We were up and on the trail early this morning since we knew it was likely to be hot. We followed Holcomb Creek up its canyon for nearly 8 miles before parting ways. Holcomb is a good water source during hiking season and it was nice to not have to worry about whether it would be flowing. I heard red-winged blackbirds calling from the brush in the middle of the creek bed.
The climb away from Holcomb and into the Deep Creek drainage wasn’t too strenuous but the morning was heating up and we were sweating quite a bit. After coming over the ridge and down to the creek we crossed a bridge and headed to the Splinter trailhead for lunch. The Forest Service was there holding a fisheries volunteer event. We hoped they might offer us some of their vast amounts of food, but it wasn’t to be.
After lunch we set off down the creek drainage. It was hotter than we’ve felt in a while, but being on the south side of the canyon we had occasional shade. I can see why this section of trail was closed for so long – it was built into sandy cliff sides high above the creek. Even now some sections wanted to crumble away under our feet. I had done something to the front of one of my ankles and it was really bothering me on the shifting gravel. I can’t figure out what I did – I sort of jabbed it before lunch but that didn’t seem bad enough to cause this. It might be the beginning of a shin splint. I’ll wrap it tonight and hope it feels better tomorrow.
We had planned to grab some water at the hot springs and move another few miles down the trail. We’ve heard it can be busy on weekends and since it’s clothing-optional, the view isn’t always that great. The guidebook totally downplayed it. When we finally limped in, though, we saw Matt and Jamie with their dogs, plus a few other hikers we knew out of a big crowd. They had been here for two days already and were planning to move on tomorrow. It took very little convincing for us to join them, and we were off to soak our sore bodies in a surprisingly non-stinky hot pool. My ankle feels better already, which is good because we have another long day tomorrow…
Keith’s umbrella has gone missing and he’s pretty bummed about it given that we’re back in the desert. We think it was pulled off his pack as we were squeezing though some brush on the way up the canyon. Hopefully someone will find it and bring it up the trail, as we did with the GPS unit before Idyllwild.
– Posted from the PCT
Location:Pct mile 308