Wind River Hot Springs
Posted: May 23rd, 2015, 9:45 am
On Sunday May 17, 2015 at Shipherd Falls, Carson, Washington around noon I went to enjoy the hot springs located on public land in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. I always park legally on the Carson side in a neighborhood and take legal access and then sometimes take the footbridge across the Wind River. Frequently crossed by many people, it's a very safe footbridge, although the signs claim there is a "hazard" and therefore there is "No Trespassing". Certainly, if there was truly a threat to public safety on this bridge it could easily be gated off entirely. From what I heard from an official with the Washington Fish & Game (the agency that enforces this law), the only reason they enforced the law in the past was because the shed across the river had been vandalized. Also, people trespass on the dam which creates a safety hazard. They then fixed the shed and replaced the window with bricks, so it could no longer be vandalized. There was now no reason to enforce this law unless people use the bridge to access the dam. Yes, I have crossed this bridge to get to these public hot springs hundreds of times the past 12 years without incident.... as do many, many other people.
Yes, I feel a very strong connection to this public land and clean up after the messes that other people make. There was a time last summer when there was a big party here and someone trashed the place and scribbled graffiti all over the rocks and trees. It made me very angry and I went around and covered up all the grafiti with blending colors of paint so that this mess was not visable. Then I picked up all the bottles and cans, all the trash that had been thrown around. In my mind, this is a sanctuary, a place of healing. It represents all the goodness and positive energy that life has to offer. I am a steward in this beautiful place, a caretaker of the hot springs.
On this particular day I spent a good 2 hours soaking in the hot springs as I spoke with another local man who had taken the same route crossing the bridge to get there. This was someone who grew up in the area and had come here as a child had lots of great memories to share. We were not troublemakers and we both agreed that there was a problem with people trashing the place. Also trouble with poison oak and ticks. But it's a place that renews the mind, body, and spirit, it's a place to escape the insanity of the world.... very much worth the trouble to get here.
Lots of activity on this particular day along this stretch of the Wind River. We both noticed the fisherman who was fishing from the dam. This was strickly forbidden by law. I noticed a large group of kayakers accessing the dam and checking out the waterfalls. This was also in violation of the law, there is no trespassing allowed on the dam. I noticed that some of those kayakers looked unfamiliar with this area and a bit nervous about going down the falls. There has been some tragic deaths here and I felt compelled to oversee this operation and make sure everyone was safe. I proceeded to cross at the footbridge to get back even though I had planned on swimming back. The view the bridge offered helped me see things that nobody in that group of kayakers could see. I stayed there on the footbridge until every last kayaker made it safely down the falls. Then I proceeded to cross.
Arriving on the Carson side of the footbridge, I was suddenly confronted with an officer of the law wearing a badge. He was a trooper from Washington State Fish & Game, he looked at me with a sense of hostility in his eyes. Right away he started intarogating me with questions... "who are you" and demanded some identification. Since I had nothing to show who I was, he became enraged and asked me where I had parked. He told me he had all of the information on all the cars that were parked in the area, that he had run the license plates through his computer. So he already knew who I was. Also, he had been watching me for quite some time, even before I had decided to leave the hot springs. He was probably there for more than an hour and described in detail the other mans tatoos, so he had been looking very closely at both of us. I attempted to ask some questions and then he said "shut up". I replied "excuse me?" Again, he said "shut up". Then he continued harassing me with a long rant about the signs saying "hazardous area" and "no trepassing" and how he was the only one to enforce the law over such a large area. He obviously was very, very stressed.
I kept very quiet until it was time to speak. Fact is, I have absolutely nothiong to hide, no criminal history and not even a trafiic citation the last 10 years. My behavior is always very respectful and honest. Obviously, this man with a badge was testing my ability to think rationally without reacting to his senseless, crazy emotional state of mind. I simply asked him if he was going to enforce the law equally to everyone, or was I the only one? It would have been a great case in court and I looked forward to the opportunity to share my story. I then explained honestly the only reason I had crossed the bridge was for the safety of those kayakers. His attitude then changed, his game was up, and he backed off. He said that he was only there to give me a warning, but that he had the power to give me a fine or take me into custody if I became violent.
I simply replied "thank you sir..... good day".
In conclusion, this was an experience that has changed my view of law enforcement in America. The question remains, why did the trooper focus all of his attention and resources on me instead of all those other people who clearly violated the law before I even arrived? Selective enforcement? I used to think that law enforcment was here to take care of the troublemakers... to put the troublemakers away. Now I'm realizing that law enforcement is only there to try and create troublemakers, so they themselves become the troublemakers. It will be a good story to ponder as I soak with other people in those hot springs, a story I will share with people around the world. It's very sad what has become of this place we call home. No, I will not be crossing that bridge and will be swimming the river instead, however I believe this is an issue that needs to be addressed by knowledgable people. Is it legal to prevent the public from accessing public land on a footbridge that is perfectly safe? Since this land has been aquired by the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, does that change any rules? Do we the people have a right to access the land and bridge that belongs to us on public land?
Yes, I feel a very strong connection to this public land and clean up after the messes that other people make. There was a time last summer when there was a big party here and someone trashed the place and scribbled graffiti all over the rocks and trees. It made me very angry and I went around and covered up all the grafiti with blending colors of paint so that this mess was not visable. Then I picked up all the bottles and cans, all the trash that had been thrown around. In my mind, this is a sanctuary, a place of healing. It represents all the goodness and positive energy that life has to offer. I am a steward in this beautiful place, a caretaker of the hot springs.
On this particular day I spent a good 2 hours soaking in the hot springs as I spoke with another local man who had taken the same route crossing the bridge to get there. This was someone who grew up in the area and had come here as a child had lots of great memories to share. We were not troublemakers and we both agreed that there was a problem with people trashing the place. Also trouble with poison oak and ticks. But it's a place that renews the mind, body, and spirit, it's a place to escape the insanity of the world.... very much worth the trouble to get here.
Lots of activity on this particular day along this stretch of the Wind River. We both noticed the fisherman who was fishing from the dam. This was strickly forbidden by law. I noticed a large group of kayakers accessing the dam and checking out the waterfalls. This was also in violation of the law, there is no trespassing allowed on the dam. I noticed that some of those kayakers looked unfamiliar with this area and a bit nervous about going down the falls. There has been some tragic deaths here and I felt compelled to oversee this operation and make sure everyone was safe. I proceeded to cross at the footbridge to get back even though I had planned on swimming back. The view the bridge offered helped me see things that nobody in that group of kayakers could see. I stayed there on the footbridge until every last kayaker made it safely down the falls. Then I proceeded to cross.
Arriving on the Carson side of the footbridge, I was suddenly confronted with an officer of the law wearing a badge. He was a trooper from Washington State Fish & Game, he looked at me with a sense of hostility in his eyes. Right away he started intarogating me with questions... "who are you" and demanded some identification. Since I had nothing to show who I was, he became enraged and asked me where I had parked. He told me he had all of the information on all the cars that were parked in the area, that he had run the license plates through his computer. So he already knew who I was. Also, he had been watching me for quite some time, even before I had decided to leave the hot springs. He was probably there for more than an hour and described in detail the other mans tatoos, so he had been looking very closely at both of us. I attempted to ask some questions and then he said "shut up". I replied "excuse me?" Again, he said "shut up". Then he continued harassing me with a long rant about the signs saying "hazardous area" and "no trepassing" and how he was the only one to enforce the law over such a large area. He obviously was very, very stressed.
I kept very quiet until it was time to speak. Fact is, I have absolutely nothiong to hide, no criminal history and not even a trafiic citation the last 10 years. My behavior is always very respectful and honest. Obviously, this man with a badge was testing my ability to think rationally without reacting to his senseless, crazy emotional state of mind. I simply asked him if he was going to enforce the law equally to everyone, or was I the only one? It would have been a great case in court and I looked forward to the opportunity to share my story. I then explained honestly the only reason I had crossed the bridge was for the safety of those kayakers. His attitude then changed, his game was up, and he backed off. He said that he was only there to give me a warning, but that he had the power to give me a fine or take me into custody if I became violent.
I simply replied "thank you sir..... good day".
In conclusion, this was an experience that has changed my view of law enforcement in America. The question remains, why did the trooper focus all of his attention and resources on me instead of all those other people who clearly violated the law before I even arrived? Selective enforcement? I used to think that law enforcment was here to take care of the troublemakers... to put the troublemakers away. Now I'm realizing that law enforcement is only there to try and create troublemakers, so they themselves become the troublemakers. It will be a good story to ponder as I soak with other people in those hot springs, a story I will share with people around the world. It's very sad what has become of this place we call home. No, I will not be crossing that bridge and will be swimming the river instead, however I believe this is an issue that needs to be addressed by knowledgable people. Is it legal to prevent the public from accessing public land on a footbridge that is perfectly safe? Since this land has been aquired by the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, does that change any rules? Do we the people have a right to access the land and bridge that belongs to us on public land?