Boiling Water at Hot Creek—The Dangerous and Dynamic Thermal Springs in California’s Long Valley Caldera

Hot Creek flows through the Long Valley Caldera in a volcanically active region of east-central California. This stretch of the creek, looking upstream to the southwest, has long been a popular recreation area because of the warm waters from its thermal springs. These springs, however, are unpredictable and can suddenly erupt with violence and at boiling temperature. Because of this danger, the U.S. Forest Service has had to close parts of the Hot Creek Geologic Site to visitors. (USGS photo by Chris Farrar.)

The multitude of the hot springs in the Mammoth area Long Valley Caldera of the east Sierra Nevadas south of Mono Lake have long fascinated me. The area has long been unstable, volcanic activity, earthquakes, resurgent dome rebuilding, massive CO2 poisoning of tree roots from volcanic gases, etc.

Now the USGS has released a series of reports on the geologic activity around Long Valley Caldera that make for some enlightening and educational reading for any hot spring afficianado.
Read about the spontaneous boiling water geysers unpredictably erupting from the waters of hot creek and why the Forest Service rightfully closed this once popular hot spring swimming and soaking spot.

Download this report as a four-page PDF document (fs2007-3045.pdf; 5 MB)

Press-quality illustrations, original artwork you may use (CMYK).

Also of interest

Living with a restless caldera - Long Valley, California (USGS Fact Sheet 108-96)
Invisible CO₂ gas killing trees at Mammoth Mountain, California (USGS Fact Sheet 172-96)
Future eruptions in California’s Long Valley area-what’s likely? (USGS Fact Sheet 073-97)

Nude Hiking Day(s)

Sunning on a bend of the Skykomish River upstream of Big Eddy

To hike or write about my hikes . . . aye, there’s the rub. Seems there is never enough time to to sit down and write to share about the exquisite enjoyment of the beautiful mountains and rivers of the Cascades . . . au’ natural.

This is going to be a stub article . . . in other words, the barest of skeletons to be filled in as I get more free time. Or perhaps I’ll just get in another hike. Ah,well.

Scenic Hot Springs

Green Mountain, Middle Fork Snoqualmie

FS 63 - North Fork Skykomish

Boss & Canyon Creek Trailblazing

Kelly Creek Trail Surveying

Lower Johnson Ridge-Mt Fenrow Potholes

Study: Men View Faces in Sexy Photos

Contrary to popular opinion, men are more likely to look at a female’s face before other areas when looking at pictures of naked women, according to a study by Emory University researchers. And women will gaze at pictures of heterosexual sex longer than men, the study found.

Huh? Well so goes the study abstracted at physorg and published in the Hormones and Behavior Journal.

My friend at Gymnophiliac brings this to our attention with a light-hearted article that sort of vindicates the male gender.

Of course, I’ve always been attracted to female faces . . . particularly the eyes, but it’s nice to know that science is finally beginning to agree that us men aren’t necessarily the lecherous oglers we are often made out to be.

The article also seems to imply that females are more visually-interested than anecdotal wisdom tells us the are. Heaven forbid the morals police get a hold of this and demand that women cover their faces! Just some food for thought.

Goldmyer Hot Springs

The date for the locking of the gate, according to the Forest Service, will be June 27.

Thereafter, you will have to park at or near the Dingford Campgrounds area and either hike or mountain bike the 4-5 miles to Goldmyer.. The good news is that you won’t have to detour two miles to the old footbridge, nor will you have to ford the river. The new footbridge is almost completed.

Tags: Goldmyer Hot Springs, Naturism, Nudism

Meager Creek Hot Springs: A Bridge?

Received from Mike Sato, the former operator of Meager Creek Hot Springs, and the present owner of Scenic Hot Springs.

Meager Creek Hot Springs is located near the headwaters of the Lillooet River 70 kms north of Pemberton, BC. It was one of the finest natural hot spring experiences until the bridge washout during the 2003 storms made access near-impossible. This is good news for hot springs afficianados.

The Meager Creek Bridge that was washed away during the October 2003 flood will likely be reconstructed this fall. After 4 years, the BC Provincial Government has finally approved the use of the Provincial Emergency Plan (PEP) to fund the reconstruction of the Meager Creek Bridge. I spoke with the Ministry of Forest District Engineering Officer a few weeks ago and he confirmed that the PEP was now available and that a contractor for the Meager Creek Bridge reconstruction will be determined by public tender process.

Because of BC Government restructuring, all Forest Recreation Sites (including Meager Creek Hot Springs) are now under jurisdiction of the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts since last year. I spoke with the Recreation Officer for the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts, and he told me that Meager Creek Hot Springs is probably not yet suitable for public use. Since the hot springs have been closed for 4 years, he believed that the trail will be overgrown, and that the water course and pools will have to be restored before Meager Creek Hot Springs can be open to the public again. After the reconstruction of the Meager Creek Bridge is completed, the Recreation Officer will need to go and assess the site. Depending on the availability of funding, the hot spring restoration may be started this year and the Meager Creek Hot Springs may be opened to the public next spring. However, this all depends on the speed at which the reconstruction of the bridge will be completed as well as the availability of funding for restoration of the hot springs. Therefore, I believe that it is more reasonable to assume that the hot spring restoration will occur next spring and that Meager Creek Hot Springs will be opened to the public in the summer of 2008.

Even after the reconstruction of Meager Creek Bridge is completed, the Meager Creek road will be closed at the 37km turnoff. The Meager Creek road will remain closed until the restoration of Meager Creek Hot Springs pools and site is completed. Meager Creek Hot Springs will remain closed to the public until further notice. As in previous years, the gates located at 9 km on the Lillooet River FSR, just north of the Hurley River turn off, will be closed and locked in December.

Tags: Meager Creek, Naturism, Nudism

Article: Naked ambition of hikers on the Appalachian

By Abigail Tucker
Sun Reporter
Originally published June 22, 2007

Along the Appalachian Trail // Dave Odorisio unzipped his tent flap yesterday, peered out and stretched; a halo of gnats quickly formed around his tousled head. It was just another morning on Maryland’s leg of the Appalachian Trail. But this particular morning, the 25-year-old hiker had an important decision to make: Namely, would he get dressed today?

Hike Naked Day marks the summer solstice on the 2,000-plus mile trail and gives the boldest adventurers a chance to walk — not to mention scale boulders and gain summits — on the wild side. The bad news for us is that the solstice falls at the time when backpackers are passing en masse through the Maryland area. These thru-hikers, trudging from the trail head in Georgia to its finish in Maine (a journey that typically starts in early spring and ends in late summer), are the most likely to shed their smelly regalia for the solstice ritual, making the 41 miles of in-state trail potentially perilous for Girl Scout troops or day hikers whose tour buses have paused there briefly on the way to historic battlefields.

The good news is that, although the nude hikers’ flesh may be as brilliantly white as the blazes that mark the trail, they make themselves quite scarce.

It didn’t take long for Odorisio to decide no, he definitely would not let the sun shine below the timberline, as it were. The morning was chilly, and the bugs were out for blood.

Besides, in the next tent over, 24-year-old Ian Russ of Chicago was yelling: “You better not hike naked! I’ve got my 11-year-old brother with me!”

Even setting aside the obvious examples, there are many strange activities that can be undertaken sans clothes. Naked bull roasts and naked chili cook-offs. Naked scuba-diving and naked sky-diving. Nude Texas hold ‘em tournaments, beach cleanups, 5K runs, blues concerts and “shine ‘n’ buff” car shows. But naked mountain climbing ranks among the more hazardous options.

Think of poor Pus Gut, who hiked naked a few years back. All thru-hikers who attempt to complete the trail are given nicknames, but Pus Gut truly earned his, said Todd Berezuk, who works at the Outfitter at Harpers Ferry, a hiking equipment store near the Maryland segment. Suffering a fit of modesty in the midst of his solstice celebration, the young hiker attempted to fashion himself an undergarment out of leaves he found growing along the trail.

Poison ivy? He wasn’t quite that dumb. It was poison sumac.

“His stomach was blistered, inflamed, broken out completely,” said Berezuk, also a nursing student, who examined him when he came into the store. “So everyone called him Pus Gut.”

Rather than devising natural-fiber loincloths, many trekkers prefer to “just keep a bandana handy” on the heavily traveled trail, said Al Preston, an assistant manager of Western Maryland’s South Mountain State Park, which the trail runs through.

“I really don’t know why they do it to begin with,” Preston added. No one really does. “It’s been passed down. When I got here in ‘92, I was warned that on the first day of summer people hike naked. And they do.” Technically, it’s against park rules, Preston says, but on the solstice officials “tend to grin” — and bear it.

Of course, it depends on which park you’re in. Stark-naked hikers who don’t make it as far north as Maryland on the longest day of the year may encounter patrolmen to the south who are less tolerant of the holiday. Bare hindquarters are given no quarter at Virginia’s George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, according to Woody Lipps, a patrol captain there who is not afraid to fine the naked. Penalties range from $75 to $5,000 or six months in jail, he said.

“Once someone called and asked if we would look the other way if they hiked naked to the Cascades on Hike Naked Day,” Lipps said. “If you are in a public area nude, you are going to get a ticket.”

However, Lipps admitted that tracking down nudes on the move is neither an enviable nor an easy task.

“It’s like a needle in a haystack,” he said. “How are you going to find one naked person in 1.8 million acres? You could hide a hundred naked people out there.”

No one knows exactly how many hikers participate in the informal holiday, said Laurie Potteiger, information services manager for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Actually, “we really try to pretend that it doesn’t exist,” she said. The activity violates the sanctity of the trail and often disturbs other nature-lovers. Besides, because of all that extra exposed skin, the naked “are much more at risk for Lyme’s disease,” she said.

Not to mention for sunburn, snapping turtle bites and pack-strap chafing that even Body Glide, a special lubricant favored by thru-hikers, can’t prevent. And “southbounders” doing the trail in reverse better not even think about it, hikers say, because it’s still blackfly season up north.

And yet, despite these dangers, the day of nakedness seems an integral part of the trail’s kooky culture, which revolves around reducing one’s possessions to the bare necessities until a whole life can be crammed in a backpack. To many of the travelers bound for the trail’s end at Mount Katahdin, the naked hiker seems to truly embody the principal of stripping down, and everyone seems to hope he exists, even if they’ve never met him.

Six hours after dawn on Hike Naked Day, no one had passed by Maryland’s Dahlgren Backpackers’ Campground less than half-dressed — not even 23-year-old Scott Ames of Massachusetts, though his trail name, Quarter Moon, sounded promising.

“Too many roads in Maryland” was Quarter Moon’s excuse.

One librarian from Queens, N.Y., saw the adventure’s appeal. Michelle Ray, 30, had posed as a life model for art students during her college days, and she was still contemplating hiking naked herself. “God forbid I run into a pack of Boy Scouts and scar them for life,” she said. “A naked librarian? They don’t need to see that.”

Leaving other hikers with such a startling memory might violate the thru-hiker’s vow to “leave no trace” behind in the wilderness.

And yet, Ray said, it could honestly be worth it.

Tags: Nude Hiking Day, Appalachian Trail, Naturism, Nudism

Article: Naked Activists Fight for Right to Bare All

When Daniel Johnson of the Body Freedom Collaborative (BFC)—a group that promotes nonsexual nude socializing—asked the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation if they could rent Colman Pool, an outdoor pool in West Seattle, they were turned down flat. Parks department spokeswoman Dewey Potter says that while “it’s not inherently against the law to be without clothes,” the nude swimmers would be visible to park users, which could violate the state’s indecent-exposure laws.

Johnson says the parks department’s stance is unfair, given Seattle’s openness toward the popular, headline-grabbing naked cyclists at the annual Fremont Solstice Parade. Johnson says that “the solstice cyclists… always get media attention, and it’s kind of been a broken record for years.” Now, Johnson says his group is leading the charge to get the city to designate park space for clothing-optional use.

Every year, BFC holds a clothing-optional picnic in an out-of-the-way area of coastline in order to avoid surprising other parkgoers who are not going au naturel. Occasionally, kayakers and dog walkers will pass the group, but Johnson says they’ve never had any problems.

Mark Storey, a self-described “card-carrying naturist,” helps plan events for BFC and is a Naturist Action Committee board member. He describes his work with the groups as “massaging the social awareness.”

“We’re the only state on the Pacific coast without a nude beach,” Storey notes. Indeed, Oregon and California both have several clothing-optional beaches, and while Washington has several nude resorts, all are private.

Storey says he just wants a place where he can be active and still be free with his body. “I’ve hiked naked for years. You just recognize what a nettle is and don’t walk into them. Give it a try, and if you’re not willing to give it a try, let us enjoy ourselves.”

Potter says that while the parks department “require[s] an event permit for any group that wants to take up space in the park,” clothing-optional events are not necessarily out of the question. “If it’s not visible by the general public, they’ll get a permit,” she said.

Fremont Solstice Parade, Saturday, June 16, 2006: Giant Slug Reported Marauding City

Heard at the Fraternity Snoqualmie Booth after the parade:

Mother and daughter walk by. Mother abruptly covers her daughter’s eyes: ‘Don’t look!’
Daughter, her face muffled into her mother’s armpit: ‘Why? He’s just naked.’
Mother: Absolutely silent to her daughter’s valid question Two booths later, daughter looks back anyway.

Father and young son pause at the booth. Dad is interested in the upcoming Bare Buns Fun Run and reads brochure. Son, standing by says loudly ‘Dad, you’re not going to do that, are you?’ Dad says, ‘Looks like fun’ and winks at his son. Mother chuckles from a distance.

Parade Report

I’d like to add my thanks to those who showed up and made the SLUGS float ‘happen’ at this years parade. Particularly Karen whom, bless her, mothered us fumble-fingered, two left-handed SLUG assemblers and got us on our way, barely-functional but moving by the actual start of the parade.

At one point during assembly, we were actually considering forgoing one of the arch-supports due to lack of enough volunteers to power the Slug. Somehow we made the absolute, minimum critical mass with one brave lady stepping in for the beginning and replaced by another volunteer later. The Slug was ambulatory and moving.

Yours truly was stuck in the tail section again . . . still duct-taping supports and tying off braces as the Slug moved onto the parade route. I continued to have to make frame repairs throughout the route. It’s a good thing that I had a large roll of duct tape handy. Unfortunately . . . I never got a chance to strip and be an au’natural pair of feet in the back end. I participated fully clothed [gasp!!!!!]

We were announced at each grandstand station as ‘the Sun Lovers Under Grey Skies, the SLUGS, a naturist group whom we are assured . . . is at least wearing sandals beneath the Slug.’ We got cheered all along the parade route, necklace beads tossed underneath the Slug as it passed by. Cameras attached to anonymous arms seemed to magically appear underneath the flapping fabric. One young lady slipped under the Slug’s innards, weaved back part of the length and out the other side, cheering ‘yaaaa . . . they’re naked!’

So again, the float was a success . . . loved by everyone. We were remembered from last year . . . helped at points by those who recognized the SLUGS name, and generally just adored and cheered by the parade watchers. Thank you again to those for participating with the SLUG.

More Fremont 2007 Solstice Parade images from Natasha

Tags: Fremont Solstice Parade 2007, SLUGS, Naturism, Nudism

Off Topic: Lawyers in a how-to video: as in how to avoid hiring an American

Watch this video and keep it in mind the next time you hear a high-tech industry titan such as Bill Gates complain that he simply cannot find qualified American employees and therefore the country needs more H-1B visas: You’ll see a panel discussion that looks like a sit-down with “the families” on The Sopranos, only instead of talking about organized crime these lawyers are discussing the ins and outs of helping employers side-step immigration law. The discussion particularly galls me as I’ve experienced this type of side-stepping in my career.

The objective, says Lawrence Lebowitz, vice president of marketing at Cohen & Grigsby, couldn’t be more straightforward.

“Our goal is clearly not to find a qualified U.S. worker … our objective is to get this person a green card,” Lebowitz tells his audience.

And how does an employer go about doing that in light of the legal obligation to first search for a qualified American? It’s all about where you search, he says.

“Clearly we are not going to find a place where the applicants are most numerous, we’re going to find a place where - again we’re complying with the law - and hoping and likely not to find qualified worker applicants,” Lebowitz says.

And if despite looking in all the wrong places a gem of an American candidate pops up anyway?

“If someone looks like they are very qualified, if necessary schedule an interview; go through the whole process to find a legal basis to disqualify them,” he says.

That’s just a taste; there are lots more.

Lebowitz prefaced that first remark - the one about the objective being “not to find a qualified U.S. worker” - by saying, “this may sound funny.”

Don’t know about anyone else, but I didn’t even crack a smile. It doesn’t sound funny. It sounds like it ought to be illegal. At the very least, it sounds like Congress should be tightening the screws on current law before increasing the number of H-1Bs.

Update: Lou Dobbs on CNN picks up on this story:

Article: Restoration of Bates Beach Sought

Image: NudeBeachAlliance.com

Bates Beach, also known at Rincon Beach, is located in Santa Barbara County north of Los Angeles. At the behest of the homeowners of beach-front property overlooking this beautiful area, deputies have been enforcing the county’s No Nudity laws on the beach.

Photos by Joseph A. Garcia / Star staff A sign is posted on the cliff-side path leading to the long, narrow Bates Beach. Members of the Southern California Naturist Association are campaigning for a designated place where they can be free of laws and clothing.

. . . about seven years ago, when local residents started complaining about the hundreds of nudists who flocked to the beach, along with the perverts, gawkers and other nefarious characters who came to watch, Carpinteria police starting cracking down on those who stripped down. Soon, the nude beach that for years had slipped under the radar of officials was gone.

Now, a “Nudity prohibited” sign juts from the cliff-side path leading to the long, narrow beach, an ominous warning for those who dare to try to embrace the beach’s past.

Robinson and her fellow nudists want to change all that.

On a recent Saturday, Robinson and about half a dozen other members of the Southern California Naturist Association sunbathed clothed while flying a banner for their group to raise awareness for their cause.

They want a little stretch of beach to call their own, a designated place where they can be free of laws and clothing and be naked as the day they were born.

The article is worth reading, especially the give and take of the comments pro and con by readers.

A more recent article and an online poll was published in The Santa Barbara Independent on Jun 25th

Tags: Bates Beach, Rincon Beach, Nude Beach, Naturism, Nudism