You Guys Know This Place is Clothing Optional, Right? (Part I)

One of my favorite stories ever happened in a moment where my still-to-this-day-good-friend Daisy and I were becoming close and trying to be adventurous. We were in the middle of college, and we decided that a good old-fashioned camping trip would solidify our friendship. I knew of a spot in the mountains, about three hours away from school, and after class let out on Wednesday, we packed up the car with our PB&Js—pilfered from the school cafeteria—and a borrowed tent from the outdoor recreation center.

Daisy had talked to me of her life-changing Outward Bound experience as a teenager, and though I was a bit of a camping virgin, I trusted that she knew enough about the outdoors to get us both through. We had shelter, snacks, and some sleeping bags. What more did we need?

On the trip out there Daisy and I taught each other our favorite car games, talked about life, and realized that we both loved the same obscure k.d. lang song. But by the time we arrived at our campsite/hot springs, it was nearly midnight. We paid our dues, collected our towels, and listened to the campground manager tell us two things: a snowstorm was moving in—and it was supposed to be a big one—and the hot springs were clothing optional (so don’t be too surprised if you see people wandering the campground naked).

We laughed, overconfident in our college worldliness and outdoor preparedness. At that moment we should have just turned around and gone home for all the good the next hour did us.

Old timey radio voice: Stay tuned for Part II of our exciting adventure, wherein our two daring heroines face cold, snow, and a little too much nudity. Will they survive?