Index-Galena-Beckler Loop

Along the Index-Galena - Beckler River Road (the FS 65 Loop up the North Fork Skykomish and Beckler River Valleys) there are numerous rustic to primitive (and even a couple of developed) camping areas. Sited by the rivers and reasonably accessible by car, these campsites lend themselves to nude camping and skinny-dipping.

With spring and summer almost in our grasps, it's time to think about arranging some camping trips. The embedded interactice map below depicts some of the camping areas I have pitched tent in the past . . . most of them all to myself or the party I was with andmost of the time enjoying some nude time with friends by the side of the river in some pretty awesome scenary. The full size version of the interactive map below can be seen by clicking on the title above. In case you haven't played with Google-style maps before (where have you been?), you can move the map around (click and drag), zoom, click on various icons for information, and even see the map in various forms (including topos and sat images).

During this coming hiking and camping season, I plan to do a nude camping trip at least once a month as a base for nude hiking onto the many wonderful trails in the area. All bonifide naturists are welcome to join in planning and enjoying such a trip . . . or better yet, become a member of the SLUGS and partake of many more nude activities such as these.

BC Polar Bare Dips Abound

Did you know that the Vancouver, BC area held at least five Nude Polar Bare dips this past New Years Day? There is the traditional Polar Bear Swim sponsored by the Vancouver Polar Bear Swim Club and attracting up to 2,000 people at English Bay. There is also the Polar Bare Dip held at Wreck Beach. I used to live in Deep Cove and I remember the New Year's Penguin Plunge. But as this article notes, Crescent Beach in Surrey is becoming more popular as a naturist venue, and they just held their first nude Polar Bare dip.

Photo of Don Pitcairn, president of Surrey's United Naturist Association, who organizied the first "Polar Bare Plunge" at Crescent Rock Naturist Beach on New Year's Day.

Technorati Tags: Polar Bare Nude Dip

Bare Bowling in Portland

Bare Bowling (along with Nude Swims) is offered to the greater naturist and nudist community at very reasonable rates. But these events require attendence to cover the costs of renting the facility. If you've never attended one of these great events in the past, why don't you give it a try and learn what naturism is all about, and help assure that we will have these types of events continue in the Portland area.

Hidden Springs has another bare bowling in the planning for Saturday January 27 from 7 pm until 9 pm. At this point we don't have enough people to financially afford to hold this event. This event combined with the winter swims are the only indoor nude activities outside of landed clubs in the Portland area. We hate to see these events vanish.



Therefore I am calling on those of you that are still thinking about participating in this event to commit to this event prior to this Saturday January 20. If on January 20 not enough people have signed up we will see ourselves forced to cancel the January as well as the March 10 bowling events. It takes a lot of effort to locate facilities to host nudists groups and once we have to cancel these events it may be very difficult to find another facility that will rent their bowling alley to nudists.



Please help us to continue these unique events in the Portland area. Signing up and pre-registration can be done by e-mailing me at hsevents@verizon.net



Personally I have bowled my best games while nude so give yourself the chance to do the same.



Chris

Technorati Tags: Nude Bowling, Nude Events

Oddities in the Nude News this Week

On Nipple Radiation

Melissa Harrington (web site - warning, adult content) is back in the news in the continuing saga of her legal battles with the city of Lincoln, Nebraska. If you remember, Ms. Harrington was cited and fined by Lincoln city police back in December, 2003 for posing nude in public. The evidence . . . police trolled the Internet, found pictures of Ms. Harrington naked and surmised by the background that she had done the posing within the city of Lincoln. The interesting (and perhaps chilling) aspect here is that charges were preferred only after-the-fact based on photographs posted on the Internet. Chilling thought if I happened to post a picture of myself nude on my backyard deck with the skyline of the Space Needle and Seattle far off in the background. Could police with nothing better to do and trolling the Internet, argue that I was nude in public? Fortunately, Seattle is not as draconian as Lincoln, Nebraska.

The Nudiarist gives his thoughts on Melissa's Criminalized Nipples on his blog. But for a chuckle, read a satirical take on the issue at My Secret Public Blog where the writer asks, "What is it about women's nipples that causes so many to get their panties in a knot?". Read Nipple Radiation: Why is American Society to damned repressed?

Naked College Parties and Mr O'Reilly's Take

A refreshing article about the popularity of Naked Parties on college campuses seems to have caught the eye of Mr. Bill O'Reilly of Fox News' O'Reily Factor. Of course, our favorite (not) pundit tries to associate these parties with increased risk of sexual assaults in an interview with a graduate of Yale but fails to make his point. If you can stand to read anything put out by Mr. O'Reilly, you can read the transcript of the interview here.

AANR Seeks Exclusive Exemptions Only for Its' Members

This one got my gall when I read it. The article, entitled "Group seeks exemption for nude recreation" concerns a proposed (and passed) Carroll County adult business and community standards ordinance, the latest iteration of an ordinance that started out to ban public nudity and obscenity. While doing its part to regulate adult businesses, the ordinance goes further to redefine the meaning of 'public indecency' by removing "obscene" as a qualification which could allow the new ordinance to apply 'to far more than was probably intended'.

The Naturist Action Committee's Executive Director, Bob Morton, noted that 'some of the language infringes on people's everyday rights, such as how to dress'; examples given:

• less than the majority of each buttock completely and opaquely covered” qualifies as nudity, the ordinance states. The style of swimwear today shows some portion of a woman's buttock, Morton objected. “You certainly wouldn't be able to buy most women's swimsuits today off the rack.”

• Morton also finds problematic that the law prohibits the “female breast distal” being covered less than completely. By his interpretation, women would not be able to legally wear evening gowns that show cleavage.

While TNS and NAC were involved with trying to get the language of this ordinance modified to reflect the legitimate and innocent needs of skinny-dippers, nudists and naturists in the county, the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) chimed in with faxed examples of 'nude recreation exempted laws', handwritting a suggested change to the proposed ordinance:

“No person shall be in violation of this section in or at a club event sanctioned under legal association with the American Association for Nude Recreation.”

Um, only AANR members may practice nudism in Carroll County? This little piece of self-serving skull-dudgery does nothing to promote and unify the nudist community. What AANR is saying to the rest of us who are either unassociated or choose to be members of TNS is that we don't give a rat's ass about you . . . we are only seeking special, privilaged exemption for ourselves.

Contrast the above suggestion to the Carroll County supervisors by AANR with the work by The Naturist Society (TNS) through its' legislative arm, the Naturist Action Committee (NAC) who is trying to have the ordinance reworded to benifit all nudists and naturists . . . or lacking that, a thinly-veiled reference to challenging the ordinance in court.

Predictably, AANRs stupid attempt was ignored by the county. Unfortunately, the ordinance was passed as wriiten. NAC is already working on a followup challenge. I have no idea where AANR may be skulking off to lick the burn of its' rebuff.

In the aftermath of this story coming to light the naturist forums are alight with disgust for AANRs tactics. One response stuck out and I quote it in full:

I'm a recent transplant from New England, and a few years ago in Vermont, the Ledges--the northeast's most beloved skinny-dipping zone--changed ownership, as the utility company that owned that land and didn't care what naturists did on it sold it to a new interest. NAC, as well as Dennis Kirkpatrick, the leader of Boston's Pilgrim Naturists, were both very clear that we should not raise havoc over this; everything was inclined to stay as it was, since there had been no problems between the Ledges and the greater community. So what happens? AANR barges in and starts trumpeting to these small-town people--who, I want to emphasize again, were going to preserve our status quo--and started scolding and finger-wagging the local leadership that a ban on nude use of the Ledges that wasn't even pending until they showed up got passed into law just as a retaliation against them. And who got it overturned through cooperation and respectful dialogue with the town? NAC, that's who. If you love paying money to ensure that your naturist oases blink out of existence, donate to AANR. And then, go to hell for all I care.

From a posting to NWFunInTheSun

How factual this depiction is I do not know, but experience with AANR-NW GATs in relation to both Rooster Rock State Park and Collins Beach has always told me to beware attempts by AANR to influence control over these two wonderful clothing-optional beaches in Oregon. AANRs recent activities seem to show an exclusionary pattern from the greater naturist community and has forced me to rethink my membership in that organization.

Is a Venerable Hot Springs Resource Gone?

Finally, the premeire resource for hot springs information in North America, Soak.net, seems to be gone. Attempts to reach the website and its' ten-year old database of trip reports, photos and information of the hot springs of Canada, USA and Mexico, end up at Network Solutions' Domain Expired page. Soak.net's domain name expired on Jan 3rd, 2007 and the owner has not renewed it to date. Curiously, even attempts to email the webmaster reach no one. Hot springs enthusiasts are confused and worried about this loss of a great resource. What happens to that database is the subject of much discussion and already, plans are being discussed to resurrect the site should the domain not be renewed.

Update: Soak.net is back up and fully functional as of Jan 16th, 2007. Welcome back Jim.

Technorati Tags: Nude News, Hot Springs, Law and Nudism

Membership Has Its Advantages: Nude Swim Events

As you may have noticed, I post a lot of nude swim events to the Clothing Optional Calendar in the sidebar. I've been meaning to write up a post on these events all winter long but just never seemed to find the time . . . which is paradoxical since that's the same excuse I use during the hot summer season when I'm much more inclined to be hiking or lolling about on a nude beach somewhere. In any case, winter and cold weather need not be a damper to your enjoyment of a nude lifestyle. There are plenty of clothing-optional things going on. There are events almost every weekend. Nude swims are only one of them . . . and in most cases, these events are a benefit of membership in a nudist or naturist organization.



Membership has its advantages. The SLUGS Swims (SLUG=Sun Lovers Under Grey Skies) has managed to secure a luxurious private facility for the exclusive use of members and vetted guests. When I say swims, I'm understating what we get for a mere $10. The pool is a large Olympic-sized pool under an arching modernistic skylighted dome in a beautiful section of town. The water is crystal clear and a warm 75-80 degrees. At nighttime you have gorgious views through the huge glass panels . . . an open and expansive sensation unlike most municipal pools.



Clean and modern changing rooms, complete with showers (and a nice touch . . . hair dryers) are reached after entering through the foyer and a multitude of TV/game rooms, mini-snack bar, music and special interest rooms. You feel very welcome indeed . . . and it is all clothing-optional for the night. Swim, watch a DVD while enjoying cookies . . . get to know what the other SLUGgies have been up to . . . meet new members or potential members, then head for some more relaxing floating in the pool . . . or a wild game of water polo.



Or . . . slip into the hot tub and relax the muscles. And the piece d' resistance! A large solid wood-lined sauna . . . a 150-160 degree dry heat guaranteed to cleanse your aches and pains. Heaven on earth. I spent more time in the sauna than anywhere else. Membership does have its privelages.



We see those whom we relate to frequently during the warmer months and it gives us a chance to chat and go over the past years events . . . plan new ones. The comadre is the best part of these events. These people are your friends with whom you have shared much. There is no reason for the cold winter months to stop that unique friendship that club association and membership brings.



To those unaffiliated nudists out there . . . and those just curious about the warm friendships this lifestyle brings . . . take advantage of what association can bring. Nude swims are just one of the many benefits of club membership.

Austin Hot Springs: How Hot?

Some recent photos of Austin and Bagby Hot Springs come this way via a North American Hot Springs Association link to Renee & Nats Photo Gallery. Two photos of Austin Hot Springs give you some idea of how hot these under water hot springs can be. I share those here and credit Renee and Nat, but check out the other images of their trip to Austin and Bagby Hot Springs on Christmas Day.

Bagby is open to the public (since it is on public National Forest ground) . . . but Austin is on private property. You should respect that. Also, the river is swift and dangerous, especially at this time of year. There have been a number of deaths from people attempting to ford the river in the past.

This sign is not kidding around . . . the thermal vents

in the bed of the river spew out water that is

often beyond the boiling point!

Steam rising from the swift, winter waters of the Clackamas?
That's the hot spring below that cold water!

Snowshoeing to Scenic Hot Springs

Kimba was kind enough to share these images of Scenic taken Dec 26th, 2006

Someone built a snowman at the gate

There were tracks that went about up to the first bend right,
but then they ended. There were no tracks above that at all.

It took almost three hours to hit the springs.

The pools were dirty, they emptied it as much
as they could and gave it a good cleaning.

Goldmyer Hot Springs Jan 2nd, 2007 Access Update

From: Beth



Happy New Year!

/>

Please note that this time of year-- November thru mid to late January, weather in the Middle Fork Valley is very inconsistant and can change quickly. This results in varying road and river conditions. It is not humanly possible for the Goldmyer office to tell you exactly what to expect. Go prepared for wet and/or winter-snow conditions, and don't forget your flashlights and common sense!!!!! Get an early start, as it might take you longer than you expect to arrive at Goldmyer! Use only high clearance vehicles.

/>Varying possible access conditions, and things to think about:

1) Flooding and road washouts resulting from heavy rainfall and/or snowmelt.

2) Trees down across the road.

3) Snow and/or ice. Note that Goldmyer is at 2000 ft. elevation. (tire chains are a good idea even if you have 4-wl. drive!)

4) The river may, or may not, be low enough to walk through at the traditional fording site. The river can rise rapidly. If it's raining during your visit to Goldmyer, the river could be higher on your way out compared to what it was on your way in!

5) Know how to find the (correct) Snoq. Middle Fork River footbridge alternative, and be willing to use it. The only access to Goldmyer that does not require fording any non-bridged river or stream crossings is the upper trailhead #1003, located 2-3/4 miles beyond the tradition river fording stop. This trailhead is at 3000 ft. elevation. Vehicle access to this trailhead can be limited during the winter-snow because of it's elevation. This trail is 3 miles long, and be aware that it's route is not 'blazed' for snow-covered locating.

6) There is also access to a footbridge crossing the Snoq. Middle Fork River from the Dingford Creek Trailhead. Access to the Goldmyer property via this (5mile long) trail is limited during high water conditions because there are a number of non-bridged creeks and one non-bridged smallish river (Burntboot Creek) in route.

/>Note: the (USGS) river gauge that you can link to from the Goldmyer web-site is located 20-some river miles, and about 1000 ft. elevation, below Goldmyer. This means that during the times of year (late fall thru June-ish) when snowline-snowmelt factors in, it can not directly and accurately reflect what the river is doing up by Goldmyer. The gauge information is useful to see general trends, but do not count on it for exact conditions.

/>Note: for snowline forecasting, refer to the Washington Department of Transportation's Central Cascades- Snoqualmie Pass website. They have a 5-day forecast that is very useful. Goldmyer is at 2000 ft. elevation. Snow level conditions in the upper Middle Fork Valley can vary some from this forecasting model, but it's as close as you can get.

/>As of January 3, 2007: After a spectacular cold and dry New Year's weekend at Goldmyer, with about 7-8 inches of snow at the hotsprings and a close to full moon sparkling off the snow covered trees and forest floor, we are now coming out of a 'mini pineapple express' that sent the snowline up to 6000 feet on Tuesday, and caused the river to rise quite a bit. The snowline is supposed to lower again as this week progresses. There's still some snow at Goldmyer, which will be 'firming-up' again as the weather cools down, with new snow arriving as the snowline lowers to below 2000 feet. Currently there isn't enough snow to claim 'quality' snowshoeing or xx-skiing conditions, unless you continue up the road to the upper footbridge access (read info about this route above).

/>Go prepared and don't forget your common sense! There are usually spaces avaliable this time of year for visitors arriving without a reservation: with cash in hand, arriving during our hours for check-in (8am to 10pm), willing to follow the use rules, and know how to find the place. But.... it's a good idea to call the office ahead of time for week-end days to double check on avaliability. Office hours are Tuesdays 1 till 6pm, and Fridays 3 till 8pm. If you leave a message for a return call, be sure to speak clearly, include your area code(s) with your phone number(s), and be avaliable at that number during office hours for a call-back. If you've never been to Goldmyer before, or only visited during the summer/early fall, it is highly recommended that you call the office to help you prepare for a visit. Happy soaking!

The Offense of Public Nudity by Mark Storey

At a time when trolls are wasting bandwidth in Rec Nude with the 'what-if' arguments about offending people by hiking nude on public lands, I felt it instructive to revisit this article on the nature of offense written some time ago by Mark Storey.

The article is a long one so I've made it a PermaLink to click through if you want to read it . . . and to avoid clutter on the opening page. A small excerpt:

The issue of offense is thus of great importance to naturists in America today. A flippant naturist response is to say, "The offended parties be damned; we as naturists have the right to do what we wish as long as we are not harming anyone." Or, "People will be offended by anything; offense thus should not be relevant to law." These responses fail to acknowledge the complexities of offense, and do not take into account sensible principles thoughtful lawmakers, discerning judges, and liberty-loving naturists can fruitfully bring to the discussion.

Some naturists take the opposite tack. "We should not be naked in public because it will offend people and cause them to pass more stringent 'indecent exposure' laws," they might say. Or, to blend an appeal to offense with a form of Legal Moralism, they might argue, "It's wrong to offend people, so we should never be naked in public. We should limit our nudity to our homes and nudist clubs."

A good read for those of us who wonder who is offending whom . . .

Happy Nude Year

May all the days of the coming year be as clothesless as you desire. Resolve to do something in the au' natural state at least once a week, if not more often. Let's make this coming year the best Nude Year yet!

Rick with the Floopy Blue hat and

the Banged Up Shins