Monthly Archives: June 2020

An Evening Stroll

2020-05-02

The weather has been 10 and 15 degrees hotter than usual, near record breaking. More ‘new normal?” It’s a dry mid to high nineties, with a couple of afternoons over 100. This leaves us with plummeting temperatures in the seventies and eighties at night. This adds to many peoples Covid 19 stir-crazy misery, those “too hot to get outside” days.

We have been coping by exploiting earlier mornings when it is cool, a summertime strategy. Our best weapon is simply to remain naked. Our bodies have the natural ability to adjust to changing weather and the extremes of dry heat. Today, we put weeks of dirty laundry on the line, two shirts and a pair of short pants, for me. DF had her work clothing and we had soiled a few towels.

Isolation has kept us from socializing, from dancing, shopping, from all of the activities that require being dressed. Even Zoom requires no pants. I have been out for groceries, to roam the trails and camp, to sweat and look at property. Only one activity has required covering with more than a hat, which protects from a red nose. Oh yea, some form of shoes, flip flops, or toe shoes. Yesterday, I was stunned to realize that I had been dressed maybe six, or eight hours in the whole of the last month. A legal kilt wrap, was handy for a few moments here and there. Another new normal, for however long it lasts. Clothing has become abnormal, unusual, almost alien. I walk around forgetting that I am barefoot all over in the warm weather and comfortable evenings.

Being immersed in natural garb is a great release.

Into the Night:

Today, we have been rearranging DF’s back porch and patio area for hours.

We are sitting outside in the back yard having a nice dinner. A friend, a handyman who had been working on the roof next door to take advantage of the late afternoon cool, pops his head over the fence. Surprised by two nudes, (he knows us only as clothed) he voices his surprise, “Oh, I see that I should have knocked first.”

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Up Hot Springs Canyon

2020-04-13

We’re east of Tucson in the San Pedro Valley. We’re exploring and looking for good hikes away from the crowds created by bored Covid 19 refuges, the captives in their own homes out on the trails to blow off steam. We have stumbled onto a fine walk in the dry riverbed and an ancient and fun geological structure:

There is still some afternoon left, as we climb into the 4runner in pursuit of a place to simply pitch a tent.

I know that the trail that we intend to hike tomorrow is up the airport road. Narrow “Hot Springs Canyon” empties out into the broad flood plain and generally dries up before it reaches the San Pedro River. It crosses the road that goes to Cascabel.

We once approached the same canyon from the upstream side. There, the Nature Conservancy has bought up Muleshoe Ranch to protect against destructive incursions into the lush canyon’s riparian strip. Here is that trip:

https://thefreerangenaturist.org/2017/04/14/muleshoe-ranch/

I had studied the satellite images and learned that the road ends in a parking lot. Further investigation has garnered another blessing and a kindness. Continue reading

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San Pedro: Journey to a Sacred Space

2020-04-12

Weather has been changing by the day, and so has gone our vacation schedule. We have had our time dwindled to three days and one of those is still iffy. Our location changed from four days at the Eden Hot Springs, which was killed by Covid19. Our “Plan B” was look at some mountain watershed, mid to lower elevations. This has changed several times. Now we are heading for a tour with several hikes associated with  the San Pedro River Valley. Such as it sometimes goes, for spoiled warm weather naked people.

The first day is to explore the riparian riverbed of the San Pedro near Cascabel, Arizona. I have been scouring satellite photos of the area and anything on the internet about access into the river. There is supposedly a four and a half mile stretch that has flowing water, but I’m not yet sure just where that is.

We begin with a drive out on the sleepy two lane road to Cascabel.

Spring flowers are popping up everywhere.

Some places are covered in color.

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Unnamed Valley

2020-05-11

Bug Springs Trail in the Catalina Mountains of Arizona looked to have some good potential for nude hiking. It has a corridor of lush mountain vegetation and my investigation using google maps showed it to be a pretty significant stretch. It is less well traveled, perhaps because it is either uphill all the way, or at the other end, a trailhead rises steep, before slowly dropping over a couple of miles.

It looks best to use two cars, one at each end. Looking further on the HikeArizona website, I got the elevation and grade. I also saw that it has a great deal of popularity as a bike trail on internet, which could be a downside.

The elevation will make it a good cooler temperature today. We’ll find out.

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