Probably my last post for some time

It has been a long time since I've been able to revisit this blog and update it.  Treatments have (and continue) to be rough on me so I'm going to take a long sabbatical from writing and posting about nudism.  I rarely get out of the house nowadays except for doctor visits.

So, when and if I restart posting is a big question.  But I believe this blog contains a lot of resources to encourage and help others find and enjoy nudism . . . . . buttressing my thoughts of leaving the blog accessible and standing for those who wish to read it in the future.

God Bless everyone and thanks for the well-wishes.  Rick (aka Banged Up Shins)

An Update: From Chemo to Radiation

The current series of chemo ended a couple of weeks ago and I've spent much of that time just recovering from the assault on my body.  When I met with my oncologist the other day for a follow-up he outlined the next steps (to which I concur) . . . five weeks of twice daily radiation treatment (weekends exempted).

That's scary . . . I've never been through that extensive a regimen before and believe me, I know what radiation can do to the body (side-effects-wise).  But the results of just published (Jun 3rd) clinical trials support the decision.

So . . . I've got my new registration tattoos and ball bearings (for guiding the radiation beam precisely).  The only bad news . . . well, I've got to limit my sun exposure.  Can you think of any more cruel a thing to do to a nudist . . . to tell him to keep covered up when out in the sun?  Well . . .  if I'm up to getting out I'll figure out a way to go nude and still protect treatment areas.

Meanwhile, I am getting out when I can.  A photo from a nice drive into the mountains this past weekend:

Along the North Fork of the Skykomish near Troublesome Creek

A Little Nude Time is Better Than None ...

So I finished my latest series of chemo this past Sunday (Mother's Day) and I get a break for awhile until radiation therapy in June sometime (they haven't determined when, yet).  A break is needed 'cause the chemo is taking an unrelenting toll on my body . . . I need time to recover and mend.

I've gone back to work . . . not the full-schedule before (screw them) but enough to keep the medical up.  As soon as I could get out of work on Monday, I booked for the mountains.  The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky.  I wanted and needed some nude time.  I feel like 'crap' and probably look it too.  Can anyone think of a better tonic than natural sunshine on your body?

Initially I thought about heading for Scenic . . . a nice though steep hike, what I really wanted was to slip into the pools of hot, natural spring waters and simply soak myself away to tranquility.  But when I got to the start of the trek up to the springs the temperatures outside were just a little bit too on the chilly side (low 50s) for my-by-now nude body to endure.  The more I kept looking up the road to Scenic the more I realized that willing and wanting as I was, I really did not have the stamina nor energy for that hike.  So I reluctantly got back in the car and headed down the highway for something safer and warmer.

It took me an hour to get out of Seattle . . . another hour and a half to Scenic.  Okay . . . so it's getting late.  Not much daylight left with the sun almost to the western ridge lines of the foothills.  Whatever worked would have to be short for sure . . . the challenge was finding somewhere that at least got into sunlight instead of the shade and deepening shadows close at hand in the low valley of the river and highway.  FS 6028 is one of those spots . . . a favored hiking place for me because it is gated, rarely used and rises into open clearcut with a late-afternoon exposure to the sun.

Hiking into the open areas along FS 6028 (near Grotto)

The nice thing about FS 6028 is that you know with a lot of certainty as to whether you have this easy logging road to yourself (gated, one-way in and out, logging operations long over).  So you can hike nude with confidence for miles and enjoy scenic views over the Skykomish Valley below (and majestic Baring Mountain behind).  The inbound trek to the first switchback is three-quarters of a mile.  I made it maybe another quarter mile up before the steepening grade urged me to turn around and slowly amble my way back to the car.  But this was the tonic I was looking for.  Even a little nude time is better than none.

Back at the car and being a little bit presumptuous about the lack of cover here.

FS 6028 is great to get nude upon . . . but the area where you park is wide-open to nearby traffic whizzing by on Highway 2 (at least until the foliage starts to fill in).  So sometimes you are taking chances hiking all the way back to the car.  Nevertheless, I often do with a certain self-satisfaction that I'm simply not going to stop and pull on shorts for that last fifty feet or so.  Let them see me and make of it what they will.  Sometimes I can be difficult.

The sun is right at those western ridge lines now and I'm in a panicked state.  I want more nude time outside.  Where?  I don't bother to pull anything on.  Onto the highway and thinking, "Where can a get a few more minutes to wander about and feel the environment on my skin?"  Reiter Ridge was one thought . . . but that would be in shadow by now.

Can you get despondent about not enough nude enjoyment?  I was certainly feeling that way as I passed Baring.  Coming around the west curve I was surprised at the lack of parked cars at the Eagle Falls pullouts beside the highway.  Eagle Falls is popular . . . Eagle Falls always has people pulling over and checking the falls out.  What a surprise.  I pull over.  I love this picturesque spot!

This moss-covered wall beside the highway pullout shields you from view.

Eagle Falls is right beside Highway 2 and is a popular party spot for young people.  Despite being a somewhat tempting, though dangerous placed for swimming, the wide basaltic ledges beside the falls see bonfires, loud music and drinking (and everything that goes along with the rites of spring and summer.

Party-spots beside the falls and rapids.

Nudity does happen on the hard-to-view ledges by Eagle Falls.  Not often but I have visited and come across naked revelers around campfires and had some interesting times . . . most importantly, the go ahead and get nude myself (nudity is so much more fulfilling when you can share it with others).

But today, despite the warm day but being a Monday, I had the ledges all to myself and I get to wander around as much as I like while there is still a little bit of sunlight.

... some interesting artwork and a short video of the falls.

Get out there and get nude!

Post (between) ChemoTherapy Nude Hikes

Between chemo # 1 and the upcoming (yesterday, actually) chemo # 3  I've recovered substantially to get out there and attempt some nude hiking as the weather has improved.  They are by no means strenuous but they are good for my state-of-mind and well-being.  Plus, the doctors all say that I will tolerate the chemotherapy better with exercise and being in shape.  Hey . . . I'm only doing what they suggest, right?

Anyways, here is a compilation of these hikes in photo album form:

Best viewed via the Direct Album Link: http://www.anthonians.org/forgotten_knot/Post-chemo%20Hikes/index.html

Nude and almost hairless now ...

Not much hair left (on top or anywhere else for that matter) after chemo round 2

Probably shouldn't have done it but how was I to ignore the best weather we've have so far this year (75F in the Cascade Foothills).  I was just recovering from round two of my chemotherapy and the ugly rash from the contrast dye allergic reaction and prolly should have read the possible side effects a little bit closer . . . one of the nasty cocktails they are pumping into my veins is frequently associated with photo-sensitive side effects.   I get back home and notice a new (and very itchy) rash spreading up my calves.  Fortunately I've got plenty of cortical-steroid cream and antihistamines from my last bout.

High up on Reiter Ridge toward the Clearcut Boulders

 75F, sunny . . . and a Monday?   Yeah, nude hiking cause everyone else will be working.  I got to the Reiter Foothills area and no cars parked at all.  So ya know it was strip right there on Reiter Road and hike in nude from the git-go.  I had it to myself from seven glorious hours and did some new exploring of hidden tracks in the canopy that beg for more future hiking.

One the way back I drove the Index-Galena Road and checked a campsite in sore need to cleaning.  My excuse, of course, was that I wanted to extend the pure nude experience as long as possible.

A long, ex-logging road climbs the north face of Reiter Ridge (near Goldbar), serving also as part of the route to  Lake Isabel, some abandoned adits (mines) and the Clearcut Boulders.

 

An Update . . .

It had really been some time since I last updated this blog . . .  and for that, I apologize.  My health has been on a down-slide these past several months culminating in my need to revisit the hospital.  So it's another round of chemo treatments.

But I'm opportunistic.  The docs believe I will respond well.

Meanwhile, I guess it's not going to be a lot of nude hiking in the next couple of months.  Alas.