Mooncrow's Naturist Pages: Scenic Hot Springs

Scenic Hot Springs WAS located in Western Washington near US Highway 2. These popular hot springs benefit from a 122 degree F thermal flow that makes the steep two mile hike well worth the effort.

DIRECTIONS: From Seattle take I-5 north to US 2 and proceed east to about 10 miles beyond Old Fairhaven Parkway. Cross the bridge over the railroad tracks and just past mile post 59 turn right onto a dirt road. This road leads you on a very rough right-of-way for about two miles beneath a power line. It is suggested that you either have a 4-wheel drive vehicle or park and hike this route. At the crest of the hill, the trail doubles back to the right and up to the hot springs.

Subject: Current photo's (11/12/2001)
Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2001
From: La Grand (la_grand@hotmail.com)

Here is the new look at Scenic
I have others, and various resolutions/formats available.

Dale

Subject: SCENIC HOT SPRINGS
Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2002
From: "THOMAS M GRIFFEN" tmgrif@msn.com

DEAR FRIEND,

I RETURNED TODAY TO THE HOT SPRINGS AFTER NEARLY A TWO YEAR ABSCENCE, TO FIND THE
SPRINGS THRASHED. BUT THERE IS A GLIMMER OF HOPE, JUST A GLIMMER MIND YOU. HALF OF ONE
POOL HAS BEEN RECONSTRUCTED, WITH THE WATER BATHTUB HOT.

A FELLOW SOAKER I MET ON THE TRAIL HELPED ME IN CRUDELY FABRICATING A SMALL DECK ON
WHICH TO LAY OUR CLOTHES WHILE WE SOAKED.

'TIS A SHAME THAT SO FEW, CAN REAK SO MUCH HAVOV ON SO MANY; I SPEAK OF THE VANDELS,
THE DRUNKEN SOTS, AS WELL AS THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT.

Subject: Scenic Springs Memorial
Date: Fri, 09 Nov 2001
From: Jim (outdoorguy@home.com)

I am shocked. This was a special spiritual place for myself and the many interesting humans from around the whorld I had the privalige to meet and learn from their culture. I always felt a sense of creativity, a higher awareness every time I made the Journey from Spokane, Washington. It has been about 2 years since I have made the trip. I had been thinking of going since the attack on 9-11-01. I might have gone soon now that winter is approaching. I am sad, disappointed, a little angry. I don't understand our American idea of freedom. Some of the best places in this country die because I suppose, the people who want control can't understand or think about how much those of us who enjoy the simple things in nature need places like this where we can be with our God. My church has been destroyed. This is an attack on our freedom to live and live simply as we wish.

Subject: Comments received from PI regarding Scenic
Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2001
From: Mat Bühl (matbuehl@gmx.net)

Below you will find the letter I wrote to the editor of the PI, and above it you will find THE RESPONSE SENT TO ME BY THE JOURNALIST WHO WROTE THE PI ARTICLE OF OCT 27. He spent a good amount of time researching the action by talking to the owner and the police. His comments support my theory, so I'm hoping I'll see less whining about how the springs were ruined by 'kids', excessive alcohol consumption, selfish/careless/inconsiderate use without contribution, 'late-nighters', or even overpopularity. Sure, these things were obviously undesirable, but they were all UTTERLY PREDICTABLE, and even INEVITABLE considering:

1. human nature as it has been for one million years, combined with
2. how the use of the springs was organized (not that I'd have done it differently).

I am as critical as anybody of those quick to blame everything on the police when they are sent in to simply enforce a law or ruling that didn't go our way. I personally prefer law & order. But the harsh reality for those of us hypnotized by a few friendly heart-to-heart conversations with them is that the police WERE NOT "just doing their jobs." It was their *reluctance to do their jobs* that led them to engineer the destruction of the springs through ARGUABLY ILLEGAL MEANS. And those rural methamphetamine addicts (NOT younger hot-springs visitors as suggested by some friends) breaking into our cars have NOT been relegated to sitting at home twiddling their thumbs. As the police knew and know, these crooks have only lost one source of their drug money. The cops' only interest was to reduce back down to a convenient local radius the area in which they're bothered with driving to crime scenes and taking reports (namely, what they’re paid to do).

Where there are potential victims, there are victimizers. It's pretty simple. When the police accepted their jobs and the corresponding jurisdictions, they were not guaranteed that all the remotest wooded areas of those jurisdictions would retain low concentrations of potential victims. Age, alcohol consumption, average time of arrival at the springs, nature of springs use, volume of alcohol consumed, etc. had NOTHING to do with it.

The crooks would have glommed on to our cars as ideal targets even if the springs remained as obscure as they were in 1990. Anybody trying to blame it all on those who first enjoyed the springs after 1972 is just trying to make him/herself feel special & important.

Now is the time to act to act to (gulp) draw as much attention to the springs and their plight as possible. We must let the owner know that he has RIGHTS. Rights that were possibly violated by the police. He must be assured that he should not fear disappointing the police. If we can draw enough attention to this, we may even catch the attention of investors willing to finance a legal effort. As it stands, it is clear the springs will never be as they were. I’d hate to see reservations made mandatory, visit duration & visitor numbers limited, arrival hours constrained and necks being breathed down, but these features of a pay-per-use/resident-attendant scenario would all be cheerfully welcomed relative to what we have now. Not to mention that revenue from the springs is about the only incentive we’d have as a bargaining chip in any negotiation with the owner.

Attention is drawn to this matter by the writing of letters to the editors of newspapers and to our representatives in the government. NOTHING WILL BE DONE unless reference is made in these letters to the inappropriate and potentially illegal means used by the police. One thing’s for sure: VOLUME MATTERS. If you ever once panned the view of the starry night sky, set behind the glowing, snowy hills north of your warm, soul-soaking position in the Bear Den, YOU OWE IT TO THE SPRINGS to get out your pen right now and write at least one letter to the PI, Seattle Times and Gary Locke.

Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2001
From: Holt, Gordy (GordyHolt@seattlepi.com) To: thatmark@u.washington.edu (thatmark@u.washington.edu)
Subject: Hot springs redux

Mat: Thanks for getting the picture. I rather hoped that the quote from Mr. Piper would not wind up on the cutting room floor (as sometimes these things do), because it tells just about everything there is to tell about the situation.

-----Original Message-----
From: thatmark@u.washington.edu [mailto:thatmark@u.washington.edu]
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2001 2:47 AM
To: gordyholt@seattlepi.com
Subject: Please read

Saturday’s news of the closure of Scenic Hot Springs was only mildly surprising to me. I was first introduced to them by a friend in 1994, when I was 18 years old. Since then, I have had countless varied and unforgettable experiences there. The springs’ existence has more than once been the clincher in ‘your city or mine’ questions I’ve had with foreign business partners regarding upcoming meetings. I knew it was too good to last. Especially considering the comments I’ve had made to me by Sheriff’s deputies while packing my things into my car down on highway 2.

A symptom of rural and small-town America’s out-of-control methamphetamine problem, vehicle break-ins along the stretch of highway 2 used as a parking strip by bathers have become a headache to the nearest offices of law enforcement. It’s a fairly uncommon arrangement for one specific spot along an otherwise wild stretch of highway with no public services to have as high an incidence of reported property crimes. It’s a pretty inconvenient drive for them every time one is reported. ‘If only the hot springs dried up’ they think to themselves, sometimes out loud. I can sympathize with their annoyance, but they’re walking at best right on the boundary of improper conduct when they use the methods they used to get what they want.

Failing to throw together a sufficient premise on their own, they tracked down one of the owners and made a few ‘suggestions’. I quote from Saturday’s P-I interview with the owner: “I had no choice but to do what I've been told to do by the sheriff, and that was to post the (no trespassing) signs." I know the cleanliness of this may at first sound squeaky enough, but there’s a reason a situation like this is looked cockeyed at by those in the legal profession. Nobody wants to be seen by the law as ‘part of the problem’, which is exactly how most people would feel if their personal interests caused them to deny a big, helpful favor requested of them by the police.

Of course, if my theory is correct, it would be another favor to them for the owner to deny that their suggestions played such a role in making his final decision.

Subject: Fwd: and the last........
Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2001
From: Derek Bean (friendsoshs@hotmail.com)

October 20th 2001
THE DAY SHERIFF “BEAUMONT” OF SKYKOMISH,
WAGGED HIS JUDGEMENTAL FINGER
AT THE PEOPLE OF SCENIC HOT SPRINGS!

>From: Gregory J Wallace (groggwa@juno.com)
>To: friendsoshs@hotmail.com
>Subject: and the last........
>Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2001
>
>I guess this sums up the whole situation.........

Subject: Re: THE DEMISE OF SCENIC
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2001
From: ScovellMRBean@aol.com

It's not looking good for Scenic Hot Springs. The owner contacted FOSHS this evening. He has given the sheriff permission to post No Trespassing signs and the Sheriff will be there to turn people away or hand out citations to those who won't leave. We are sad and committed to keep them from destroying the spring in our absence.

Many people have been invited to Scenic this Saturday and we are not sure what to do to slow this down. I don't feel we should slow it down. We are planning to hand out flyers about the meeting the following weekend. It is our understanding that the sheriff was told that there was a big homosexual gather scheduled up there for this weekend and he jumped on the bandwagon to put a halt to it. That is irrelevant; we don't condone any sexually inappropriate activities, homo or heterosexual at the hot spring. We don't permit under age drinking or drinking to excess at the springs, but we are not there babysitting every hour of every day, so it is hard at times to monitor people's use and conduct. We don't wish to make enemies with the sheriff. We understand his frustrations with having to take reports of vandalized cars, when the users of the springs park on Highway #2 and get broken into. We are all frustrated with the idiot who get sloppy drunk and hurt themselves, due to their irresponsibility, then call Search and Rescue to come get them to give them medical attention or medivac them to the nearest hospital

Many people visit Scenic, from all over the country and the world. The few have hurt the many. There has to be a way to reach a compromise. The majority enjoys a peaceful soak. Maybe this is what needs to happen to bring order?

Subject: scenic hot springs destroyed!?!
Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2001
From: Chris LaRoche (lcla@earthlink.net)

I found your webpage about scenic HS, and have some news/questions. My friend went there last night, and said the place was trashed, with litter and garbage stung about everywhere (he goes there fairly often, btw). He also said that there was a whole kicked in the middle pool, and the pipes from the source to the top pool were destroyed as well, leaving the top and bottom pools unusable. I had heard that the FoSHS were considering closing the place down due to vandalism and break-ins. Is this what they're talking about, or is their work?

SCENIC HOT SPRINGS, WASHINGTON