Carter and Dani drove up from Pasadena, meeting us at Cloudburst Summit for a hike down the PCT to Cooper Canyon Falls. We had set this up as a shuttle hike, knowing that we’d lose over 1,900′ on our way to the falls and didn’t want to regain all that coming back – we figured we could leave a car at the trailhead below Buckhorn Campground, which meant a hike out of just 1-1/2 miles compared to the 4-1/2 mile hike in. However, when Chris called the ranger station to check on access restrictions, he was told the campground was closed, meaning we’d have to leave the car on Hwy 2 a mile plus further west. As we drove west from Wrightwood, we were astonished by the amount of cars parked at each major trailhead along the route, especially since it was before 8am. Passing the Buckhorn CG entrance, there were dozens of cars parked at the various turnouts there, and there were another ten cars at Cloudburst Summit. Carter and Dani showed up after about five minutes, and we shuttled their car about a mile east, taking the last available spot in a large turnout north of the Buckhorn Day Use area. Returning to Cloudburst Summit, we geared up and headed out about 8:40am, quickly losing elevation down the PCT’s switchbacks below the highway. After a mile, we crossed the trail camp access road and climbed westward up toward the saddle on the north ridge of Winston Peak, regaining 150′ of elevation before beginning the long descent eastward into Cooper Canyon where we reached the trail camp about 10am. From here, we continued east down the canyon, following the creek which seemed to flow more strongly each time we got a look at it. We had encountered a handful of people on the trail so far, and some wore masks and kept their distance – east of the trail camp, however, those social distancing measures became a rarity. We spoke with a westbound hiker who warned us about a large group coming down toward the falls from the campground – our second visit here had found us in the middle of a Boy Scout outing, and we weren’t anxious to repeat that experience. We quickly covered the remaining distance to the crossing over Cooper Canyon Creek, and the lush foliage along the creek was really pretty. Once across the creek, however, the idyllic scene fell apart as we encountered the advance guard of an enormous group of teenage boys with a smattering of adults, all packed tightly together at the campground trail junction and not a face covering among them – we soon found out they were part of a church group from Orange County, and, while the kids we spoke with were typically polite, their leaders were both clueless and arrogantly confrontational. But that’s another story. From the junction, we zoomed ahead of the group and found the steep spur trail leading down to the falls – as we picked our way down, we realized the pack had followed us and were crammed along the route above, and we had to issue warnings to keep appropriate distance while we negotiated the rope-assisted descent to the creek. There was a small group there ahead of us, all wearing masks, and we felt bad for them as their solitude was briskly shattered – so many were the kids that groups of four and five quickly tired of waiting in line above the rope and found their own ways down the rocky slopes. Seriously, it was like watching ants swarm after you’ve kicked their nest. We did not at all get to enjoy the falls as we were forced to beat a hasty retreat downstream, and some of the ants pursued us hotly as we did so. We finally found a relatively tranquil spot about 50 yards east, and we proceeded to eat our lunch and de-stress a bit. Not wanting to go near the throngs on our way out, we decided to scramble up a rocky route directly above our lunch spot, where we did indeed beat the crowds getting back on the trail. Turning west up the Burkhart Trail, we crossed Buckhorn Creek and started the long, warm, and oft-exposed ascent to the campground. As expected, Chris was slower than the rest the further up we went, and he started to be passed by knots of boys returning from the falls – at one point, Chris stepped off the trail, mask on, to allow a young family with a child coming down the trail to pass, only to be nearly overrun by a group of 15 kids, all two feet or less apart, who blew through at that moment, forcing the family off the trail in the process. Shortly thereafter, Chris caught up to Jane, who related an encounter she’d just had with a few of the group leaders, one of whom arguing with her that “it’s safer to not wear a mask out here” – well, you can’t fix stupid. Speaking of stupid, it turns out Chris possesses a modicum of that particular attribute – we got to the day use trailhead parking lot and found it full of cars, and the campground beyond it full of people. Apparently, the campground “closure” doesn’t mean the gates are actually locked, and of course it never occurred to Chris to check that when finding a place to leave the second car. So, lesson learned, especially since the paved walk through the campground was the least pleasant part of the day. All told, we did 7.3 miles through always-beautiful scenery – we highly recommend the hike, provided one avoids the busy summer weekends.