Ron's Log

Kauai

The lovely backcountryboys have many lovely photos of their lovely trip to lovely Kauai for your viewing pleasure.

Hike to Hidden Spring

Yesterday we had a hike to Hidden Spring on what we hope was the last day of this unusually cool weather we've been having. Normally, I wouldn't lead a daytime group hike out there in the desert in June, but it stayed under 100° yesterday. Everybody came home alive.

View of the Salton Sea.

Hidden Spring itself. The bees were already doing a lot of skinnydipping when we got there, so we stayed out of this tempting pool.

More photos from the hike.

World Naked Bike Ride

Photo of the San Francisco WNBR by fannybunda.

Photos of the London WNBR can be seen here.

Yet more photos from around the world. [Warning: photos may show people wearing clothes].

Nelson Cove Weekend

Nathan and Per, who I met at a naturist gathering some time ago, have a square mile of hilly former farmland (is that a "section?") with some great skinnydipping spots on the east fork of the Chowchilla River. Occassionally they invite friends to come stay for a weekend of eating, hanging out and skinnydipping. This past weekend I drove up there for my first time. There were several familiar faces there, as well as a lot of new ones. The temperatures were moderate, and there wasn't much wildlife, although I had been warned about bears and mountain lions. There weren't even many insects, although some of the city boys complained. The biggest plant crop on the place now is poison oak, and that doesn't pay well.

The skinnydipping was surprisingly easy. The granite that lines the river is all worn smooth and has very little mossy slime, so it's easy to walk on. The house is centrally located for walking to any of the three or four swimming holes.

Google map of the location of Nelson Cove.

Their barn.

Skinnydipping in the Chowchilla River East Fork.

There is a lot of old farm equipment lying around on the property.

Before they built their current house, Per and Nathan had this mobile home to stay in.

Along with this house adjacent to the mobile home.

The new house.

Interior of the new house.

Butterflies were thick on some spots on the road to Nelson Cove.

The vineyard, which they do not maintain.

Sometimes you needed help on the slick rocks.

Sliding through the chute.

California Buckeyes abounded.

This is Ibrahim. When he showed up I recognized him immediately, but couldn't place him. All I could say was that I had photos of him. He quickly realized we had met on the World Naked Bike Ride at Burning Man last year. His photo from that event:

More photos here.

I've got to get one of these waterproof cameras.

Saline Valley - May 2009 Visit

This trip to Saline Valley was organized through Great Outdoors Palm Springs. We had about 20 guys along, many of them first-timers in Saline Valley. The high temps were above 100°(F) on two days. I stayed around camp at the Palm Springs, with one visit to the Warm Springs, while most of the others ventured forth up Steel Pass Road, over to McElvoy Canyon, or hiking to the peace sign.

When we got there, we were pretty much the only people at the Palm Springs so we spread way out. Then a group of young, straight Burners planted themselves in our midst. They took up residence in the palms at the Wizard pool all afternoon, partying hard. The girls in the group had piercing, nearly incessant giggles that could be heard for half a mile in all directions. They did say to us that if their partying at night got too loud, to just tell them to quiet down. Oh, great, so now we're supposed to play parent for them. Fortunately for us, the Burners underestimated the stress of the desert (it doesnt' get as hot on the playa at Black Rock City), so by about 8 PM they were all tucked in their sleeping bags and never made a sound all night long.

Three former Navy men showed up in their cowboy hats, riding a big white pickup truck. They were friendly enough to come join us naked in the Volcano pool that night. They had all been in Afghanistan and Iraq, but had left the Navy in 2003. They laid out their world views for us, while smoking cigarettes. The next day their wimmin-folk showed up with, apparently, a truckload of alcohol to share. As evening approached we watched them haul drinking supplies into the palms near the Wizard pool. This, we thought, was a particularly bad choice for a nighttime party at the Palm Springs. In the daytime it would have been ideal, but at night the sky was brilliantly clear with trillions of stars and the air temperature was quite comfortable. Huddling inside the palms meant they were cozied up with the insects and other animals that hung out there at night, and any conversation would have to compete with the white noise of palm trees blowing in the breeze. Nonetheless, they stuck with their strategy and in the morning the battlefield debris showed that the Navy gave as good as they got and retired mostly victorious.

We had the usual low flyovers by Navy pilots, but nothing out of the ordinary except for a brief nighttime show that took place at such a high altitude we didn't have to cover our ears.

Nick had a flat on his borrowed Westfalia on the way into the valley. He bought a BF Goodrich tire from Lizard Lee to replace it, and good thing he did, as I heard he had another flat on the way home along 395.

The "durable" wine and cheese party. The idea was to bring cheap wines that might be suitable for desert camping. My secret motive was to help me prepare my wine cellar for Burning Man.

The Wizard pool.

The water feature at the Wizard pool has returned!

We ran across only one rattlesnake this time. This one was curled up in the relatively cool shade of the palms next to the Volcano pool. We and the dogs all did the same as the snake, just sat there quietly for hours.

The Crystal pool at the Warm Springs.

Pete, Ed and Gardner's campsite.

Nighttime temps were in the 80s (Fahrenheit). We had two nights with some clouds, two crystal clear nights, mild winds every night but one.

The burros seemed more tame than ever, wandering around our camps at all hours of the day and night.

More photos here.

Bay to Breakers 2009

According to the Chronicle the police were able to somewhat reduce public drinking and urination at Bay To Breakers.

But obviously they didn't stop all the nude participants. Photo by Bryson DeJong. More photos here.

Banned In Michigan

The economy in Michigan is a lot better than you may have heard. The state has such a surplus in its budget, it is able to employ people who take on the responsibility of banning this beer label as "detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the general public."

Here's the news story. Stevens Point Brewery (of Stevens Point, Wisconsin) has been around since 1857 and has had great success with its recent introduction of Nude Beach Summer Wheat which is produced only from May through July. In Michigan it will be available on tap only.

UPDATE: I wonder if this would be okay in Michigan?

Naked 5K

A nice news video about a nude 5K run in Leesville, South Carolina. It's from TV station WCNC, so safe enough for anyone.

Biker Tan

Adventure Cycling is the organization that maps and organizes trips on national bike routes. Their headquarters are in Missoula, and if you are biking through and stop in at their offices they are likely to pose you and snap a few photos for their magazine. Over the years they've published photos of some bizarre cycling costumes and equipment setups, but not until now had I seen a naked cyclist in their magazine.

This is Evan Pack who you can see in other photos (clothed) here and here. And I think this is him too, in less optimal weather conditions.

The photo above is probably from 2006.

Corruption Of Our Youth

Senior year is that special time of life when kids should be practicing drunk driving, experimenting with illegal drugs and behaving in a generally surly manner. But in some parts of Ohio our children are being ripped away from those childish pursuits by the siren song of NAKED WATER-GUN TAG! Horrors. The game is to pursue other high school seniors and get them wet with a squirt gun. It wasn't long before some kid figured out that if you are naked, it's hard to prove you got squirted. So now we have naked youths running and cavorting down the streets and across the lawns of otherwise respectable towns.