Insanity at Bagby: Getting trapped in a winter storm

An enlightening recap of one couple's visit to Bagby Hot Springs only to be caught under the full brunt of the winter wind storm that hit the Cascades on Dec 12-13th, 2006. Bagby is a very popular natural hot spring in the National Forest east of, and reasonable close to Portland, Oregon. The original discussion thread was posted in the Soak.net forums.After some light snowshoeing near government

A Comment on a Comment on a post (good this time)

Ron at the Hot Springs Association made such a good and valuable comment that I felt it deserved to be prominently displayed as a main article . . . so here it is:Hey,Well said Rick!The secret to using closed hot springs - Never ask to soak when you know the public is not invited to do the same.-Never expect to soak and leave without asking.-Volunteer repeatedly for all cleanups, work parties,

Quick Update

With all the wild weather we have been getting recently there is not much to report on the actual situation up at Scenic Hot Springs. The springs are still there, as is the Monster Pool, but there has been very little activity other than minor cleanup activities and some topograpical site surveying (done by yours trully).I assume there is a lot of snow up there. The last time I drove by (right

Comment on a Rude Comment

At 2:04 PM, Anonymous said... GROWUP GET THIS HOT SPRING OPEN RICK YOU AN ASS HOLE THAT IS FLAT OUT BLASNK YOU NEED TO GROW AN ACT LIKE A MAN NOT A BABY THE HOT NEED TO BE OPEN AN THAT IS IT FUCK ALL THIS SHIT WITH THE FOOLIN AROUCNDSo goes a comment posted in this blog relating a visit to the hot springs by the sheriff. Actually, I laughed when I read it . . . and then a

Scenic Hot Springs Conditions

Lots of snow up there . . . a snow berm across the access road.There will be an updated condition report in a day or so from Ryan who is going to check out conditions.Rick

Bagby Hot Springs and Riverside Cleanup

Saturday, September 16, 20069:00 AM - 1:00 PMEdit eventCategory: SocialSOLV presents the Oregon Adopt-a-River Program - Sponsored by the Northwest Forest ConservancyOur Hosts: The USDA Forest ServiceBagby Hot Springs; Clackamas Rver; CollawashRiver; Hot Springs Fork; Austin Hot Springs CleanupWhen: Saturday, Sept 16th 2006Where: Meet at the Ripplebrook Ranger StationWhat: Bagby Hot Springs

Clean Up Party Scheduled Sept 9th at 9am

While we still await decisions from the county in regards to slopes and stream restoration permits we have erosion control measures that need to be addressed prior to the coming Fall and Winter wet seasons. So, for all of you who wanted to participate in a clean up event, this is your opportunity as there are few that can be scheduled while we still in permit-limbo.This clean up party is to deal

Let's set the record straight . . . (updated)

Update: I took a lot of flack for this post, and an identical post in TribeNet. Despite my frustration at the events the lead up to my posting, I feel and know I need to make a public apology to the persons involved who believed, in all honesty, that there was a Clean-up Party on August 7th. As one commentor points out, that date is listed in the Friends of Scenic Hots Springs Tribe Summary if

Definitely Not The Place To Park

Well, it ain't the chain-up area where you're limited to 15 minutes but you will definitely attract the attention of the State Patrol or the Sheriff's department; both of whom patrol this section of highway pretty often. Don't know if you can legally park on the shoulder of SR2 . . . perhaps someone can clue me in . . . but it's pretty obvious where the occupants of this truck went . . . the hot

Bear Warning

It was reported to me that a couple sneaking up to the springs (with two dogs . . . pit bulls, one off leash) encountered the black bear on the upper BPA road near the second tower. Fortunately the bear wasn't interested in them . . . just looked at them as they backed off. Unfortunately, this bear seems to have claimed the territory and is at home around humans and human scent. We have to

Good Intentions-Misguided Expertise

I'd meant to post about people taking it upon themselves to 'improve' the hot springs but never really found the time. But I want to tell you about one such attempt and the effect it has had on the volume and temperature of the springs . . . and just how difficult it is going to be to correct the problem.The main, upper springs are generally grouped as four sources:Lobster UpperLobster LowerBear

Bear and her Cub

Update: The bear and her cub have been spotted several times and are indeed denning in the area of the lower tower. Today's sighting (7-15-2005) was in the middle of the day and both mom and cub were noted by a visiting couple. I have posted a warning sign at the gate. RickThere is a female black bear and her cub (I saw one, there may have been another) that might be denning in the new

Wanted to help but missed the last cleanup?

. . . here's your chance to help out.Hi folks. This is Rick and I want to thank everyone who helped out during the last cleanup effort.Mike is at the springs now attempting to clean up the brush and burn it before a fire burn goes into effect anyday now. He sure could use help up there . . . an hour, a couple of hours, whatever. This is not an organized effort by any stretch . . . if you

Sheriff Deputy Called to the Springs

I've been informed that Deputy Harrington (based in Skykomish) had to go through the effort of hiking all the way up to the hot springs this weekend to kick two drunk trespassers out of the pool and off the property. It is unknown whether charges will be pressed or whether this action, started by unknowns, will have an effect of development plans. I gave Mike a spare key to the gate to give the

More Scenic Cleanup Pictures

I'd also like to reiterate Rick's comments! A big thanks goes out to everyone who helped! What a massive effort!Here are some additional pictures from yesterday...RyanThis last pic was taken by a member of a Seattle Hiking Group from across the mountain on the Iron Goat Trail. By coincedence, they captured our little bon fire!If anyone would like a full res full size version of the pics, you

Awesome Clean Up Party!!!!

What else can I say? You guys and gals were just absolutely awesome in your infectious enthusiasm and love of Scenic Hot Springs. What took 15 years to build, 2 days for the county deputies to tear down and leave a scar on the mountainside . . . what took months for silent volunteers working under threat of trespass arrest to clean up only to sit as an ugly reminder of disrespect . . . 32

Spring Thaw Conditions at Scenic

An idiot tried to drive off the BPA road and onto the second foot bypass trail sometime soon after the gate was broken open this week.The Flicker photos set is posted hereI went up to Scenic Hot Springs today and found the gate still wide open. I did not see any of the locks nor the tang the locks were attached to. There was one car parked there and evidence of tire tracks of a narrower width

Scenic Area Graphic for Volunteers

Remember, unless you are invited or already have the express permission of the owner, Scenic Hot Springs is on Private Property. Permits and negotiations are difficult enough without dealing with troublemakers at the springs.This graphic should give the volunteers in the upcoming clean-up event enough information to orient themselves and find alternate parking arrangements if necessary.Rick

Cleanup at Austin and Bagby Hot Springs May 20th

Note: NWForests.org has been a staunch supporter of Mike's efforts at Scenic as Mike has supported efforts to get Austin Hot Springs available to the public once again. If you find yourself in the Portland area . . . or just need an excuse to go down there, this is a worthy project. Bagby is a fine hot spring, and a chance to visit Austin does not comes often. RickFrom Ron at NwForests.org .

Clean Up Party on May 27th, 2006

There has been a lot of activity in dealing with the State and County departments during the winter and spring months. Among the things we've accomplished are a tentative understanding with the Health Department, an onsite evaluation for 'critical slopes' and 'wetland area' that went smoothly and a legal securing of the historic water rights to the hot springs. The concept for a re-born Scenic

Snow Conditions at Scenic

There is still a lot of snow up at Scenic but this warm weather is melting it rapidly. I took a lot of photo's for Mike (109 to be exact) so I won't post them all here but you can peruse them at Flickr.The springs are still running hot (Lobster at 111F and Bear Den at 100F). The pool was in terrible condition with a lot of dirt and green algae growth. I ran into seven young men soaking in the

Time for an update and a few observations

Pretty as the snow is, this is some treacherous stuff to walk through. I went up this past Sunday . . . not to soak . . . there were enough people up there already. I was on an inspection walk about to see how the BPA road was faring and also to get an idea of the snow conditions still remaining up at Scenic despite it being April already. The ice berm is still firmly in place across the

Trip Report 2.27.06

I visited the springs this last Monday the 27th. The day started out partly cloudy with a little drizzle, and ended with increasing rain. The snow is pretty deep in places and required considerable effort to get to the top. I think going up it took us a total of 2 hours and 15 minutes. There were many times that we stepped into "soft" snow and sank to our thigh, which was an eerie feeling. We

Scenic Hot Springs

Scenic Hot SpringsI was at the springs this past Saturday. The snow conditions have improved, easy to walk up the hill on the concrete hard snow. Also, the tempature of the water has improved since the weather got cold. Parking at the right places is good as well. Only 2 of us on that beautiful day. Usual trash left from the previous "guests". Who drinks the Coors Light, and comes up once a

Scenic Hot Springs: Major Avalanche Warning for the Scenic Area

Scenic Hot Springs: Major Avalanche Warning for the Scenic AreaI made it to the springs January 31. It took me 4 hours due to the fresh snow. The previous trail was drifted in, so the idea was to walk next to the old groove. The snow was waist deep when I stepped in the previous groove. All this was with snow shoes on.It was a disappointment when we got there to find the tempature is off a

Major Avalanche Warning for the Scenic Area

The dump of wet snow on the west side of Steven Pass has launched several uncontrolled avalanches today and the situation is not going to get better because more heavy snow is forecast for this area.The snow situation at Scenic Hot Springs may not seem that bad once you get into the treeline, but remember that there is a huge amount of very steep mountainside about the springs, rising to about

The Snow at Scenic from Highway 2

d, one of our volunteers at Scenic Hot Springs, offers this image of the hot springs mountainside that she took near the crest of Stevens Pass. The view is looking south and you can plainly see the BPA maintenance road coming up from the right edge of the image. If you look carefully, you will be able to see the trailhead about midway between the last two towers. The main spring location is