We got up our usual time around 5 today and walked about 4 miles until we reached Deep Creek Hot Springs. This area is popular with locals and no camping is technically allowed, although when we arrived we saw at least four tents set up. There are hot springs here and different pools with water of varying degrees of warmth. There were a bunch of locals up and about even though it was before 7AM. One particularly colorful character was a guy who shouted at us “YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!! IM DOUG!!!” as we walked by. As nice as this area sounds it sort of grossed me out, as we read that the water contains some bacteria that can be fatal so they advised not dunking your head under in the hot springs. Also because so many people come here, there was a lot of trash around and it just felt dirty. I only felt the water and didn’t get in but Wolf Bird was not deterred. He went in the different pools and even walked on a slack line (like a tightrope) that was set up over the water. We spent about 20-30 minutes there and then headed on.
We walked another hour or two until we came across trail magic! Coppertone, a past PCT thru hiker, had set up his camper van/truck at a road crossing and had chairs for us in the shade and lots of delicious treats. We enjoyed eating apples and doughnuts and then he even made us root beer floats! I believe that was the first root beer float I’ve ever had and it was quite delicious. We spent close to an hour hanging out, which was very relaxing, but also meant that now we’d be walking in the heat of the day since we’d taken a couple longish breaks.
We set out once again and man was it hot!! In areas where there was a breeze it was at least tolerable, but on parts of the trail with no wind it was unbearably warm. We walked another 5.7 miles to a concrete bridge and it definitely took some concentration to not let the heat get the best of me. We chose the bridge as a break spot because we knew there’d be shade under it. It was crazy when we arrived at the bridge because there was a towering wall of rocks beside it! It was a huge dam! We set up under the bridge like the homeless hikers we are and then we heard noises like a whirring motor. That’s when we realized it was powerboats on the body of water on the other side of the dam! Pretty crazy to imagine as where we were it was extremely hot and dry. We ate lunch under the bridge like little trolls and decided to walk on after an hour and a half. Rather than take a longer break we wanted to go enjoy the lake!
We walked another couple miles and came across some water bottles in a cooler along the way which was such a nice treat. Finally we reached the huge man made lake! It was crazy that we were just on the other side of it! We found a side trail down to a little beach and we took a dip in the cold water. Pilar and Joshua joined us as well. This was a momentous occasion because I am notorious for not swimming in cold water on hikes, or ever, even though Wolf Bird always encourages (and begs) me to. I am glad I went in because I felt very refreshed and clean afterward!
We didn’t stay at the lake too long, as we had about 4.5 miles left to hike. We were heading to a picnic area that we heard had power outlets and running water and flush toilets–all the luxuries! The miles passed pretty quickly and were quite beautiful as we skirted the giant lake.
We finally arrived at the picnic area and were excited to charge our phones and have fresh water. Unfortunately the bathrooms were locked but we were grateful for the other luxuries. There was a flyer for a pizza place at the picnic area–apparently we could order takeout to be delivered here. We hoped that Pilar and Joshua would hike here so we could meet the $30 order minimum. Right as I was about to give up and start cooking ramen, we heard voices and they showed up! Luckily they wanted to order food as well so each couple called and ordered a large pizza to share. The pizza place said it would take an hour and a half–that would mean it’d arrive at 9pm!! Way past our usual bedtime by 8. We decided it was worth it and hung out chatting and watching a movie on Wolf Bird’s phone.
The delivery driver called about an hour later clarifying where we were. She had no idea which picnic area we were at and also was not very tech savvy and did not understand the screenshot of GoogleMaps that Wolf bird sent her. There was quite a bit of back and forth between her and Wolf Bird about where we were etc and ultimately the park rangers at the picnic area entrance helped the driver and even offered to get in the car to show her where to go! It was very strange the driver was so unfamiliar with where we were when they had put a flyer at this area themselves! In the end we got our pizza and devoured it (with even some leftover) and headed to bed late (almost 10pm!).
Uh oh, after writing this I realized all my posts are slowly becoming just about food….
I said that a few days ago!!! love u both..be safe
Why did they put that lake there? I bet it was awesome! Is it really hot every day? Does it ever rain? I can’t believe you already did all those miles… Congrats! Stay safe! Love you! ?