Trail Day 19: Piped spring (mile 295.9) to side of the trail (mile 312.0)

16.1 PCT miles

I got up early today and started hiking a bit before sunrise. There were two reasons for doing this. First, I wanted to do some hiking while the weather was still cool. Hiking in the heat yesterday was not fun. Secondly, I was headed to a hot spring today. I wanted to get there as early in the day as possible in order to actually enjoy the heated water.

Hiking in the dark was an interesting experience. I moved a lot slower than I thought I would because I was still traveling a part of the trail that had not been maintained in a while. My steps were placed carefully. However,  because it was dark I was able to see city lights when I was at the top of a hill. City lights usually means cell reception. I quickly checked my messages to see if there was anything important.  I got a notification that the Tower Fire, a wildfire that started a couple days ago near Cajon Pass (where I am ultimately headed), would be contained by the end of the day.

Huh. I didn't realize I was that close to civilization.

Today I needed to cross from the Holcomb Creek area to Deep Creek, which I would then be following the rest of the day. To do that I needed to cross through a boulder and shrub area again. It was much more pleasant to do so in the early morning. The temperature was nice and the boulders took on a pink hue in the morning light.

Soon I reached Deep Creek. Deep Creek is at the bottom of a steep canyon, so there was a large bridge that crossed over it. I went down to the water to fill up my Smartwater bottles and noticed tents everywhere.  It looked like a popular place to sleep for the night. I had considered making this my destination at one point yesterday as well,  but that would have been over a 25 mile day. Based on how exhausted I was when I got to my campsite last night, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have made it this far.

The first bridge over Deep Creek, near Splinter's Cabin.

After crossing the bridge, the trail followed the canyon walls above Deep Creek. Pretty soon I saw familiar faces. I had caught up to the group I camped with in the “tent city” before the Lake Fire closure.

Morning in the Deep Creek area.

I hit 300 miles early this morning.

I leapfrogged with them for a bit,  but I was feeling sluggish. I checked the thermometer on my shoulder and it read 100 degrees (F). Are you kidding me? It was a touch before 9 am! The trail continued on like this for 8 miles. It was a rough going and I ended up stopping a lot, especially if I spotted any little bit of shade.

Wildflowers growing out of the rock face.

These PCT signs were unique to this area.

So, this happened today...

I had a little bit of excitement when I saw a rattlesnake on the path (rattlesnake encounter #3). I saw it, and it saw me. I stopped a respectful distance away, and it politely went into the bushes without feeling the need to rattle.  I stopped another thru-hiker who had come up behind me until the snake was comfortably in the bushes.  The thru-hiker introduced himself as Tapeworm. I assume he must eat a lot.

Southern Pacific rattlesnake.

Deep Creek as seen from the trail.

I dragged my overheated self into the Deep Creek hot spring area around 11:30 am. There were quite a few thru-hikers there, as well as some day hikers. I had been hiking in my swimsuit in anticipation of swimming so I immediately jumped into the cold creek water.

PCT hikers taking over the hot springs.

My legs and feet immediately had the sensation of cold water fighting swelling. I swam and kicked around for a bit before jumping in the hot spring pool. My back and shoulders immediately felt the relief from the warm water.

Me relaxing in the hot spring pool. Tapeworm (to my left) really relaxing in the hot spring pool.

The rest of the trail today was going to be hot and exposed so there was no need to rush anything. I spent most of the afternoon alternating between cold creek and hot pool, then drying off in the shade. Part of me was itching to move on after a while, but I knew I would be miserable in the heat. Plus, I was also ahead of schedule to be picked up at Cajon Pass on Friday.

The cold Deep Creek to the left (with waterfall in the back), and hot spring pool to the right.

The creek itself was full of these gigantic tadpoles. I thought they were fish when I first saw them swimming around.

I waited around for the temperature to cool down in the afternoon,  but by 4 pm I felt I needed to get going. Everybody else was going to camp at the hot spring itself. There was confusion as to if camping was forbidden or just not allowed on the weekend, and they were going to take a chance on the later. I, however, wanted to get some more miles in today.

It was still absurdly hot while I was leaving. In the sunny, exposed areas of the trail the thermometer read over 110 degrees (F). Luckily it was late enough in the day that there were shadows across certain parts of the canyon.

Beautiful, but hot.

The trail followed the canyon to where Deep Creek spills out downstream.  I crossed a cool bridge, known as the Rainbow Bridge. I considered it another oddity of the trail. It is too cute and whimsical to be a wilderness bridge.

Rainbow Bridge from above.

Rainbow Bridge.

As I made my way out of the canyon, I was concerned about where I was going to camp for the night. My app didn't list any campsites for several miles, so I had to hope something unlisted was available. Luckily, I saw a little overlook area on the side of the trail that was flat and sandy, a perfect place for a tent. So, I set it up right there. It had views looking back into the canyon and, on the other side, down into the valley (and overlooking a dam) where I was headed next.

View from my tent overlooking the dam and valley.

My tent looking back towards Deep Creek.

I was able to make dinner while watching the sunset. It was still very hot out, so I ended up eating dinner in my swimsuit. When I heard a couple day hikers approaching I temporarily threw on my shirt. After that, I continued eating dinner reclined against a rock and only in my swimsuit. Daylight was fading and I was still hot. At least it should be a pleasant temperature for sleeping tonight.