Yes, I'm Back

[Kulindahr]

A geographical puzzle!





*checks Google Earth*


*pinpoints coordinates*


*activates tag for geographical features*


*checks Google Maps*


*cross-references and matches exact location on both apps*


*collates information*





Yellowbottom Recreation Site and Dogwood Recreation Site, both situated along the Middle Santiam River, not far from Green Peter Lake, all of which lie in the Cascade Range between Mt. Hood National Forest and Williamette National Forest, in the state of Oregon.


How did I do?

Not bad -- those are where I dropped off my trash. But I prefer the more rustic and less crowded "loner" spots along the river -- especially because those are where the best swimming holes are found!

The first spot is one where I used to camp a lot when I was at OSU -- shallow swimming hole and places to pan for gold, and just downstream some cliffs for jumping -- I didn't do much of the latter, because with the colder nights the deep parts of the river were getting seriously cold.

That's the big reason I moved downstream -- just ten miles, and the water temperature is VERY different. Besides, Bammer likes swimming in lakes.

 

[ChickenGuy]

^ I've been looking at the area closer (I'm always curious about places)

It seems to be a complete wilderness with no services at all and just one road in a massive forest.

What did you do for food? Did you have to bring all your own kitchen supplies?

And where did you go to the bathroom? Where did you get fresh water?

And where (if any) was an electrical supply? Did you have to bring your own generator?

Is the idea in these places that you drive a large camper van or caravanette with all your own goods?

Perhaps Americans are more used to the great outdoors and living in nature than us Brits.

 

[Kulindahr]

^ I've been looking at the area closer (I'm always curious about places)

It seems to be a complete wilderness with no services at all and just one road in a massive forest.

You got it.

What did you do for food? Did you have to bring all your own kitchen supplies?

I stocked up on two weeks worth of food before leaving. I didn't get the place I wanted right off, which left me stuck in the sunshine, so my ice didn't last as long as I'd planned -- I had to eat stuff that needed to stay cold early, and relied heavily on bagels and granola bars later.

"Kitchen" is called "fire ring".

And where did you go to the bathroom? Where did you get fresh water?

I took eight gallons of water, plus two solid blocks of ice in my giant thermos jug (five gallons). I ended up not using it all -- I also had a variety of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, including sports drinks, vitamin water, and a morning frapuccino every day.

The rule for waste is for solids get your butt to the nearest restroom or port-a-potty, for liquids go anywhere at least a hundred feet from the river. At night, to avoid using flashlight power, and avoid bugs, and avoid the cold (on the nights that did that), I peed in a big bottle.

The port-a-potties were kind of a drawback -- they're well-designed and all, but three days a week a big long flatbed truck came up and switched some out and pumped the rest out.

And where (if any) was an electrical supply? Did you have to bring your own generator?

Electric for what? The truck battery and an inverter (hey, Swerve -- did you guys find an inverter to spare?) recharged my laptop, flashlight, and dog training collar, and an occasional ten-minute spell sitting in the cab with engine and AC running kept the battery charged.

Is the idea in these places that you drive a large camper van or caravanette with all your own goods?

I drove a pickup. A lot of people were up there with regular cars... with large trunks (boots). Some had trailers, a few had what I call "drive-a-cabin" rigs (

Perhaps Americans are more used to the great outdoors and living in nature than us Brits.

Depends which Americans.

Actually, to me this was lazy camping -- I used to backpack for a week or more, and wasn't fond of drive-in camping. But with all the ways I beat my body up playing sports in high school and college and summers coming back to haunt me, compromises have to be made.

 

[JayHawk]

Awesome post. Glad you're back.

Next time let me know and I will get Mo a airline ticket to join you and bammer... he loves lakes and being a fuzzy body pillow.

I wish I had the ability to grab two weeks of life for myself but it is not to be this year methinks. I will take a month or ten after I am done at 30... in a few short years...

One quickie though... If au natural was the modus operendi then wouldnt Deet work better than armor or for the chemical free maybe some cinnomon oil mixed with citronella oil?

Mosquito bites should never occur on certain regions of my anatomy.... =D

 

[TickTockMan]

I spent a lot of time indulging my naturist streak/convictions.

Yellowbottom Recreation Site and Dogwood Recreation Site, both situated along the Middle Santiam River, not far from Green Peter Lake, all of which lie in the Cascade Range between Mt. Hood National Forest and Williamette National Forest, in the state of Oregon.

Is naturism allowed there or were you just hoping not to get caught? I know of a nude beach and two hot springs that are for naturist, but I have been wanting to find a campground. The only one I know of in Oregon is for married members and women. No single guys allowed.

 

[Kulindahr]

Awesome post. Glad you're back.

Next time let me know and I will get Mo a airline ticket to join you and bammer... he loves lakes and being a fuzzy body pillow.

I wish I had the ability to grab two weeks of life for myself but it is not to be this year methinks. I will take a month or ten after I am done at 30... in a few short years...

One quickie though... If au natural was the modus operendi then wouldnt Deet work better than armor or for the chemical free maybe some cinnomon oil mixed with citronella oil?

Mosquito bites should never occur on certain regions of my anatomy.... =D

I took two weeks on doctor's orders -- it was a sort of "get away from the stress and learn to relax or be in the hospital" thing. I don't think I quite achieved the goal, but it was a good run anyway.

Mosquito repellents on the skin have been indicted as BAD. When it's still warm out and daylight and the bugs are showing up, I'll spray my BB cap and bandana; I also spray the back and arms of my camp chair.
But on that topic, I forgot one thing I usually take: garlic and onions. Pop down a pinky-tip garlic clove and a slice of onion after breakfast and after lunch, and the bugs leave a guy alone.

Worse than the mosquitos -- far, far worse! -- were the flies. Generally the small annoying flies won't bother a guy in the bright sunshine or in the wind, but this trip they didn't seem to care. I think I dunked in the river more times to get rid of flies than for fun. The only days free of all bugs were when the wind from the east was bringing forest fire smoke -- not an approach I would recommend.

I did reduce the fly population around my second campsite after spending an hour and a half picking up every bit of trash I could find and getting rid of it. A lot of TP, paper towels, and napkins in the bushes went into rather odd and deep holes in the drive into the site, to be covered with gravel, broken rock, river sand, and soil mixed and packed (which also made it easier to drive back out -- the "drive" was worse than a "highway" in Mexico I had to take pick and shovel to in order to continue). I probably reduced it at the first site without realizing it, because the first thing I did was fill a big trash bag with all the little leavings, from cig butts to abandoned socks -- especially right by the cliffs and swimming hole, because when I want to be natural in nature, all the trash of society sort of ruins the ambiance.

The worst flies are horseflies; big nasty things as large as a jelly bean. People think I'm crazy, but I have my method for getting rid of them: I wade, bare skin, out to the middle of the area, and wait, hands in striking position. The trick is to let the monster land... when it starts to move its legs, to position for a bite, it's in a mode where it can't take off quickly, so I wait for the feeling of those legs moving, and smash it to fish food (actually they make better fish food if not totally dead -- wiggling flies get snapped up faster). The interesting thing is that the bloody things are sort of territorial; kill the one bothering your immediate area, and you may get up to an hour, occasionally more, without being bothered again.
I killed three one afternoon. People couldn't imagine how I could stand out there naked just waiting for them to land, but I get a kick out of using their own instincts and behaviors against them. I also enjoy feeding the fish.

Actually the worst place I've ever had a mosquito bite was inside an armpit -- I fell asleep in the sun, and shade moved over me, and one arm was outstretched.... It was horrid because the only way to have relief was to hold the arm up.

 

[Kulindahr]

Is naturism allowed there or were you just hoping not to get caught? I know of a nude beach and two hot springs that are for naturist, but I have been wanting to find a campground. The only one I know of in Oregon is for married members and women. No single guys allowed.

As confirmed by the sheriff's deputy who responded to the bigots, there is no law in Oregon against being naked. It has been affirmed at least three times by the Oregon State Supreme Court as freedom of expression.

According to the Oregon State Police, you'd be legal hitchhiking naked -- at least as far as the nudity; a complaint might get you cited as presenting a traffic hazard.

 

[JayHawk]

Mosquito repellents on the skin have been indicted as BAD. When it's still warm out and daylight and the bugs are showing up, I'll spray my BB cap and bandana; I also spray the back and arms of my camp chair.
But on that topic, I forgot one thing I usually take: garlic and onions. Pop down a pinky-tip garlic clove and a slice of onion after breakfast and after lunch, and the bugs leave a guy alone.

Well the cinnamon and citronella oil mixed will combat most anything... No chemicals...

I will hafta try the garlic and onion thing but I think my blood is too sweet. I am usually eating a lot of garlic and wild onions when camping as they make awesome seasoning and I love the tri-fecta on anything (Garlic, Onion and Black Pepper)... yet with no separate precaution I am a bug feast.

Seriously I can be sitting with ten people and the bugs will eat me.....

I personally dig me some skin-so-soft as it works well for no see-ums and I like beach camping so naturally......lotsa sand flies and no see-ums.

Actually the worst place I've ever had a mosquito bite was inside an armpit -- I fell asleep in the sun, and shade moved over me, and one arm was outstretched.... It was horrid because the only way to have relief was to hold the arm up.

OUCH... I would be nuts. Any gland location is a horrible bite... particularly the two that swing freely.......I digress....

 

[TickTockMan]

As confirmed by the sheriff's deputy who responded to the bigots, there is no law in Oregon against being naked. It has been affirmed at least three times by the Oregon State Supreme Court as freedom of expression.

According to the Oregon State Police, you'd be legal hitchhiking naked -- at least as far as the nudity; a complaint might get you cited as presenting a traffic hazard.

Good to know. I just wrote asking OSP if it is true. I am curious if they write me back and what they say.

Since it is seen as freedom of expression to the Oregon State Supreme Court, does that mean the City of Salem can’t have a law against it?

I like to go out sometimes in the morning nude. This could change my life.

 

[Kulindahr]

Well the cinnamon and citronella oil mixed will combat most anything... No chemicals...

I will hafta try the garlic and onion thing but I think my blood is too sweet. I am usually eating a lot of garlic and wild onions when camping as they make awesome seasoning and I love the tri-fecta on anything (Garlic, Onion and Black Pepper)... yet with no separate precaution I am a bug feast.

I and some friends hiked a stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail that is thick with mosquitos at all hours of the day. Other people were in long pants and shirts and covered in repellent -- we were in shorts, sandals, and hats, and bug-free, because we'd been doing the garlic and onion thing. For that stretch we did it to the point of being able to smell each other if we got close, but normally we didn't go that far.

Maybe some people's body chemistry is just too attractive to bugs, but it's never failed me.

 

[Críostóir]

I find that taking a B-complex 50 pill each day keeps away most of the mosquitos. I'll also try the garlic-and-onion thing next time it's relevant (which at this point is likely to be in 2012 at the earliest).

 

[Centexfarmer]

did not notice you were gone as i was sorta MIA for a bit - traveling as well but not as much fun as camping

last time i camped I was going to the bathroom on a hill - yes

Go on.

dropped the roll of toilet paper and proceeded to chase it down the hill with my boxers around my ankles

can't make this shit up

Boxers?

Camping?

I always figured you as a "tightey-whitey," boxer-briefs or a "free-baller" kind of guy.

But you're chasing a roll of TP down a hill with your "boxers" around your ankles?

While Camping?

You're such a city boy.

needless to say camping is not .......... ME

welcome back

At least not the Kuli type of camping.

When he tells you that all that he was wearing was a "holster for his gun," he's not talking about underwear.

I've got 25 acres in Central Texas, and it's not likely that my neighbors will call the sheriffs department, when I hang my cock off my back deck (which I built) to take a piss.

Why? They can't see me!

And as much as I've contemplated walking my wooded property with my junk hanging out, I can't bring myself to do it.

Unlike Oregon we've got critters here that don't discriminate when it comes to things to sting, bite, or knaw on. And that's just the "critters."

I haven't even began to talk about the "herbage."

Poison Ivy, Posion Oak, Blood Weed, wild blackberry vines, things with thorns.



Getting a'natural on a river, or down at the beach?

meh, I recommend sun screen.

Getting naked here in Central Texas, I recommend a 12 gauge shotgun, a .38 hand gun, sun screen, DEET, and indoor plumbing facilities.

Welcome Back Kuli!

I always appreciate how you can disassemble a debate topic, add some intelligence to it, then reassemble it again inspiring the poster/reader to dig deeper. Myself in included.

 

[CowboyBob]

^just how big are those boxers if he can run down a hill when them around his ankles?

 

[Críostóir]

I'm not a camper. I like my civilized comforts. Indoor plumbing, running water, refrigeration, air conditioning...these are my friends, and I will not abandon them!

Plus last time I slept in a tent, I got asthmatic pneumonia and...well, I won't say I was close to death, but I could see it from my house, if you know what I mean. That's probably why it WAS the last time.

 

[Centexfarmer]

^just how big are those boxers if he can run down a hill when them around his ankles?

I don't know CB how big would they have to be?

I'd imagine that he at least busted the elastic in the waist part as he stretched to keep from tripping over his shorts.

 

[T-Rexx]

I've got 25 acres in Central Texas, and it's not likely that my neighbors will call the sheriffs department, when I hang my cock off my back deck (which I built) to take a piss.

Why? They can't see me!

I've always wished I could do that from my deck, but my neighbors are too close.

 

[Kulindahr]

Kulindahr maybe you could go to the desert in Eastern Oregon. I can tell you from spending nights in the desert that 1) the quiet is both unnerving and tranquilizing at the same time, and 2) no bugs. None. Zilch.

It does get pretty cold at night, though, except in the middle in the summer. But you have Bammer to warm you up.

BTW, I've been studying sleep architecture. Did you find that, being away from artificial light, your sleeping habits changed?

I'm a river-lover, so the desert proper is sort of out.

Sleep changed? Oh, yes! My body started to get into synch with the sun, and I slept both more briefly and better.

 

[Kulindahr]

At least not the Kuli type of camping.

When he tells you that all that he was wearing was a "holster for his gun," he's not talking about underwear.

Like the hot springs in California with the VERY large kitty tracks, so I added my .357 to sandals, hat, book, beverage, and towel.

And as much as I've contemplated walking my wooded property with my junk hanging out, I can't bring myself to do it.

Unlike Oregon we've got critters here that don't discriminate when it comes to things to sting, bite, or knaw on. And that's just the "critters."

I haven't even began to talk about the "herbage."

Poison Ivy, Posion Oak, Blood Weed, wild blackberry vines, things with thorns.

Sounds like the western Cascades in Oregon.

Heck, the people who camped in my first spot right before me found scorpions. The nasty snakes tend to be over the mountain crest from there, though... ordinarily; rattlers have been seen where I camped from time to time.

I don't think we have Blood Weed, though -- sounds nasty. Though we do have some soft viney weeds with seeds that will grasp and cling to a single hair -- one big reason the port-a-potties are very appreciated.

 

[Kulindahr]

I'm not a camper. I like my civilized comforts. Indoor plumbing, running water, refrigeration, air conditioning...these are my friends, and I will not abandon them!

Plus last time I slept in a tent, I got asthmatic pneumonia and...well, I won't say I was close to death, but I could see it from my house, if you know what I mean. That's probably why it WAS the last time.

That sounds like either an improperly stored or a cheap brand tent. Improperly cleaned and stored, a tent can get molds and mildews and fungi in the fabric that can't be seen, but they'll sure do a number on your respiration! (I learned that at a Boy Scout gathering where they were doing practical takes on the "Scout Law" -- this was under "A Scout is Clean".)

Cheap brand tents often don't properly clean and then seal the fabric, which means that while on the shelf, volatiles from the manufacturing process can get released, and when you use it for the first time you get to breathe the nasty things.

Or if you combine a cheap brand tent with poor storage, you can get the petroleum-based nasty volatiles combined with the icky microscopic growths, which is a great way to induce asthmatic pneumonia! I had that problem with a tent I'd loaned out, once -- it wasn't a cheap brand, but it got mistreated, which can lead to the same problems; fortunately, the weather was nice, so I slept outside the tent for two nights and left it set up in the bright sunshine where temperatures hit 100 F and humidity was down around 10 -- did the trick.

BTW, and interesting way to deal with a poorly-stored tent is to fill a spritzer with vodka and dampen the walls.... just let it dry again before going to sleep.

 

[Críostóir]

Actually this was in the Berkshires, where the humidity never gets below about 80% except in the dead of winter (I'm exaggerating only slightly), but more to the point that was the year the pollen was so high that people had to brush the yellow dust off the picnic benches before sitting down, because it collected on them thickly between meals.

Also I was taking Benadryl, which is contraindicated for asthmatics. I didn't know that at the time.

So it's not exactly about the actual safety, or lack of same, of camping. It's about a phobia I've acquired. Now, of course, with your information about the mold, I have yet another thing to be afraid of!