PCT Day 26
Mile: 298.5 to 317.3
Start: Beachside camping near Splinters Cabin in Deep Creek
Finish: Unnamed spring campsite no longer flowing after a wildfire
This morning I was the slow one to wake up today, even though I was the one who also wanted to get to the legendary on trail hot springs early. The jumping trout rippled the surface of the water as they swallowed flies and the burbling of the river over round smooth rocks and soft warm sand under the tent combined with the whispering of the reeds amongst the canyon breezes knocked me out cold. We left our campsite around 9am hiking up and out of Deep Creek Canyon into the heat of the day. Shannon had said that the weather was only going to be 71 degrees Fahrenheit today but at 9am it was already that temp in the canyon, which we were going to be hiking in all day, and it was definitely warming up.
Shortly after we left camp we ran into about a dozen trail maintainers flattening the trail where rocks and sand slides had swept away the footing. They were also trimming back where poison sumac and overgrown brush had taken over the trail. We were so excited that we asked if we could take a couple of their pictures, thanking each of the volunteers profusely for their work. Each of the dozen or so volunteers who we ran into we cheered on, bringing smiles to the trail maintainers’ faces.
Shortly after we ran in the volunteer trail maintainers, we passed the 300 mile marker, (woohoo!) and fields of chia seeds. We dance-partied briefly at mile 300 and then hiked on, following the Deep Creek Canyon as it wound through the valleys and across the low lying desert hills. We trekked with a purpose, determined to make it to the famous hot springs on the trail before the heat of the day became unbearable. We had to take a couple breaks in the shade because I was overheating, and then finally reached the hiker oasis of Deep Creek Hot Springs.
Oh Deep Creek Hot Springs…where do I even begin? Not only was the area drop dead gorgeous with a clear cold river flowing through the canyon with hot waterfalls cascading and pooling over the cliffs surrounded by palm trees fanning in the wind, it was as a huge party place turned semi nudist colony turned spring break celebration. Sure enough, before we even got down to the water we saw things we couldn’t unsee… oh boy.
Naked older gentlemen strutted around the beaches with their big beer bellies out, facing strategically towards the younger crowd of women. We knew what we were getting into based on word of mouth and comments about the area on the navigation app we were using but it was still jarring coming out of the quiet desert to blasting techno music, partiers taking shots of fireball whiskey, naked people swimming and sunbathing and clusters of people onshore smoking weed and doing who knows what other drugs. One girl was staring at her hand like it was melting while a giant squirrel snatched her high friend’s lunch out of her backpack. It was like a weird version of Woodstock with mutant squirrels and naked people in the desert.
We had heard that the hot springs were home to large aggressive and very clever squirrels who would steal your food in a heartbeat even while you were sitting next to it. As soon as we found a shaded spot to sit down, we ran into a squirrel the size of a cat that was eating an entire peanut butter and jelly sandwich that she had stolen from someone. We decided it was probably a good idea to hang our food bags up in a tree so that the squirrels wouldn’t get into them. Before we even hit the hot springs we saw our first naked people as clothing is optional at the hot springs, and this guy probably was one of those people that should have kept his clothes on…. We’ll just leave it at that. We did have to wade through several naked people suntanning to get to the river where there were more naked people swimming. It was difficult to figure out where to look because everywhere you thought it was safe to avert your eyes, someone surprised you. Stressful!
Clear and refreshing Deep Creek ran 15-20 feet deep in places forming huge swimming holes next to the hot springs so you could heat up and cool off easily. The cool river water was filled with baby catfish, little trout and darters that kept trying to eat the dead skin off our feet which was simultaneously gross and hilarious. We swam around the refreshing river, dodging the naked people and heading towards the hot springs which were absolutely gorgeous. It looked like Disney World with waterfalls of hot water cascading down out of the mountains and filling teal blue rock pools. The springs progressively became hotter as you scrambled up the mountain. Palm fronds waved in the background and shade trees covered the soft sand beaches and rocks in coolness where hikers laid out.
As people partied on shore, we enjoyed floating in the hot springs regardless of all the craziness going on. There was a series of steaming pools and waterfalls that we relaxed in and as in most of the hot springs out west, you don’t want to stick your head under the water. Some of the hot springs are home to a legitimate brain-eating amoeba called naegleria fowleri which enters into humans through the nose, ears, mouth or eyes. Once you get the amoeba, you have something like seven days to live and there’s no cure. The whole “you’ll die in seven days” thing was a good reminder not to stick your head under the hot water!
Back in the hot springs, it sounded like spring break with music blaring on the beach, guys hitting on girls with their tops off and drunk partygoers yelling about fireball and tequila shots. If there was a version of the Pacific Crest Trail’s Spring Break, it was at Deep Creek Hot Springs, for sure. Shannon and I tried to stay clear of the party vibes and enjoyed the peacfeul paradise of the hot pools that were a ways away from the craziness. The crystalline dark blue and cold deep water with cliff jumping, the hot spring waterfalls pouring off the cliffs and the palm fronds hanging heavy in the breeze made for a serene hangout spot in the hot sun.
We swam a couple times with lots of sandy beaches and shade trees in between. Despite hangibg our food up, we caught some of the chubby squirrels trying to sneak into our packs and threw rocks and sticks at them. They just whistled loudly at us and ran over to some other unattended hiker packs to dig through those for goodies.
At one point unfortunately I had to go to the bathroom which was a little bit scary because the whole place was kind of trashed and there are so many gosh darn hikers partying everywhere that it was hard to find privacy. Pretty sure some guy saw me taking care of business behind the bushes and I had to dodge lots of places where hikers didn’t bury their waste or pack out toilet paper. Gross. Oh well.
We met one hiker who had been at the hot springs for three days already and was planning on resupplying at McDonald’s and the liquor store so he could stay another three. Nutso! We heard about a father and son who had come down to the springs and camped the night prior fashioning some homemade spears. They ended up spearing a couple of the enormously fat squirrels, field dressing the squirrels and roasting them over the fire pit. You never know what you’re gonna find at the hot springs, I guess! Naked people, brain-eating amoebas and squirrel spearing hikers seemed to abound here.
After splashing around for a few hours and fending off the squirrels from our backpacks, we decided it was probably time to leave as the party seemed like it was going to continue long into the night. We heard from our friend, Poppy, who had camped there, that “the Teletubby Techno” radio as he called it went all the way blasting into the night, ending at 3am, courtesy of some old dudes at the campground partying while on mushrooms. Gotta love it. We saw a lot of different body parts that we were not expecting to see that day and Shannon actually saw the biggest boobs he’s ever seen in his whole life by a girl who was in the hot springs above us. Like I said, you never know what you’re gonna see on the trail. Once the party vibe started to get old and we had cooled off a bit in the stream, we decided it was time to hike away from the drugs, the drinking, the partying and the general sausage fest of the Deep Creek area.
We hiked on out of the valley, pass water level measurement signs, graffitied dam intakes, people swimming in the river and a giant dam that stretched between a couple of bases of manmade mountains. I swear we walked past the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles headquarter entrance by the dam. As the shadows stretched long into the afternoon, we headed onto the flat trail under breezy willows and cottonwoods. The sun was setting and our legs were a little bit tired, but water was pretty scarce in this area so we had to keep on hiking until we could get a refill of our water bottles for dinner and breakfast in the morning. We ended up running into our buddy Eric from Hong Kong again while we were collecting water from some fetid puddles. He hiked down the trail a little bit past us and found a grassy knoll that was probably just big enough for one person. We said good night to him as he was setting up his sleeping bag to cowboy camp out under the stars in the little mountain nook.
Shannon and I took our bit of water that we’d collected from a dwindling puddle and hiked a bit further into in the sands to some hidden tentsites, nestled in the brush. We set up by an old spring that had stopped flowing after a recent wildfire where the charred manzanita branches waved in the wind, like burnt fingers. New green growth on the bushes were thick and filled in the skeletal remains of the trees that were long passed. Dinner was spicy ramen noodles for Shannon which he enjoyed. For me I somehow made a dish of simultaneously undercooked and overcooked gluten free macaroni and cheese that Shannon really didn’t like. If this trip has taught me anything, it’s that I’ve discovered that I’m a really terrible cook when it comes to macaroni and cheese, and Shannon can’t understand why and is also really horrified at my backwoods cooking skills. Haha!
As we settled into our tent, we heard a lot of noise in the bushes like kangaroo rats or something hopping. Later as the full moon rose, we heard what sounded like a predator scouting our our campsite, like a coyote or what one of the locals later told us, might have been a mountain lion. It didn’t sound like a deer, because it slowly walked on the gravel checking out the area, and then sat for a while observing our tent. We were a little bit too scared to look out of our tent to see what was looking back at us in the night. Soon enough, the creature padded softly away leaving us alone for the rest of the night. On edge slightly, I tried to tell myself that it was just a stupid coyote which made me feel a little bit more at ease.
