From: middleto@poincare.ucsd.edu (Tom Middleton ; System Manager)
Newsgroups: rec.nude
Subject: Trip Report (was Re: Lighten up, gang)
Date: 11 Oct 1992 22:25:54 GMT
Organization: Institute for NonLinear Science, UCSD
NNTP-Posting-Host: poincare.ucsd.edu
Summary: U asked 4 it
Keywords: canuding, long

In article <d!nz=yd@rpi.edu> dking@unix.cie.rpi.edu (Dave King) writes:
>
>	Post a trip report!  PLEASE!  Somebody, anybody!!
>

On Thursday, October 3, I loaded my trusty Toyota Mini-Van with appropriate
gear (beer, food, sleeping bag, food, water, food, etc.) and headed north
from San Diego, California on I-15.  I arrived in Redlands, Ca. about 8p.m.
and had dinner with a (non-nudist) friend of mine.  We then loaded her gear
in my van and continued driving north until we arrived at the Nevada border
(about 2a.m.) where we made the traditional stop at Whiskey Petes for cheap
eats and the opportunity to win a car, motorcycle or small fortune.  I won
50 cents and felt damn good about it.  We gassed up, headed north again and
then east to the Hoover Dam area.  Arriving at Boulder Beach Campground at
about 4a.m. we threw out our sleeping bags and tried to catch 3 hours of
sleep before the days busy schedule of activities.

Mary (not her real name because she isn't a nudist) and I had no problem
waking at 7a.m. because the bright sun was already warming up the desert.
We decided it was easier to go to the Gold Strike casino for breakfast than
to cook our own and it was also quicker.  That was important because we had
to meet a group called the Olympians at the Alan Bible Visitor Center before
8:30 that Friday morning.  The Olympians are a nudist group which operates
out of Orange County and Los Angeles.  At the visitors center we unloaded
our cars and loaded our gear onto a bus for the short ride to the base of
Hoover Dam.

We followed a service road down to the Colorado River just below Hoover Dam,
even had an escort of armed Federal police.  We quickly unloaded the 11
canoes we would need for this trip and put them in the water.  Once again
we had to unload our gear, this time from the bus, and then load it in the
canoes.  Once the canoes were loaded we pushed out into the river and headed
downstream.  At last, our adventure had really started.  Just one more
important detail to take care of.

Less than a quarter of a mile from where we put the canoes in we pulled up on
a small rock and sand island.  There, finally, we were able to get into our
uniforms!  Even though this wasn't a Camping Bares trip I was impressed to
see that everyone had a Camping Bares uniform.  [In case anybody is wondering
what the Camping Bares uniform is take all your clothes off and go stand in
front of a mirror.]

The island had a second purpose.  It was the location of the SAUNA CAVE.  This
is not a natural cave, it is a hole that was started when building the dam.
At about 150 feet in they hit a geothermal water vein which filled the cave
with steam.  Thus, an almost natural sauna was formed.  You can walk all the
way to the back and shut off your flashlight.  Sitting quietly in the total
darkness and hot vapor is a spiritual experience for some.

After coming out of the sauna cave you can cool off in the extremely cold
river water (less than 50 degrees I believe).  Or just rinse off in a natural
hot shower nearby.

Shortly downstream from the sauna cave is the mouth of a canyon wherein is
found Gold Strike Hot Springs.  Pulling in to the area is a bit of a technical
maneuver for the canoeists.  Although nobody tipped over (like the last time
I did this trip) two canoes missed it.  We were able to get one of the canoes
back in but the other got too far down river and had to wait for us.  This
canyon is a nice canyon to walk up and has naturally hot soaking pools and a
hot shower area.  This was our first chance to relax and chat as a group (the
sauna cave only had room for 3 or 4 of us at a time, and many didn't even go
in it).  We got to know each other and met some people from Illinois who
were being showed around by an Arizona friend of theirs.  The woman was heard
to comment "I've never seen anything like this before" in a kind of hushed
tone.  I wonder if she was talking about the 20 nude people or the canyon
with its hot springs?  Whatever it was, I am sure she had stories to tell that
her friends on the farm would never believe.

After soaking for a while we headed downstream a bit more and found a sandy
beach.  This was our lunch spot, cheese, crackers, fruit, celery, beer and
water seemed to be the order of the moment.  After filling with sustenance
we once again donned our life vests and got in the water.  Very shortly we
came upon our next goal.

Boy Scout Hot Springs is another canyon, more rugged than Gold Strike with
smaller soaking pools.  But it is very pretty and enough hot water for all
to have a good time.  A few of us hiked back to the far waterfall where a
beautiful pool awaited us.  This hike did take some climbing and we got
scratched up a bit by the tamarisk bushes, but it was well worth it.

Leaving Boy Scout provided us with our longest uninterrupted stretch of
paddling before we reached our final destination of the day.  Unfortunately
we also encountered our roughest water in this 2 mile stretch of river and
I was sure somebody would capsize their canoe.  Although we were thrown
around a bit nobody went under and we arrived at our nights camping spot
with plenty of daylight left, a bit tired, a bit wet, but very safe and
satisfied.

Our campsite was at the mouth of another canyon where yet another hot spring
and soaking pools were to be found.  This one is called Ringbolt hot springs
and is on the Arizona side of the river (the others were all on the Nevada
side).  After setting up camp and having dinner there was just enough time
to walk up the canyon and soak a bit before sleep time.  As tired as we were
I thought sleep would come easily, but it was a warm night and Mary and I
decided to cool off in the river before bedding down.

The next morning (Sat, Oct 3) I arose early enough for a soak before breakfast.
Then it was pancakes for breakfast, ummm, followed by a shower in the natural
hot waterfall.  We were camping in the same spot that night so no need to
break camp and load the canoes.  It was a free day for all of us.  Some people
napped, some soaked, some fished, some did a bit of pleasure canuding.  A few
of us went for a naked hike up another canyon where we encountered some young
boy scouts.  They seemed a bit surprised and were definitely amused but didn't
appear to be damaged by viewing our naked bodies.

After the days hike we canuded a little and found a small cave we could take
our canoes into about 30 feet.  We returned to camp and decided to take a
midafternoon swim to cool off and then it was nap time.  Late afternoon
was happy hour and group massage time.  Plus, more hot water soaking for
those interested.  Dinner, a late night soak and a campfire culminated
the day.  The night was cooler than the night before and sleep was upon
us quickly.

Sunday morning: more soaking, a light breakfast and it was time to pack up.
We loaded our canoes and headed downriver.  It was eight miles to the takeout
point but we weren't in any hurry.  For part of the trip we tied our canoes
together and just floated downriver.  On the way we spotted some bighorn
sheep along the cliffs above the river.  We stopped for lunch at the old
gaugers station where someone lived from the 1920's to 1935 (when the dam
was finally completed).  Every day the gauger had to hike up the river and
take measurements of the water depth, water flow and silt flow.

Finally, as we neared our destination we had to put our clothes back on.  Some
of use had been nude for the entire three days.  At Willow Beach in Arizona
we once again loaded the buses with our gear and loaded the canoes.  Then
headed back to our cars for the journey home.  Our trip was over, I didn't
want to leave and am ready to return on a moments notice.

SO, KEEP WATCHING THIS SPACE!  I hope to plan a repeat of this trip next
summer and will try to advertise it far in advance in this space (rec.nude).
It is worth planning a vacation around (one of our group flew in to Las
Vegas from Texas just to join us on this trip).  The three day canoe rental
and use of the bus was only $50/person and well worth it.

-- 
===============================================================================
Thomas Earl Middleton		| Camping Bares:  "An Anarchist Disorganization
aka Happy Bare			| Dedicated to the Destruction of the Fabric of
middleto@poincare.ucsd.edu	| Our Society"
Newsgroups: rec.nude