Re: DCHS 6/1/2012

Hey Windsailor, it was nice to meet again and talk down there. I’ll tack on these notes to your report. First trip back for me since the fall, so I got out there as early as possible and stayed until day’s end. I agree on Bowen Ranch Road; the first two miles are as good as they ever are, but after that it is all ruts and the ranch road itself down to the parking is almost impossible at this point. I will be asking in the future to park at the ranch itself, until I get a 4WD I am done with trying to get down to the parking area on the ranch. I arrived just behind a small sedan with three guys in it, one of them older. They started the hike down about 15 minutes before I did, as I was setting up my pack and sunscreen and the like. Free-hiked down around 8:30 am, and lapped the three at the half-way point; strangely they never made it down to the creek. I was worried about that, but assume they turned around and headed back perhaps in deference to their older hiker. I don’t know. Otherwise passed and saw no one until making the last descent to the creek, a guy and a dog hiking up, no packs or anything but never saw them again at the creek so I guess hiking out.

Upon arrival, obviously the people at the springs had all been camping. It was a mess of campers. There were two huge tents set up on the beach. I had noticed some Tecate beer cans scattered about the trail on my way down; the biggest tent had a group of 20-somethings with cases of Tecate already imbibing them at 9 am on the beach. This went on for hours: this group of campers merged with another trio of campers who also camped on the beach -- and had obviously killed and eaten snakes the day before, their charred remains hanging on branches on the beach trees. I asked them about this incredulously, as I flicked some of the snake bits off the branches and buried them below. These two groups were then joined later in the day by the folks windsailor passed on his way out, more campers with cases of beer and they played guitar and sang, talked shit, and basically smoked weed, drank Tecates, and other concoctions out of liquor bottles for the entire 8 - 9 hours I was there. Non-stop. It was a little impressive.

Cooled off in the creek; made my way to the Womb for a long morning shaded soak. It was clean there at least, and there were two young women soaking nude, joined by a guy a few minutes later. They were locals, I’ve seen them down there before, definitely cool kids and really sweet. They hung out for a while then made their way up creek to “go fishing.” By lunch time they free-hiked out, or at least the guy free hiked as I remember, and of course, they grabbed bags of trash, whatever they could carry, on the entrance beach to hike up with them. I doubt the campers on the other beach will be doing the same. I yelled out to them as they left that they were awesome for doing that.

Other nudes down at the creek included a woman called R. that I’ve seen there over the years a lot, with a friend; they seemed to be hanging with the guy who always prances around nude with the floral parka with a hood over his head. Is this Pandora? He never spoke a word to me. It was about half and half, nude-textile, in the morning hours until the three young folk left; then with the 20-somethings camping and drinking, the textiles took over for the most part. Not a great Friday in that respect, it seemed more like a weekend, but it was never THAT rowdy or that crowded. Maybe 30 people at the height of the day.

In the late morning, maybe around 11 am, a sheriff’s helicopter flew over the springs, circled and came pretty low. So they observed all the campers but no one ever came to issue tickets. I told all the campers, with a smile on my face: “You’re screwed now.” But they didn’t take it seriously at all and didn’t even disassemble there tents, even the ones who were going to leave later that day.

After Windsailor took off, Hiker showed up, so there were good conversations all day mostly in the creek, cooling off, the water is just perfect now. Things noticed: There are a ton of tiny fish in the creek, nibbling at your feet all the time. The creek pool built below the Womb is the perfect summer time soaking spot, between hot and cold and with the best views. There is a nest of baby birds built into a crook in the rocks next to the shower, they are at least three in the nest, and loud and crying all the time for food. Strange they built the nest right next to the shower spot (which was in great working condition and was super refreshing during the day). I never noticed the rope swing down creek before - used it once, pretty great, but do note that the ground under the swing is choked with poison oak. I don’t think it will be getting much use because of that, hope I don’t get some.

So the trash and the campers and the textilians were a bummer. But it was a beautiful day and so great to be back at the creek. As I prepared to free-hike out, I heard one guy, probably around 30 so he should know better, in a group of three that were textile and had held themselves apart from everyone else, mocking me to his friends as I got my pack on but not my clothes. It was all I could do not to start hollering at this idiot. So here are my feelings on this and my message to any who might read this board and wish to visit the springs:

DCHS is a natural hot spring, and a traditional clothing-optional area. For decades and decades. You will always find many, if not most of its visitors enjoying the springs in the nude; spending the day nude, hiking the trails nude. If you are going to come, you don’t have to be nude, but you DO need to respect the fact that it is primarily a nude destination. You probably shouldn’t visit if you are not interested in the clothing optional aspect of the spring, you definitely should NOT camp at the beach or up-stream, and you should respect the environment, the culture, and the other visitors. And you should try going nude yourself if you’ve never done it before. I’ve had it up to here with intolerant idiots at the springs who are too repressed to consider naturism, making a naturist destination feel like an unwelcoming place. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, you are not welcome here.

One of the drugged up 20-sometings said to me at one point, “Hey, you’re nekkit. How’s that feel?” I did engage the group in conversation at that point, about how it’s a nude place, and they should try it, and how I thought there were crazy not to do so. Some of them admitted that they have skinny dipped at the creek before; but as a large group it wasn’t happening, board shorts till you die.

But the next time someone, anyone, says something disparaging about anyone enjoying the place in the nude, they will have me in their face and they will need to deal with that. I’m fed up. Obviously the nude users of the springs, as Windsailor said above, are the only ones caring for the area and respecting it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2012 11:47AM by neogeo.