That stretch of the WI R. is the one closest to where I live, my shortest shuttle, been paddling it for over three decades. Its about the only stretch of the river that I could hit after work and be off the water by nightfall.
Its a beautiful stretch, including Ferry Bluff (no, not because there are so many fairies there), Honey Creek (previously known in logging days as the Detour R.), the abandoned town of Cassell Prairie, and quite a few miles where there is not a road or man made sound to be heard or a house to be seen. And, Yanoer, you have paddled it with GuideboatGuy, Rena, and I - last time you came up here.
As far as the idea of starting a livery there, well there already is one with a campground, albeit a little used one, across the river and slightly upstream from the nude beach.
The owner of that business used to object to the beach, back when it started getting really popular after its existence became more widely known over the internet. They used to call in a friend of mine who worked for the DNR way back then and complained that they were losing business because of the "naturists". Dave, my DNR friend, couldn't see what the problem was until the owner handed him the 10X binocs and pointed it out.
In my opinion the beach is only a problem because of the (debatable) overuse on that, and the next few sections of the river. On hot summer days, with people now traveling from all over the country to go to that beach, the overuse problem is exacerbated. On that very small limited part of the river. The rest of those sections are also overused in that season, mostly by clothed people, for other reasons. Canoeing is not the least among them.
The beach itself is isolated, not that large, not hard to avoid from the water - in fact, at most water levels you have to fight, probably drag, your way through shallows to get close enough to the beach to distinguish with any degree of certainty that what you are looking at are nude people and not walrus. There are no walrus in Wisconsin. But if you stick to the thalweg like a prudent paddler you can pretend there are if you're so inclined.
There is a certain seedy element that the beach has attracted since it has become so widely known, of course. There was, for example, a preacher who every few weeks used to gather his flock up to shout and wave banners at folks on the path going into the beach. They'd call everyone in sight "whore mongers" and such. (There are, in fact, neighborhoods in almost any large city where actual professional whore mongers could be found and in great numbers; but no, he brings that stench to our river.) That kind of acrimony I think we can live without on this, or any, river. Especially when they do it to me when I've been asked to pull garlic mustard there.
The "naturists" put on their clothes and helped pull garlic mustard. They pick up trash on the county roads leading there also. The preacher and his flock refused to do so, though.
The naturists are, however odd, contributing members of the river and the wider community. There is even a "clothing optional" private park, isolated also, a few miles from the beach. This is a business, it employs people, brings money to gas stations and restaurants in the community - Its not my thing, but its not the worst thing that's ever happened.
And bathing nude in a river and drying on its banks isn't exactly a radical new idea. People have been doing exactly that for quite some time. Perhaps some of us have done something like this ourselves. We could probably take a trip and use our noses to tell who hasn't recently. If nudity on a beach or in a river is a problem at all, its a problem of scale, not principle.
I wish the DNR all the luck in the world in putting an end to all this sex and drug stuff. (After all, what is a Department of Natural Resources for, if not that?) Closing a that beach on weekdays is bound to have a profound effect on these problems. Bout time.
No, I have no idea what they are thinking. |