Willett Hot Springs

[carl swindle]

I started at Piedra Blanca Trailhead early in the morning (2/24/2024) and made my way along the Sespe River Trail. While I was planning on making my way out to the Sespe Hot Springs, I decided just to spend the morning at Willett due to how high the river was.

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While I saw fewer human footprints past the second river crossing on the trail near Bear Creek Camp, and many more bear footprints, there were some human footprints that must have been from some backpackers I ran into at Willett Camp.

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I got to Willett Hot Springs just before as it was dark but just began to get bright, and I spent about two hours in the spring. While the water temperature was really nice when I was in the spring, I later learned that the campers I ran into later on had moved away two of the pipes that were feeding cold water into the spring instead of hot water (perhaps related to runoff from all of the rain). Apparently the spring was only lukewarm the night before, but thanks to them, it was warm for me and presumable warm for them too if they planned on going back.

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When I left the hot spring, I went to the cabins at Willett Camp. I saw the campers sleeping near one of the cabins while I was poking around. My favorite cabin is still the one with the skull hanging from above. In that cabin, among other things there are some bed frames and some note books titled "The Lost Willett Files" that people checked in on including me this time (I don't always).

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After turning around, I spoke to the campers, who had waken up at that point. Like me, they were planning on going to the Sespe Hot Springs, but were reconsidering as I did due to the high water level in the river and the large number of crossings between Willett and the fork that goes to the Sespe Hot Springs. I figure that I may try Sespe again in the spring when the water level goes down since I haven't been out there since January 2022 so stay tuned. On my way back, I could really see how high the water level had risen compared to other times I had been in the area. I don't suggest trying to make these crossing in the next couple of weeks if you plan of hiking with children or dogs.

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[dima]

Thanks for the report! I've never been out to this one; looks cool. A question about the cabins: they're decently-enough maintained to have a watertight roof and animal-proof doors and all that? Any idea who does that?

[carl swindle]

Thanks for the report! I've never been out to this one; looks cool. A question about the cabins: they're decently-enough maintained to have a watertight roof and animal-proof doors and all that? Any idea who does that?

I think that there are about 5 cabins in the campsite just east of the hot springs (pictures of the five from my trip are below). The one with the skull on top is reasonably well maintained compared to the others, which aren't in great shape. I'm not sure who maintains that one, but I'd guess that it is somewhat maintained by all of the visitors to some extent (at least in terms of the cleanliness). There were some brooms and cleaning spray in the cabin.

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[Sean]

Thanks for the report. That's a nice bear print. You ever come face to face with a bear in the Los Padres?

[Matthew]

What a pretty area!

[carl swindle]

Thanks for the report. That's a nice bear print. You ever come face to face with a bear in the Los Padres?

Yes! Once I saw one roaming in Gibralter reservoir as I was coming back from the Sunbird Mine a few years ago. The other time was at night on Camuesa road on my way to Big Caliente Hot Springs a few years ago. I saw a mother bear and two cubs that were playing in the brush. I got quite close (under 10 yards) on accident because it was at night. I tried taking pictures but they didn't turn out great due to it being night. The baby bears were very playful and the mother was pretty relaxed so I was able to pass safely by going around. Sometimes when you approach a mother bear with cubs, the mother will sand up and face you and that's when you back away slowly if you haven't already. I've seen more bears in the San Gabriels and the Sierras. Here are some pictures I was able to pull up quickly.

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This is the bear I saw roaming around Gibralter Reservoir in the Los Padres National Forest.

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This one is from right outside of the Monrovia Hillside Preserve at the edge of the San Gabriel Mountains.

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This one was from a trip I did with some friends to the Sierras. We saw ~8 bears on this trip.