Yes, I Did Go Skinny-Dipping with 12 Naked Women in the Trinity Alps…

August 29, 2011 By John Soares 8 Comments

Mount Shasta area writer Tim Holt just wrote a really good piece in the Redding Record Searchlight called “Naked sunbathers, Mt. Shasta oddities: In the great outdoors, expect the unexpected.”

I’m one of the hikers he featured, and he discusses a very pleasant and memorable experience I had while backpacking in the Trinity Alps in the late 1970s:

Outdoor writer John Soares will never forget the day he and a hiking buddy rounded a trail in the Trinity Alps and encountered a dozen naked women… Soares and his friend… took off their clothes, went skinny-dipping in the creek, chatted a little with the women. Then they went on their way.

All true, but there’s more to the story…

My Encounter with Nude Hikers in the Trinity Alps: More Details…

This was the last day of an epic Trinity Alps backpacking trip. The journey began at Cherry Flat on the Stuart Fork of the Trinity River. We’d hiked to Morris Meadows, and then up the Suicide Ridge Trail to the Caribou Lakes. From there we did a harrowing cross-country hike near Sawtooth Ridge to Grizzly Lake, passing near Little South Fork Lake. The next day it was more cross-country into the Canyon Creek drainage, where we spent the night at Upper Canyon Creek Lake.

And then the last day: my “hiking companion” and I hiked nearly to the trailhead of the Canyon Creek Trail, then took the Bear Trail up, up, up… and then down to Stuart Fork Creek. We were sweaty, filthy, stinky, and exhausted as we hiked those last miles to the car. It was late July and very hot.

A few miles from Cherry Flat we saw a faint side trail down to Stuart Fork and decided to see if it led to a swimming hole. It did — the one with the aforementioned 12 naked young ladies. I was a bit shy and a bit overwhelmed, but I did manage to shed my clothes and take a quick dip in the very cold water (damned shrinkage factor…), and have a brief and pleasant chat with a few of the women.

We just made it to the car at dark.

Explore the Wild and Rugged Trinity Alps With This New Map!

The alpine lakes and jagged peaks of the Trinity Alps Wilderness rival the scenery of the High Sierra, without the crowds. This new highly detailed map is perfect for your next backpacking trip or day hike:

Canyon Creek Lakes, Caribou Lake, and all the main destinations
Trails with more solitude in more remote parts of the wilderness
Obtaining a wilderness permit
Boundaries of recent wildfires

Buy it online from: Green Trails Maps | Amazon

Often available at outdoor stores and bookstores (call first!)

course, if I get there and everybody else is doin’ it, there’s no need to ask.

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Comments

Eric Soares says
August 29, 2011 at 9:13 am
Okay, I’m John’s naked companion on the Trinity Alps trip. I’m his oldest brother and can say that we bonded on that trip–mostly because of sharing the beauty of the Alps, but also because of the hardship we endured together.
Everything he wrote is true except I was not stinky and sweaty! I smelled great and glistened…. John forgot to mention that we ran out of food that morning and walked 24 miles in the blazing sun (it was 95F). And, he was a teenager at the time and brought no sleeping bag.
And yes, I still skinny dip every chance I get.
Reply
- John Soares says
  August 29, 2011 at 12:44 pm
  Yes, it was Eric who was my “hiking companion” that day, perhaps the toughest of my hiking life, but one we both remember as one of the best days of our lives (in large part because of skinny-dipping with all those beautiful women).
  And it was great trip, despite the fact that I only brought a blanket because I couldn’t buy, beg, steal, or borrow a sleeping bag. (I was a poor teenager.)
  Reply
Gambolin' Man says
August 29, 2011 at 11:16 am
Great story of a fabled encounter with riverine Nereids! Hah! Oh, yes, skinny dipping is a de rigueur experience! Clothes? Clothes? We don’t need no stinkin’ clothes! Although a guy did comment on one of my posts, “No one needs to see that!” PS: John, was up in Klamath Knot country on Clear Creek and stopped in Mt. Shasta on way home and had a quick bite to eat at Anadman – wish I had thought of arranging to meet up with you prior to the spontaneous stop there in that lovely little burg!
Reply
- John Soares says
  August 29, 2011 at 12:45 pm
  Glad to see your also a fan of swimming au naturel.
  Please do let me know the next time you’re in this area. And I eat at Andaman Thai restaurant a couple of times a month.
  Reply
Strawbear says
September 1, 2011 at 4:35 pm
Hiking during weekdays has the great added advantage of solitude…and presenting the au natural swim. We have a goal to visit all the lakes and partake…Big Bear, Stoddard, Tangle Blue, Mavis, Fox, Long Gulch, Trail Gulch, Adams and East Boulder…and counting.
Reply
- John Soares says
  September 1, 2011 at 4:59 pm
  You got my thinking about my life list of all the places I’ve skinny-dipped. It’s long!
  Reply
John Soares says
November 27, 2015 at 8:54 am
Consider Seven Lakes Basin west of Mount Shasta. Not many people visit the basin, and there are several lakes.
Reply
Steve Smith says
May 4, 2016 at 8:34 am
Anyone know of any good skinny dipping places in the Stanislaus or Mokulemne rivers watersheds. Candy Rock and camp nine is out of the question anymore. Thank you
Reply

Yes, I Did Go Skinny-Dipping with 12 Naked Women in the Trinity Alps…

My Encounter with Nude Hikers in the Trinity Alps: More Details…

Explore the Wild and Rugged Trinity Alps With This New Map!

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