Bear Lake Fun - July 2006

Wow, was Bear Lake on the border of Utah and Idaho fun! PJ and Ken got packed and headed out Wednesday afternoon and arrived about 5:00 pm, just after Ken and Kay had arrived, and just before Steve. Together the naturist friends set up their tents. The camping area is just across the Idaho border on the east side of the lake. It’s secluded from the view of those driving past on the road, and out of sight of other nearby campsites. It’s even shaded by several large cottonwood trees, and several smaller trees help block the view of passing boats. The area is sandy with just a few rocks.

A storm blew in during set up, and Steve’s tent ended up 30 feet down the beach, but after tacking it down with big boulders we were set for a fun naturist campout. The sky was very overcast, producing a beautiful sunset, and a few raindrops, so we didn’t go swimming that night; we ate nude, played a fun game of nude UNO (a card game), and hiked nude on the beach at dusk. We went to bed early looking forward to the morning freehike.

Thursday morning the campers got up early, had breakfast (naked of course), and partially packed up, then headed south to meet up with the hikers who were not able to camp over. Ben and Todd had started out from Salt Lake City early in the morning. John came from Wyoming. Steve drove up a little late from Layton. We all met at the trailhead, and headed out. Within five minutes we were able to get naked. As always, hiking naked felt so good - the warm sun on our bodies, and the light breeze which cooled and caressed us.

A fantastic view of blue Bear Lake expanded more and more as we hiked. We often turned around to take in this wonderful sight. The hills were covered with sage brush and juniper trees. We hiked up the dirt road to the point it branched in several directions. The guys mostly headed up the trail towards the summit, a more difficult hike, with an amazing view of the Lake. The couples took the middle trail which was less demanding, but still beautifully scenic, as you can see from the attached photos ( http://imageevent.com/justmeina/barelake ). This trail bordered some rock-slide areas of red sandstone, covered with decorative liken; PJ of course collected a prime specimen for her hiking rock collection.

Ken and Kay decided to head back down to the beach, and Ken and PJ hiked another hill with a great view of the lake (see the photo of PJ, arms extended). They met up with the guys returning from the summit on this hill. Then, all headed back to the beach. What a wonderful two-hour freehike. Getting dressed just before returning to the cars was the worst part of the hike by far, but we were really looking forward to washing the dust off in the crystal clear water of the lake.

We drove back to the private camp, and headed down to the beach in anticipation. Ken and Kay had already arrived. We quickly undressed at the private beach, and out we went. A Ski-do came by, but nothing stopped the ten naked freehiking, now skinny dipping buddies, from getting wet. The sun felt great on our bodies, and the water was unexpectedly warm and pleasant. We floated together and talked about the freehike and how great it felt to skinny drip and wash off the dust from the trail. Steve and Todd frolicked like two fish. After 45 minutes or so it was time for some to head out to get back to Salt Lake City by 5:00 pm, so we reluctantly waded to the shore, got dressed, and said goodbye to Ben, John, Todd, and both Steve’s.

Ken and PJ and Ken and Kay finished breaking camp, and drove down to Merlin’s for a burger, and a famous raspberry milkshake. Then they both headed back to Salt Lake City, the finish of another wonderful Freehiking Utah Group hike.