Snow Plows have blocked access

The snow berm across the entrance of FS850
- image courtesy a friendly WSP trooper

We got a good dumping of snow in the Cascades on Monday . . . up to 14 inches in some places. You can expect snow from Skykomish on up. The pass cam shows US2 unplowed of several inches.

FS850, the access to Scenic Hot Springs, is well within the heavy snow zone and according to one report there is a snow berm in place from the highway plowing operations.

Expect more snow this week . . . and please do not park on FS850 (even if your 4wd can get in). You’ll probably get trapped. Also, do not park on the highway, the shoulders, or in chain-up areas. These are tow-zones. The nearest safe parking is in the Surprise Creek Trailhead area within the BN Rail Zones.

Why you should care . . .

A few of the many 38cal(?) cartridges we found
scattered around the base of the Monster Tub

I won’t go into why firing guns from the hot spring pools is such an incredibly stupid idea. I’ve had guns fired in my direction on two occasions up at Scenic. I don’t like the idea of an errant bullet whizzing past my head on the trail downslope.

Irresponsible gun usage is one of the reasons we have rules in the wilderness . . . and particularly at Scenic. Mix it in with a partying attitude involving alcohol and weed at nighttime, and the chances of something going terribly wrong go way up.

Scenic is not open to the general public. You either have a permission card because of your involvement in past clean-ups, or you have been given permission for a visit in advance. What that means is if you are caught hiking up to the springs by the owner or his representatives, you may be asked to leave . . . even if you are almost all the way up to the hot springs. Please don’t argue with us . . . if you do not have permission you are trespassing! If you do have permission, the owner can revoke it.

So why?

The first reason is because we are in the middle of sensitive negotiations with the county, state and feds over permits to reopen the hot springs to the public . . . and by the unexpected presence of people heading up to the hot springs while bureaucrats and inspectors watch, our permits get jeopardized.

Secondly, irresponsible soaking will not be allowed to take root at Scenic. Even if you have permission, I will challenge you and send you packing if you are not prepared for the weather . . . or if you are drinking too much or otherwise being an a**hole. We’ve had our share of people hiking in street jeans, teeshirt and sneakers thinking they were immune to an oncoming snow storm.

We do not allow late night soaking or camping because we cannot control the irresponsible activities that traditionally take place after the sun goes down. Occasionally the owner or one of his reps will make the hike up to the springs late at night and ask those there to leave. Please do so without argument. I didn’t hike up there three times for the exercise this past Sunday.

It’s within your power to help make the re-emergence of Scenic Hot Springs happen. You could volunteer . . . you could ask first . . . instead of assuming . . . you could also soak responsibly. But just don’t enter the property en’mass near nightfall carrying cases of beer and expecting me to allow you to continue up to the springs. That is just the sort of activity we need to minimize in the county’s eyes. I will ask you to turn around. I expect the other representatives will also.

• Have Permission First
  
• No Night-time Soaking
• No Guns, No Camping, No Fires
• Be Responsible with Alcohol – No Glass
• No Dogs at the Springs Site
• Be Prepared for Conditions

Snowtime at Scenic

A dusting of snow near the main springs at 3,500ft

Not much yet but it’s coming as a new weather system with high winds and a lot of moisture is due in Monday. The freezing level is down around 2,400ft.

A Victory for Skinnydipping in Surrey

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:*

*City of Surrey Patently Unreasonable in Barring Nude Swims*
Surrey, British Columbia – November 8, 2007

The B.C. Supreme Court today released the decision of Judge Williamson in the Judicial Review of the decision of the City of Surrey to disallow Skinnydipper Services Inc. from renting Newton Wave Pool for private nude swim events. In his decision, Judge Williamson said repeatedly of Surrey’s arguments “I am not persuaded.” The ruling states that the City’s bylaw regulating bathing attire is “beyond the City’s legislative competance” and that the decision to decline to rent pool facilities to us was patently unreasonable. The directors of Skinnydipper Services are elated at the outcome and are looking forward to informing the club membership.

A copy of this and previous press releases as well as all court documents will be available on our “Save the Wave” website. Visit http://stw.skinnydipper.ca and click on “Media Information”. Judge Williamson’s decision is available from the Vancouver Court Registry here.

Why no Sulphur Smell at Scenic . . .

A question I often get from those who have been to Scenic is “How come there is very little rotten egg smell like other hot springs?” Often the pungent smell of Olympic Hot Springs is brought up in comparison. Scenic Hot Springs barely has any smell, whatsoever. Why?

That rotten egg smell is the result of H2S, or hydrogen sulphide. As ground waters percolate downward and heat up, minerals are dissolved out of the rock being traversed. Heat and pressure dissolve heavier minerals as the temperature and pressure increase . . . generally with depth. A common mineral dissolved out by most geothermal systems is sulfur . . . which by itself has no unpleasant smell. Bacteria deep down converts sulfur to the rotten egg gas smell of many hot springs.

The presence of H2S indicates that the water has penetrated to great depths. As the water percolates deeply into the crust, pressure increases, and this allows the anaerobic bacteria (germs that work in the absence of oxygen) to convert sulfur in the form of sulphate to the sulphide of H2S. A quick trip to the surface retains the H2S created. A slow surface route may retain the gas only if the passage excludes oxygen, allowing the anaerobic bacteria to continue their work.

Olympic Hot Springs evolves from fractures in the bedrock around an active fault line over the Olympic subduction zone. Temperatures and pressures are very high and the resulting hot spring waters are highly mineralized with very high concentrations of sulfur . . . and the smell of hydrogen sulphide in the air.

Scenic, by comparison, is a shallow and rather benign geothermal system. The heat source for Scenic Hot Springs is an upwelling of solidified magma (called a pluton) that has been cooling for the last 35 million years. The residual heat from this solidified upwelling is shallow (~600ft) and does not give the pressures and heat for much reduction of sulfur into the rotten egg gas.

Cold Weather, Digital Cameras, and Battery Life

I like to take a lot of pictures when I hike up in the mountains (of myself, of course, but a lot of landscape scenery shots as well.) One of the problems us shutterbugs may have noticed is that the batteries just don’t seem to last as long in cold weather . . . particularly in the near freezing temps of the Cascades at this time of year. It’s not a new phenomena . . . batteries just don’t work as well at low temperatures, and that includes all that paraphernalia gadgetry we like to carry. . . GPS units, cell phones, FRS radios.

But particularly my camera which has optical zoom and auto-focus features that really eat up the power. I find that when the air temperature drops below 40F my camera batteries are only good for a third to a half of the images they normally should take. The time-honored way for cold weather photographers is to tuck the camera under the jacket when you’re not taking a picture, thus keeping the camera and batteries warm. But that’s counterproductive if you’re hiking nude . . . as I’m often doing (seems my body does far better in the cold than my fancy electronic equipment).

I do carry spare batteries as a matter of course and my answer for cold weather battery life is to keep those spare batteries in my pack with one of those chemical hand warmers up against them. When my primary battery goes ’south’ I switch out batteries for the warm backup. Battery life is still not as great but by doing the switching (the primary will warm up and regain additional life), I get close to normal use.

Another factor is to insulate your camera if that is at all possible . . . some sort of case or ‘camera cozy’ to prevent the all-metal body of your camera from getting really cold. Something as simple as a ziplock baggie over the camera with the lens poking out, while un-elegant and ugly, goes a long way to keeping the camera (and the battery) just a little warmer, and protected from moisture and the elements. Wedge in another hand warmer and your camera will stay nice and warm . . . and the battery perky.

The LCD on digital cameras uses a lot of power so switch it off and use the viewfinder instead. If you have power optical zoom, try to minimize it’s use.

The same protocol applies to the other electronic devices you might carry. The batteries will have only half the life as they get cold. Keep cell phones and such in your pack and carry backup batteries.

2nd Annual Naked Bungy Jump for Schizophrenia

Saturday, February 23 and Sunday, February 24, 2008 – 10am to 5pm

This popular annual event raises funds for the British Columbia Schizophrenia Society. At this adult-only event, participants and spectators must be 19 and older. The minimum donation required per participant jumping naked is $25Can for pre-registration and $35Can for walk-ins. Those wishing to support the charity by jumping with their clothes on can also pre-register or walk-in and pay the regular jump rate of $99.99Can. Spectators are charged an admission fee of $15Can per person. Online registration for this event will start in January 2008. For information before registration starts, call 1-888-668-7874.

I did this event last year and it was a body-awakening experience. Plan for the 2nd Annual Naked Bungy Jump for Schizophrenia in Feb of 2006.

First Snow Hike of the Season

West Side of Captain’s Point via Marten’s Creek
and the south flanks of Scrabble Mountain

Looking due north off a spur ridge of Captain’s Point near the

intersection of the Kelley Creek Trail.

I might be a little light on the posting but certainly not on the hiking, though the lousy weather has put somewhat of a damper in my activities. But with a string of nice, sunny days, a chance for some hiking was in the offing. Where, was the $64,000 question.

Cold (or cooler) weather . . . shorter days . . . and that ever-present threat of rain limit the reasonable choices you can make if you want to hike nude. I find the major factor in my decision-making for cold-weather nude hiking is exposure . . . specifically the amount of exposure to sunlight that I can expect on my body. If it’s already 40F out and your hiking naked under dark canopy or late afternoon shade, then you are going to get cold rather fast. I want the sun on my skin to warm me. That need narrows choices. I’m going to have to get on the ridges, stick to south-facing slopes and plan my route so that I have the sun facing me inbound, and again facing me in the afternon when I’m outbound. On top of that, I’ve got to avoid windy areas. Where do you find a route that meets those requirements, is still interesting enough to hike, and is nude-friendly?

No snow when I started around 3,300 ft. Valhalla Ridge is in the background above Marten Creek valley

I opted for a disused logging road at the far end of the Marten Creek valley (the same road that leads many people to the very popular Iron Goat Trailhead). The valley is a broad glacial valley facing south. Ten miles further in than the Iron Goat TH, the road gives access to several old logging areas on Captains, Windy Peak and the hinterland mountains that give rise to Valhalla and Scrabble Mountains. At the creek’s headwaters the road (already gated a mile back) crosses a wooden bridge and begins a steep and long climb up the sides of the slopes toward the backside of Captain’s Point. What is interesting about this hike is that you have it to yourself . . . and if anyone did by any chance want to come up this logging road you would see them from a long distance off. A great place to hike nude!

Snow peppers the ground near the top. Not a great deal as we haven’t had any great, precip-dumping storms yet. An average of 6-8 inches . . . snowshoes not needed.

Once on top I go exploring . . . searching for a route to connect around to the northwest side of Captain’s Point where the ridge continues northwesterly to connect with Johnson Ridge and Joan Lake. This section of ridge belongs to the Kelley Creek Trail, which comes around Captain’s from the south and west. It would be nice if I could blaze a connector route to cut off the hard under canopy trail of Kelley. I know where I need to go . . . in fact, can see the meadow where the trail comes up onto the ridge. Unfortunately, I still cannot see the easy way across one last treacherous wall of rock between the ridges.

As often happens . . . you run out of time and know you have but a few hours of light to get back. Reluctantly, I do. Good thing I brought a headlamp as I make it back to the car and warmth later than I think . . . because I daddled. But I daddled nude and didn’t really feel the cold until I stop moving and sat down in my car. Then I realized how cold is was outside . . . 34F and dropping.