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Fall 2000, by Dana Williams
Deep Creek was wonderful. My first time out
there and I was suprised that it was mainly in desert ranges.
I kept hearing that it was near Big Bear / Lake Arrowhead, which
conjures up visions of pine trees in my mind. But in reality,
it is on the eastern slopes of these mountains overlooking the
vast Mojave desert area.
Up out of Fawnskin
- we camped at a yellow post primitive spot off of the forest
service road 3N14. Then discovered the road over the mountain
(3N14) was gated & area was closed to through traffic (due
to a recent fire). So we had to go all the way around the mountain.
Didn't really wanna go all the way down to Bowen Ranch &
pay a fee to park. So we opted to explore new terrain. We went
through Lake Arrowhead - out Hwy.173 E, which becomes a wide
graded dirt road.
 From the shooting / rifle range paved
road area, clock your trip meter on your car 3 miles down the
road. Park at small lot on the left side. Near the sign that
says Narrow Bridge. Where a gated old fire is directly across.
If you are into challenging long hikes (3 mi. ? one way) on narrow
sandy ridge trails, this one's for you. I here that Bowen
trail is much shorter... maybe it's worth the parking fee
& rumored hassels.
Anyway we went in at 4pm; saw 6 people on
the way out; Relaxed at sunset in the beautiful & hot large
top pool. We had the whole place to ourselves. Not a soul in
sight, which I hear is rare for this place. The temperatures,
water & air, were perfect. Although the trail was a lot longer
that I expected, it was still a nice visit. Luckily we brought
flashlights & successfully hiked out at night.
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