Not So Great Trip Report

2 weeks ago on April 9th my friend and I made the 1hr trip to DCHS. She had never been there before and I had been there once before. She asked me what to pack and I told her to pack light. Told her to take water, energy bars, and a light sweater. She asked about a bathing suit for going to the Hot Springs, but I reassured her that 90% of the people there went nude, topless or in their underwear, and that there was no need to carry back up on our hike some wet swimsuits. She is 23 years old and has never been to a clothing-optional setting and she was a little hesitant at first but then trusted me that it would not be anything lewd. I am 21 years old and have never had a problem with non-sexual nudity

We got to Bowen Ranch at 4pm. Parked in the main parking and there were two other men getting ready to make the hike. 5 minutes later a group of college aged guys and girls parked and started the hike 2 minutes behind us. The hike was wonderfull, a great excercise with some beautiful views. We passed a lot of hikers on their way back up to Bowen Ranch. We got down to the Hot Springs at around 5pm. Still with a good hour or two of sunlight. However, the sight that awaited us surprised us when we got down there.

It looked like a spring break party down there. Around 30-40 people at the springs and all of them were high school to college age and all were having a "party" atmosphere there. What was surprising is that ALL of them were in bathing suits and some even wearing shorts and T-Shirts in the pools.

We felt very uncomfortable. We hadnt packed any swimsuits and my friend only had her underwear which wasnt very concealing as a bathing suit is. There were guys down there with video cameras video taping everyone and even some light drug use. We were ready to leave. Then the same two guys that we originally saw in the parking lot were also waiting on the rocks commenting on the fact that they also had not brought any swimsuits and how uncomfortable the atmosphere felt. We waited and talked for a few minutes and the groups started leaving. We waited for probably over an hour till the last "major" group left. There were still some textiles on the other side of the creek but no longer a majority.

I removed my shirt and pants and crossed over in my boxers and undershirt. I tried crossing with the "River Rat" but it was deflated pretty badly and I fell into the water halfway thru. The water was FREEZING cold and chest high. When i got to the other side I removed my shirt yet left my boxers on because I did not want to offend others. My friend crossed the creek swimming the whole way. She was really brave considering how cold it was. We went into the pool above the "crab cooker" and chatted with the original guy from the parking lot. He was in the nude and I figured "Oh well" and removed my boxers as well. My friend never took it all off but instead kept her revealing underwear on. She said she felt a little more protected with it on because there were still some weird college guys. I myself am 21 years old but was not raised a "prude".

We sat in the pools for about an hour. Then an entire family of about 9 came on the other side of the creek and were screaming when they saw us nude people. By 6:30pm there was probably 5 of us nude including on girl with her boyfriend and 5 non-nudes. The family started yelling that they should put signs up warning of skinny dippers. They crossed the creek wearing thier FULL-Dress. A lady crossed over in pants and a T-Shirt as did most of the guys and they stayed like that the entire time. They drove one of the nude guys out of the pools above the crab-cooker.

At that point we felt it was ready to leave as they were making a big deal about the state of undress. I grabbed my boxers put them back on and swam across the creek. I felt I was going to freeze to death on the other side. We both took off our clothes and changed near the rocks to avoid offending the family even more so. We made our hike up at around 7pm and it started getting dark. We made it just in time to our car when it turned pitch black. We left Bowen Ranch and went to get some food.

My friend says she would like to go back up again when its not so "busy" because she had an awesome time besides the incidents at the Hot Springs. We are planning on going again at the end of May.