they really should call it a river I think. But perhaps it gets pretty small later in the season.
We came around a corner, and far down below, we could see many people gathered by the creek. The trail ran high along the ledge, and then about a quarter mile before where all the people were, a side trail branched off the PCT and ran at an angle to gently bring you down to the creek’s edge. When we got there, we could tell people had taken river stones and mortared them together to create small pools where spring water, which came straight out of the hillside, spilled down into. They were built so they would fill up and then spill over into the creek directly, or sometimes into another pool next to the first. I saw 6 or 7 pools, but I think there were even more.
We set our packs down and went to go check out the water. We saw our Scottish friend Stealth already in one of the pools, nicely shaded by the cliffside, and we decided to join her. We all stripped down to our underwear and hopped in. The water felt so good. It was like being in a hot tub. This one felt hot but not melt-your-skin hot, which made it so we could stay in for a long time. We lounged in the pool, talked, and massaged our muscles for close to an hour before finally getting out so we could dry off before changing into clean clothes. We snacked for a while, eating part of our lunch, and felt relaxed and even pretty clean, actually. Getting all the sweat off our bodies felt very, very refreshing.
By now it was 11:00, and we had miles to make. We got our packs on and pushed out to make it another 5.5 miles to where we would cross Deep Creek again and for the last time. We had a big climb to get back up high on the ridge, and then continued doing what we had been doing all morning: walking along the hillside on a ledge 90% of the way to the top. Eventually, the trail led us lower, and we suddenly switched back to go the opposite direction and found ourselves staring at a bridge! Apparently, we were going to cross the creek. We were a solid 80 feet above the water here, and there was really no path down to the water. We got to the other side of the bridge, and you guessed it, back up and more ledge walking along the canyon. By now, the sun was pretty intense. Lately, we’ve tried to take breaks in the middle of the day to avoid this part of the day, but with our siesta in the hot springs coming so early, we didn’t have the time, so we hiked through it.
As we came to the end of the canyon, we could see the mountains we were headed for, including Mt Baden Powell, which definitely has some snow on it. We also saw the Mojave River Dam, which had to be the saddest dam of all time, considering I couldn’t see water on either side of it. Beyond the dam, we could see smoke and I was pretty worried there was a fire. We were so early in the season! Later, we would find out it was a training exercise for the local firefighters. Phew! We reached the end of the canyon and climbed down a series of switchbacks that led us along a dirt path, which looked out at the emergency spillway of the dam. There is a lot of room there for water to flow if there ever is any. We hiked past it and then down below the main face of the dam to a dirt road. Alongside the road were lush green plants, trees, and grass, which had to mean the creek was hiding beyond the green wall.
We came to a small trail off the road that led us through a small clearing before bringing us to the water’s edge. There was an old, broken beaver dam on each side of the creek, and the water was flowing through the middle. Because of the dams, there were 2 deep sections right by the dam that made the water go just above my knee. It was still an easy crossing, and the water felt good on my feet. Once on the other side, I took the opportunity to filter some more water and relaxed in the shade. While I was lying there, some other hikers told me there was an old biker bar a few miles from the highway we would cross in less than a mile from the creek. When you got to the road, you could give them a call, and they would come get you. They had burgers and beer and that sounded super delicious right then. Rune and Wilco had just gotten to the creek and they wanted to go to. Right as we were about to leave, Stealth crossed the river too! She told us it took 1/10th of a second to decide to come with us. We hiked the fastest 0.8 miles of all time, and just as I could see the road, I gave them a call.
Alan answered and told me he could be there in 5 minutes. What an amazing change of plans. We all stood at the road in some shade, and a little Chevy Volt came to pick us up. It’s a pretty small car and it was towing the smallest little trailer which Alan told us was for all our packs. We crammed all 6 of us into the car (Alan made 7) and off we went. When we got to the bar 5 minutes later, other hikers cheered us out of our little clown car. It was only about 1:45, and hikers were the only ones in there.
We ordered burgers and beer and they offered to make us burgers with 2 patties. We were in heaven. We sat and enjoyed a very small amount of phone service and drank a very cold, refreshing beer. Again, even though we were drinking a light beer, it felt really strong after hiking all day in the heat. I guess we were all cheap dates. Food arrived and it was a simple burger they made on a grill out back but man did it taste good. I ate the whole thing in less then 5 minutes. Feeling very satisfied, we watched a few other hikers play a game of pool and Stealth challenged me to a game. We played, and it was fun to have our group razzing us, placing bets, and cheering as balls dropped in. The game was close, but ultimately, Stealth won, and we laughed at our cheering friends. Sometimes it’s fun to make a big deal about something as small as a dive bar pool match.
We booked a place to stay in Wrightwood for a few days from now, and with that plan in place, we know we need to average 17 miles a day over the next few days to get there for our reservation. We stuck around for a little while longer, waiting for the heat to die down before asking for a ride back to trail. Within 5 minutes, we were back in the car with Alan, and 5 minutes after that, we were back at the trailhead. Feeling slightly buzzed and very full, we pushed out another 4 miles to Grass Valley Creek, where we ultimately ended up camping. We snacked slightly after making camp, but didn’t eat a true dinner after our huge burgers at the bar.
Tomorrow should be another excellent day. We’re trying to hike to set up a short morning hike into Cajon Pass for more town food 2 days from now!
