AT&T Mobility - Naked on the Beach Ad

Cute AT&T Commercial supposedly situated on a nude beach in Spain  . . . lol

To me it looks a lot like Big Beach on Maui Hawaii . . . Little Beach (the nude beach) is just on the other side of that rocky spit.

Seattle's nude beaches - Easily show your support WE NEED YOUR HELP TODAY!

**PLEASE forward widely and distribute to your networks and friends and urge them to VOTE as well!**

(URGENT: PLEASE click on link below to VOTE TODAY! Many of you still haven't voted yet and we **desperately** need your support at this critical time!)

Happy New Year Everybody!

As many of you have heard, our new Mayor Mike McGinn is set to move in today to his new office. Let's make one more big push to deliver a message to him that will be firm and clear:

Seattle is one of the most body-positive cities in the world and its time that Seattle finally gets some clothing-optional beaches!

UPDATE: Right now our issue is ranked #5 (number 3 a day later) on the top ideas suggested for Seattle at McGinn's site, http://new.seattle.gov . This site was created to hear gather and rank proposals about issues important to local citizens and those who visit alike. Voting on this site is the easiest and most direct way to get this important issue to the attention of Seattle's New Mayor Mike McGinn! Please help us bring this issue to his attention whether you live in Seattle or plan on visiting and want to have the optional of going to a designated

clothing-optional beach!

With recent news coverage about McGinn's support of legalizing marijuana, word of this website has spread and the pot issue and light rail issues have are far and away breaking away from the rest. We need your support and the support of your friends, family members and all of their friends as well to VOTE NOW! SEND THIS message to as many of your supportive networks as possible!

Please vote (you can use up to *3* of your 10 allowed votes (each category gets 10 max votes)) at the Seattle Mayor's new website, Ideas for Seattle:

http://bit.ly/7V61rA

Leaving comments would also be very much appreciated!

Its very quick and easy to setup an account so you can vote!

Description:

Set aside park beach areas for European-style, clothing-optional recreation (sunbathe + skinny dip)

The Greater Seattle Area has long hosted the world's most renowned, colorful, family-friendly and free-spirited clothing-optional cultural events and groups in the world including: The Fremont Solstice Cyclists (17 years), World Naked Bike Ride, Body Pride Ride, Seattle Free Beach Campaign, Gardens Everywhere Bike Parade, Seattle Critical mAss, Hemp Ride, Love Every Body, Seattle Swims rentals at Seattle Parks Department Aquatic Facilities, Sun Lovers Under Gray Skies (SLUGS), Magnuson Beach Bares, Friends of Denny Park, Friends of Secret Beach, Fraternity Snoqualmie, Bare Buns Fun Runs, Nudestock, Body Freedom Collaborative, and Naked Pumpkin Run. Additionally, a handful of shoreline park areas have seen quiet yet significant clothing-optional use for decades. In 2008, after a considerable grassroots public campaign by local skinny dippers, the Seattle Parks Board recommended that the Parks Department look into establishing designated and signed areas for clothing-optional use. Let's make it happen!

Thanks for taking a moment of your time and showing your support in this critical Seattle government transition time!

Very best,

Daniel Johnson

Seattle Free Beach Campaign, supporter

206 369 2661 mobile

http://twitter.com/rawexuberance

Commentary on WNBR Indecent Exposure Citation

(Note: I am not a lawyer and I am not giving legal advice . . . the following is merely my take and understanding of the dynamics of the law as I understand it. If you find yourself in similar circumstances, please find yourself competent legal representation.)

"... Public nudity, for example, causes offense to some people, but most of us find it at most a bit embarrassing, and it is avoided by a simple turn of the head. ..." 
van Mill, David, " Freedom of Speech", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2009 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2009/entries/freedom-speech/ 

Precedent:

Nude bicycle riding has become a "well-established tradition" in Seattle and many other cities around the U.S. and the world. It is understood and interpreted as a form of "symbolic protest." The Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) does not have a specific prohibition against public nudity. Portland does and judges there have ruled in favor of defendents in dismissing indecent exposure charges based on the above traditions and First Amendment Rights.

The Seattle WNBR has been going on for years. Occassionally, riders get threatened, sometimes they get cited . . . usually for not dressing when ordered to do so by police officers, a Disorderly Conduct charge. Riders are generally left alone and often given a police escort to safely control the ride route. Those who do get cited have the charges quitely dropped after-the-fact . . . an acknowledgement of the difficulty of prosecuting Indecent Exposure charges when there has been no lewd of obscene conduct.
(Image from Seattle's 2004 World Naked Bike Ride)

Another example of tradition and acceptance within Seattle has been the participation for years of the body-painted nude bicycle riders in the annual Fremont Solstice Parade. Riding nude in the parade has become a fact 'accompli. In 1998, SPD officers arrested two naked cyclists in the Fremont Solstice Parade. The city attorney at that time declined to prosecute the pair because they hadn’t violated the indecent exposure law. Police since have not bothered to attempt to stop the tradition of nude cyclists in the parade . . . the thousands of families and children lining the parade route love them and applaud when they go by. (Personal experience and participation, 2002-2009; image from the 2008 Fremont Solstice Naked Bicyclists)

The former Seattle Superintendent of Parks had this to say to naysayers and critics of permission to ride through Seattle Parks by WNBR participants: "While public nudity is objectionable to many citizens, under Washington state’s Indecent Exposure Law, public nudity in itself is not illegal. The law specifies that ..." Kenneth R. Bounds, (former) Superintendent, Seattle Parks and Recreation, responding to a complaint, dated 12 July 2006, about World Naked Bike Ride Seattle.

Former Police Chief Kerlikowske had this to say to his subordinates about circulating rumors and allegations that police would arrest nude participants in the 2008 Gay Pride Parade:

"Washington's indecent exposure law makes it a misdemeanor to 'make an open and obscene exposure of his or her person or the person of another knowing that such conduct is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm.' In other words, there must be lewd or obscene behavior for an officer to take action." [emphasis mine]

Chief Kerlikowshe goes on in the same communique to say,

"In order for the police to make an arrest, we must have witnesses currently in the public place where the nudity is occurring [sic] who must make a complaint. These witnesses must be willing to appear in court. Also in order to prosecute, the burden is on the government to prove the the offender was knowingly aware that their conduct created alarm and offense of others."

The Law

Since Seattle has no public nudity prohibition on the books of the Municipal Code (nor does King County have an anti-nudity ordinance), Daniel was cited under the state Indecent Exposure statute . . . RCW 9A.88.010 which I quote below:

RCW 9A.88.010

Indecent exposure.

(1) A person is guilty of indecent exposure if he or she intentionally makes any open and obscene exposure of his or her person or the person of another knowing that such conduct is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm. The act of breastfeeding or expressing breast milk is not indecent exposure.

In order to successfully prosecute, all the elements of the statute must be met. There has to be intention to expose with the knowledge of likely affront, the exposure has to be open AND obscene, and there has to be someone who was affronted or alarmed at the exposure.  Four required elements to sustain the charge.

Element #1: Someone Must Complain
As Chief Kerlikowske has stated, and the King County Sheriff's Department spokesperson has reinteratted in email exchanges, there must be someone complaining and that someone must be willing to appear in court to testify to the complaint. It is not sufficient for a law enforcement officer to be the one affronted or alarmed to sustain a complaint. I've been told by the King County Sheriff's department that a complaint must be made by someone alleging affront and alarm; a deputy [or police officer] cannot be a victim of indecent exposure (aka nudity in their eyes). As the spokesman states, "I guess the courts have figured we've seen it all."

Element #2: Intention and Knowledge
Intention is always difficult to prove in court; the prosecutor must assess and prove the defendant's alleged state of mind. In my reading of the statute, the bar is raised even higher because I read the statute to say the cited 'had the intention to obscenely expose him or herself, knowing it might cause reasonable affront or alarm'. It's not just the intention . . . it's intention with knowledge.

Element #3: Nude? Or Nude and Obscene?

"Public nudity in itself is not illegal." Former Seattle Parks Superintendent Ken Bounds

"... there must be lewd or obscene behavior for an officer to take action." Former SPD Chief R. Gil Kerlikowske

Arrests and citations for indecent exposure rarely hold for simple nudity. Why? Because of that one required charging element . . . the exposure must also be obscene.

The current test for obscenity rests with the Miller Test (Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, 24-25 (1973). The Miller Test requires a three-pronged approach for courts to determine whether an act or expression is obscene:

"(a) whether "the average person, applying contemporary community standards" would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, [Roth, supra, at 489,]

(b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law, and

(c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

If a state obscenity law is thus limited, First Amendment values are adequately protected by ultimate independent appellate review of constitutional claims when necessary. [Pp. 24-25.]"

The precedence of the Miller test holds in our state courts (see last para above). Lacking any patently offensive sexual conduct, simple nudity cannot be considered 'obscene'.  Without obscene exposure, as defined and clarified by the Supreme Court, how can a charge of Indecent Exposure be sustained?

Where Constitutional First Amendment Rights to Free Speech (and Expression) are involved, prosecutors and the courts must step very carefully to avoid infringing on those rights.  Though there are those who may feel affronted . . . or alarmed . . . or in some way offended by someone's exercise of their Constitutional Rights, the Supreme Court has affirmed that those Rights are paramount and important to protect over mere offense or harm.

[For an excellent discussion of John Stuart Mill's Harm Principle and Joel Feinberg's Offense Principle as they relate to free speech read the treatment here.]

...there is no evidence of harm that is more than grossly speculative. All that the trial judge had before him was some evidence indicating specific individuals' lack of acceptance of the appellant's choice of clothing. There was nothing degrading or dehumanizing in what the appellant did. The scope of her activity was limited and was entirely non-commercial. No one who was offended was forced to continue looking at her ...  there was no harm in what was done ..." Criminal law study papers: A REVIEW OF THE LAW OF INDECENCY AND NUDITY IN CANADA; A lengthy discussion on the Harm Principle and Nudity in Canada; a good read to understand how Canadians approach public nudity. [emphasis added]

There is no doubt that the World Naked Bike Ride was promoted as an exercise of Free Speech and Expression and that many forms of simple, nonsexual public nudity are expressions of our desires to see the lifestyle accepted and venues allowed.  Much of public nudity is made to express one's beliefs in a more natural existence on this planet . . . surely forms of First Amendment Rights to Free Speech and Expression!

Element #4: Was Someone Offended?

What is missing from the notice that Daniel received? Who was offended? When and where were they offened? Why was Daniel cited and not the others? I suppose those questions will come out in court but I find it awfully disingenious of the city and inconvenient for the charged to prepare a defense in advance (or even decide a plea) without the knowledge of the essential charging elements of the citation (including the identity of the complainant who may have another agenda to pursue . . . or may not have even seen Daniel but an different rider near the back of the pack).

Why Daniel? Was it perhaps because he was leading the ride . . . the only person identifiable? There must be a complainant and that person must be able to testify that he or she was affronted and alarmed at a specific open and obscene exposure . . . the who, what, when, and where.

Are they alledging Daniel broke the law specifically. Or are they complaining because they saw someone naked . . . perhaps not Daniel at all. According to the recollection I received, the police did not confront the riders until some time later at an entirely different location. In my mind, I have to wonder if Daniel was cited because he identified himself as the leader of the group. The specifics of the complaint are missing and that makes this charge suspect in my mind.

I would hope that Daniel fights this charge all the way. I disagree with much of the activism of this type of nudity but we cannot let precedent be set to reinterpret what the state's indecent exposure law was meant to cover . . . and simple, innocent nudity is not one of them.

WNBR Seattle 2009 organizer headed to court (recap)

This just in from Daniel:

Looks like Thomas Carr http://www.seattle.gov/law/ http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/08/03/1961689-finish-him , who just got voted out of office by a landslide, is trying to scare at least one of the World Naked Bike Ride http://WNBRseattle.org West Seattle cyclists.

My intake hearing is Tues, 12 Jan 2010 at The Muncipal Court of Seattle at 9:05 AM. I am being charged with "indecent exposure" RCW9A. 88.010(1) for my role in the 13 Sept 2009 WNBR West Seattle event.

Here is the link to both the WSB and KOMO stories if you wish to help out with a supportive comment http://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=25925

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/80398782.html

Get this, the order was made on Christmas, 25 Dec 2009. We must all be in the holiday mood because I just gave Parks a Public Disclosure Request on Mon, 28 Dec 2009.

Due to court date approaching quickly and legal prep, other urgent issues with City and family medical issues I may need to move next Jan indoor swim to February. Hope you understand.

Any legal help would be appreciated.

Peace be with you this Holiday season. :)

Daniel Johnson

Follow me at http://twitter.com/rawexuberance for updates

Help Save Remington Hot Springs

Hot Spring lovers know how rare and precious Natural Hot Springs are.

Unfortunately the Forest Service is considering demolishing the Remington Hot Springs, which have been beautifully maintained by Friends of the Remington Hot Spring volunteers for over 10 years.

Local residents and others are ready willing and able to address any valid concerns the Forest Service may have, but right now we need your help.

In just TWO MINUTES you can help by submitting a letter using pre-drafted comments or your own comments, which will be hand delivered to the Sequoia National Forest voicing your support for keeping the Historic Natural Remington Hot Springs open to the public.

Click the link below to submit your comment letter and thank you for taking action to help keep the Remington Hot Springs from possibly being destroyed.

http://www.savethetrails.us/Default.aspx?PetitionID=42

Your Friends at Save The Trails

Rooster Rock & Sauvies Polar Bare Dash & Splash 5K Run

From Mark with the Rooster-Sauvie Volunteers, as posted in the AANR-NW eNews

The Rooster-Sauvie Volunteers invite you to welcome the Nude Year by running, screaming and jumping into the Columbia river with us!

Polar Bare Dash & Splash 5K Run 
Friday, January 1, 2010
Collins Beach, Sauvie Island at Noon

On Friday, January 1st, the Rooster Sauvie Volunteers will meet at Collins Beach on Sauvie Island. There will be a 5K run at noon, followed by a Bare Buns jump into the river.

Not a runner? No worries! You can choose to just to the skinny dip, or the run, or both!

Go to www.barefootbeachruns.com for more details.

Rooster Rock Polar Bare 5K Run & Plunge
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Rooster Rock Park at Noon

Sign-in starts at 10:30. As with the Collins event, you can choose to run, polar dip, or both! For full details, go to www.barefootbeachruns.com

These events help us promote a safe, family-friendly environment at both of Portland's nude beaches.

Collins Beach on Sauvie Island
A parking slip must be purchased and displayed in your vehicle. The perits can be had at the Cracker Barrel Store on Sauvie Island or the 7-11 just before you cross over to the island.

Rooster Rock State Park Clothing Optional Area
Purchase a parking permit as you enter the park, and then proceed right to the end of the parking area where the clothing optional area begins.


View Collins & Rooster Rock routes in a larger map

Against nudity ban, Ore. gallery takes it all off

(AP) Online retrieval Dec 19th, 2009

ASHLAND, Ore. — A city council member in an Oregon town noted for its Shakespeare festival and its occasional dustups over public nudity plans a showing in his art gallery of nude portraits and conceptual art involving naked people.

For gallery-goers as well, clothing will be optional — even though it's winter in Ashland, a small college town on the California border

Council member Eric Navickas is opposed to a possible ban on public nudity in the town. Nudity is legal in Ashland, except in the city center and public parks, where people are required to cover their genitals.

"We feel that the nude ban is not only an attack on freedom of expression but also an attack on the human body itself," Navickas said. "We wanted to have a show to celebrate the nude body and differentiate the nude body from anything indecent."

The ban was proposed after two men were spotted walking naked near schools. The council is to vote next month on the issue.

Navickas said he is willing to compromise and ban nudity within 200 feet of school zones. His partner, Amy Godard, said the two are interested in dialogue not controversy.

"It's not like we're trying to polarize anything," she said. "We're trying to pay homage to the nude, which is a strong tradition in the arts."

Open about a year, the gallery made news early on with an exhibit that allowed patrons to pitch paint-covered shoes at a large portrait of former President George W. Bush. The gallery owners called it a "statement of solidarity" with an Iraqi journalist arrested after throwing shoes at him.

The nudity exhibit is scheduled Jan. 29 to Feb. 5, Godard said, and patrons may participate by baring themselves.

"We'll have heaters going," she said. "I know it's at the end of January, but it will be warm in there."

Information from: The Ashland Daily Tidings, http://www.dailytidings.com

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Fair Use Provisions Invoked

The current Ashland Nudity Ordinance

"10.44.012 Public Nudity

It is unlawful for any person to expose his or her genitalia while in the C-1-D (Downtown Commercial) zone or in a public park. This provision is not intended to apply to a person who is prepubescent or who has taken steps to create an envelope of privacy upon their own property and the nudity occurs within that envelope. (ORD 2908 2004)"

Google Map of Ashland Plaza MAda Shell Gallery is located on the Plaza in Ashland Oregon, between Hong Kong Bar and Alex's.

Is Posting of Full-Frontal Nudity Exhibitionism?

I received the following comment to my Canyon Creek post this morning:

arent you being a exhibitonist by posting pics of yourself? Showing everything is not good for nudists.

Anonymous | 12.15.09 - 8:48 am

Normally I respond to comments with a follow up comment, keeping the thread together. However, this is a topic I wrestled with for a long time as I tried to figure out how my chosen lifestyle fit in with an honest depiction of myself. And I've come to the conclusion that we, as nudists, need to quit hiding that which we profess doesn't matter being seen . . . our nudity. And that includes our genitals. My blog is written for nudists and naturists . . . and for anyone curious or interested in just what this lifestyle is all about. It is meant to debunk the popularist misconceptions about body shame . . . it's meant to show that we can have fun being nude without any sexual overtones. It is meant to encourage all nudists to set aside fears and misapprehensions and live what they preach. In my humble opinion, showing everything IS good for nudism. I practice what I preach.

Am I an exhibitionist? Depending on how you interpret the word, yes, I am. I'm damn well proud of my body and I try the best to keep myself in shape. So yes . . . I feel good inside when people I unexpectantly encounter on the trail comment positively on my nudity, or viewers of the images I freely post to this blog and my photo albums give a thumbs up. There is nothing sexual in the images . . . they are not meant to elicit a sexual response from anyone, nor provide me with a sexual thrill from knowing someone is looking "at everything" . . . my genitals. Those genitals are simply one more part of my body. I don't hide them. Does that make me an exhibitionist? Again, it depends on interpretation and context.

I'm fully aware that some visitors to this site are coming here seeking nude images for their own perverse pleasures . . . voyeurs. So what? there is little, if anything, I can do about that short of retreating and burying my head in the sand. I give fair-enough warning on my site before a visitor sees any frontal nudity. That's the limit of my obligation to the easily-offended visitor. Beyond the opening screen the images I post are not strategically-posed nor censored. I'm a big-enough man . . . I can deal with you taking me anyway you wish. Hopefully, that's following along and enjoying the mental imagery of my nude hikes in nature . . . nothing hidden because it is time for nudists and naturists to be honest with their beliefs.

***

Have you ever noticed that coy, strategically-posed nude images often convey a sexual undercurrent not matter the context? Nude calendars . . . Calvin Klein full-color, glossy ads . . . Victoria's Secret mannikin's on full front window display in our supposedly family-friendly malls ...

Compare the two images below. One . . . the one from the post you object to . . . shows everything. The other . . . well, I got playful with the pose and placed a large leaf to obscure my genitals. Which one is more provocative? Which one has the sexual undercurrent just waiting to be elicited out of the image . . . has the viewer wondering what lays hidden behind the leaf?

Hannibal Lecter: First principles, Clarice. Simplicity. Read Marcus Aurelius. Of each particular thing ask: what is it in itself? What is its nature? What does he do, this man you seek?

...

Hannibal Lecter: He covets. That is his nature. And how do we begin to covet, Clarice? Do we seek out things to covet? Make an effort to answer now.

Clarice Starling: No. We just...

Hannibal Lecter: No. We begin by coveting what we see every day. Don't you feel eyes moving over your body, Clarice? And don't your eyes seek out the things you want?

Those lines from Silence of the Lambs have always intrigued me . . . the nature of desire and wanting. What are your eyes seeking out? I think the short discourse is appropriate in our context. We covet what we don't have, and in the case of coy, strategically-placed poses we covet what we can't see, what is not given to us and is just beyond our grasp. We sexualize the image. When we are open and honest about our nudity what is there to want that we aren't seeing already? You can't read anything extra into the image.

So, to answer your question, Mr. Anonymous, I truly believe full frontal nudity in appropriate settings is very good for nudism. It can only serve to prove to to curious, the almost-convinced, the fully-covered textile that we have nothing to be ashamed of and we will not be cowed into feeling shame for ourselves. Every body is a wondrous Creation . . . the nude body is especially beautiful. Why hide any part of that beauty?

Canyon Creek Falls Nude Hike

At the frozen cascades of Canyon Creek

Another one of those impromptu hikes after being cooped up in Seattle all week dealing with the Arctic cold snap (biting cold that the body never quites adapt to between dashes from warm cars into buildings and back . . . one frozen outside faucet that I forgot to bib, etc.) This early-winter cold snap is over. Next week is promising 'warmer' cold air of a more typical Western Washington nature . . . full of moisture and maybe the snow we've been waiting for (at least in the mountains). Heck, they were even calling for a high of 48F in Seattle on Saturday. I can deal with nude at 48F all day without breaking a sweat . . . literally. :-)

Of course it's not 48F yet (10:00am) and it's probably a good ten to fifteen degrees colder in the mountains but I've got a sudden case of cabin fever and the knowledge that next week I ain't going to be feeling like doing much of anything for a few days after my monthly treatment. So it's off to the Cascades while I do have this slim window of opportunity.

Canyon Creek is another one of those innumerable creeks cascading down to the North Fork of the Skykomish River from the Wild Sky Wilderness near Index, WA. A closed and gated decaying dirt road wends its' way through numerous switchbacks to an idyllic broad high alpine valley with magnificent views of the enclosing craggy mountains. The road had been carved out to serve as access to a planned community for the super-rich . . . an exclusive paradise away, yet not too far from the city. Protests, the financial difficulties of construction in wilderness and lack of permits led to the abandonment of the project . . . and the road, which is beyond redemption with the lack of maintenance. The Forest Service bought up all the individual pieces of land and this area is now part of the Wild Sky Wilderness . . . no motorized vehicles allowed. No trailhead, either. Just an unassuming rusted Forest Service gate blocking an overgrown roadbed surface.

Few people stop at this spot on the Index-Galena Road. There is room to get one, maybe two cars off to the side by the gate. A quarter mile in on the initial leg of the road is a large clearing where people sometimes go to shoot their guns. Judging by the tread, few ever bother to go further . . . head uphill. That suits me just fine as I know I'll have the area all to myself . . . my car parked by the gate serves such notice. Northwest hikers are a courteous bunch, if anything. They will not intrude and will, instead, find another spot . . . perhaps the more popular Lewis Creek pullout that I hiked (nude) last week.

I strip and load my pack while still in the warmth of the car. It is a different backpack this time. I'm experimenting with ultralight . . . a smaller pack for the shorter excursions; clothing for emergencies, essential survival gear, cell phone, camera . . . the thermos of coffee. The old pack was becoming tacky, unwieldy for the shorter nude hikes. A smaller one would be easier to sling, lighter and give me more of the sensation of being nude to the environment . . . the whole point.

The outside temperature is 28F degrees. Colder than I expected so I'm not sure how far in or how long the hike will go. We will just see. I've got three hours free of commitments . . . three hours to test the body's responses and limits to cold. Perhaps I'm being a little foolhardy. I know it's extremely cold outside of the warmth of the car; but there is a challenge out there . . . the testing of just how much cold can I take before I back down and pull clothing out of the pack. I want to see how far I can go before it becomes uncomfortable.

I rarely hike nude in subfreezing weather for any length of time. Fortunately, even in the middle of winter here in the Pacific Northwest, air temperatures are often above freezing when the sun reflects bright off the snowfields. That is when I love to hike nude in winter the most . . . drinking in the heat and blinding light of sunlight on virgin snowfields . . . getting my vitamin D.

There is no snow at these lower elevations yet. There is also little sunlight . . . certainly none reflected off the wilted olive-drab and rusty brown flora of the forest canopy. It is, however, bitingly cold when I step out of the car and quickly get beyond the 'road closed' sign before an unexpected vehicle passes by on the main road. Out of sight, it's sling the pack and off at a brisk pace inward on the slight incline of the lower roadbed.

The air is calm. No breeze, which is fortunate. The skin tightens . . . body hairs standing on end, a reflex response to the cold to trap insulating air close to the skin. Invigorating . . . as long as I keep moving. Within five minutes I reach the large clearing with the shot up targets and blasted computer monitors. The sight of these illegal shooting pits always disgusts me. In the bleak light of winter the mess is even more saddening. I turn away, heading upslope on the overgrown road and the denuded foliage up ahead.

This hike had started simply as a chance to get outside and enjoy the caress of nature on my skin. As I hike the steeper portions . . . take shortcuts through the canopy to cut distance off the switchbacks . . . I feel the heat tingling the entire surface of my body . . . those parts that are exposed. While I was assembling the photos of the hike afterwards, one struck me . . . the one to the left (cropped). My skin is absolutely flushed red from the dilation of blood vessels beneath, warming the outer layers. No immediate threat of hypothermia at the moment. My metabolism was working overtime.

When I get back from these types of hikes I'm always famished and in need of refueling. On the trail, it's Runner's Gels for energy and hot coffee from the thermos to add heat to the core.

Red, flushed skin is a good sign. It means there is sufficient core heat to spare the outer layers with heated blood. White, chalky cold skin would be a concern. There is none. I feel warm. I feel energetic. And the falls are not far off now. One last switchback.

These falls are constantly rearranging themselves. Last spring a pretty large slide took out a fifty foot section of the old roadbed and a large chunk of the creek chute above. Clambering over the rubble you can now approach the falls almost directly for a closer view. In summer a welcome dousing under cool water . . . in winter . . . well pretty but stay dry and watch your step.

I hung around the waterfalls for some time taking pictures . . . trying to get just a little closer. A mistake, in a way. The air was a lot cooler this close to the falls . . . which though mostly frozen still churned up moisture. And the geological chute that confined the creek on its' downhill rush was a natural conduit to funnel colder air from above . . . stirring currents. Hanging around the falls also meant I wasn't moving that much. I was beginning to feel the effects of the cold with tiny shivers down the center of my back. I recognized it for what it was worth. I could dress now and start the warm up . . . or head back and see how long before I knew I needed to give in. BTW, did I ever let ya'all know I'm a very stubborn type? Nude it was . . . at least I knew I was headed in the direction of warmth. I made the car without incident and without really getting beyond the occasional shiver. Kind of proud of myself.

Warming up is another thing . . . more complicated that it should seem. One thing I have learned is that to rewarm yourself efficiently you should resist dressing yourself up in thick, insulating clothes and instead, stay naked (assuming you've gotten yourself into a warm enviroment, of course). Counterintuitive? Well, think about it this way and try the options if you ever do a cold weather nude hike. You've got the car heater blowing hot air at full bore out of the vents and it feels great on cold, chilled skin. Cover that cold flesh up with cloth and what happens? Well, the heat can't reach your skin to rewarm it. You've just insulated it from the heat. Think about it the next time you need to warm yourself. Nude is warmer! How's that for twisted logic? LOL

Images from this "cool" little hike are in my JAlbum here.

Update: Diamond Fork HS Citations

An Important Distinction as you read these articles: In Utah the state constitution ceded National Forest lands to the Federal government under proprietary jurisdiction. Under such an arrangement, state and county laws 'trump' Federal code. Here, in Washington State (and Oregon), National Forest lands were ceded with concurrent jurisdiction . . . which allows state law to be enforced, but not county ordnances. Rick

"The U.S. Forest Service may not care about nude soakers, but the sheriff's office will enforce anti-lewdness laws." Utah County Sherriff's Lt. Yvette Rice quoted in a news article on the citations in the Deseret News

Nude bathers cited at Utah County hot springs

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8981229

December 10th, 2009 @ 8:11am, Online Article Retrieved Dec 10th, 2009

UTAH COUNTY -- A confusing sign is coming down after a group of people were cited for skinny dipping at a hot springs in Utah County.

The Deseret News reports Utah County sheriff's deputies cited eight adults for lewdness at Diamond Fork Springs in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest on an October evening just before midnight.

A spokeswoman with the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Lorraine Januzelli, says a sign posted near the springs warns bathers to be mindful of families and implies nudity at the springs is not illegal. Januzelli tells the Deseret News the forest service will take down the sign because it is causing confusion.

Some naturists are angry about the incident and tell the newspaper they tentatively plan a "soak-in" to protest.

The sheriff's office says it has repeatedly received reports of criminal activity, including sexual assaults, underage consumption of alcohol, and drug use at the hot springs.

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Also . . .

At Diamond Fork hot springs, get naked -- get cited

Spanish Fork » State and local laws hold sway when it comes to doffing the duds.

By Bob Mims

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 12/10/2009 05:48:07 PM MST, Retrieved from the web Dec 10, 2009

... The Utah County site apparently had become an unofficial haven for skinny dipping, until eight nude bathers were detained by sheriff's deputies in October. The group of men and women were issued class B misdemeanor citations for lewdness.

The eight complained that a Forest Service sign near the site just east of Spanish Fork made it sound like bathing in the buff was allowed, but the citations were issued anyway, because state and county statutes are clear about public nudity being a no-no.

Lorraine Januzelli, spokeswoman for the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, said both the deputies and the skinny dippers were right -- and the forest plans to remove the sign and, eventually, replace it with another one making clear the naked truth.

"The sign does say 'while nudity is not prohibited on forest trails,'" Januzelli said. "It also advises discretion, though, noting that the area is used by families and scouting troops."

The Code of Federal Regulations governing the forest does not prohibit nudity except where it can easily be observed by another person who may be offended.

In some states, that is that. But in other states classified as "proprietary" under their constitutions, such as Utah, state and county laws regarding nudity trump the federal code, Junuzelli explained.

"The sign will be coming down in the next couple days, as soon as the snow allows the rangers to remove it," she said Thursday. Sometime later, a new sign -- referencing state and county statutes banning public nudity -- will replace the marker.

Nudity has been banned for some time on the Wasatch-Cache portion of the forest, but it had not specifically been prohibited on the Uinta part. The two forests were merged in 2008, and apparently no one noticed the discrepancy until the eight citations were issued Oct. 11. ...