Day 20 – Deep Creek Bridge to Lake Silverwood (Mile 298.5 to 324.4)

MM: 324.4

Trail Miles: 25.9

Miles Walked: 26.2

The nice thing about hiking solo is you can stop when and where you want and for as long as you want to. I took 30 min for breakfast, an hour for lunch, and a little over an hour at Deep Creek Hot Springs. I took pictures as often as possible.

I passed the 300 mile marker as well as the Pi Mile Marker (for my fellow geeks).

Pi Mile Marker – 314.159….miles

I met Siggy and Sig – a father/son duo hiking together. Their first names are Sigismund. Sig, the son, was trying to think of ways to get more google hits on his name than the Polish Monarch, King Sigismund (of which there were at least 2), but in a non-Kardashian/sex tape way. We agreed kitten videos would be a sure fire way. It gave me something to think about for the next several hours of hiking.

Pictures of Deep Creek

The Deep Creek Hot Springs were interesting. It’s a clothing optional oasis with obviously hot springs. It was a little too hot for me given the 80deg temp, but i enjoyed talking with locals, nudist and clothed alike.

Deep Creek Hot Springs

In all the PCT info there’s a warning about the hot springs. It reads:

The Hot Springs pools of Deep Creek contain a rare and sometimes fatal disease called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. The disease is apparently contained in contaminated soil and transmitted to the Hot Springs pools as the warm water flows through and over the soil. It is advisable not to submerse your head. Due to the large number of visitors to the Hot Springs, human and organic pollution are increasing in the Deep Creek drainage. The highest Fecal Coliform counts are found in the Hot Springs area.

Needless to say, I didn’t submerge my head. I did however get in the cooler pools. I figured I was already covered in my own filth, so why not.

The trail followed Deep Creek down to the Mojave River Dam. It was a hot, dry but picturesque hike.

Siggy, Sig and friendly local at the hot springs.

Rainbow Bridge over Deep Creek

Mojave River Dam

My goal was to get as close to Lake Silverwood as possible, in order to shorten the hike to Cajon Pass tomorrow. I hiked past sunset until my feet and left ankle finally said uncle. I was just short of the lake. I found a dirt road that wound up to the reservoir’s dam. I assumed it would be little travelled this late at night. I know it’s a bad idea to camp on any road, let alone a little used dirt one. But this road had an offshoot/spur that ended after about 30 ft. It was overgrown and obviously not used. At 8 o’clock at night it looked like a good place to cowboy camp. I laid down my sleeping bag and settled in for the night.

Sunset looking east towards Big Bear

My home for the night – an “unused” spur off the dirt road

Well around 8:30pm a truck comes driving up the dirt road. Shit! Thinking it’s someone’s private road, I extinguish my headlamp and duck/make myself small, hoping the driver doesn’t see me in the fading light. Just as he passes my spur his brake lights come on and he goes into reverse. SHIT!! He’s backing up in to the spur, where I AM LAYING. I’m so low he can’t see me over his truck bed. WTH? Am I going to be the first thru hiker run over and killed while cowboy camping??

I jump up in my sleeping bag and start hollering stop/stop. The shrubs were too thick to jump into, and I’m still standing in my sleeping bag. Picture a potato sack race — that’s what it would have looked like for me to get out of his way – hopping (and falling) as quickly as I possibly could.

He somehow hears my yelling and commotion. Sticks his head out the window. I say, I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to run over me. He shuts down his truck gets out, says nothing and proceeds to fiddle with something in the bed of his truck. I’m still standing there in my bag feeling extremely vulnerable.

To break the silence I say I’m a PCT thru hiker and I’m camping here. Is this public land? I don’t recall if he answered or even acknowledged me. He’s still messing with something in his truck bed but I can’t see what. After another few minutes of silence, I finally ask ”if you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing?”

“Going Fishing”.

Phew. As he walked away he said, at least no one else will park here now. Then I realized if there’s one fisherman there will be more. I knew I should get up and move elsewhere but it was dark, I was tired, my ankle hurt and there was no telling where how far away a good site would be.

Two hours after firsherman #1 left, fisherman #2 arrived and the same scenario happened all over again….. Needless to say it was a restless night.

How things looked the next morning, after everyone had left……