A Mingus Mountain Trail: Group Hiking

[jbeegoode]

We finish our trip to northern Arizona with a group hike and a visit to Jerome.
https://thefreerangenaturist.org/2018/09/18/a-mingus-mountain-trail-group-hiking/
Jbee

[BlueTrain]

Another nice report. I liked your realistic appreciation of dangers from unsympathetic people. It is totally unpredictable what reactions might be, much less what they might be thinking. One does hear occasional reports of a mountain lion attack but I still maintain that the most serious danger is from a fall. The consequences would be much less when hiking in a group. The places I usually go for outings away from home are rather like the places in your photos, with the only differences being in the number of trees and other green things. No cactus, either. Sometimes the insects make a nuisance of themselves but I don't call that a danger, not even counting deer ticks.

I also note that, at least in the photos, no one seems to have the dark tan nudists used to be well-known for.

[jbeegoode]

Bright sun and shadows combine to wash out color on figures, but yup, some of these people live naked indoors more than outdoors. One commented embarrassment about her lack of tan. I did too notice that DF looks dark in comparison in a couple of shots. The event that went to last weekend wasn't a bronze group, either. When it is hot, people congregate in teh shade and indoors. Most have no pool, or work much of the sun time.

Thank-you, glad that you enjoyed the report. I agree that a fall is the most prominent concern. Those step grade, shifting slippery granite surfaces are the more likely hazard. I'd bet every other of third trip, I find a moment of recovery from a slip, sometimes pulling a muscle to stay on my feet, nearly landing on my bum, or landing there and working not to slide. I banged up my wrist once to avoid getting a rash on my naked bod. It happens so fast, sometimes my body reacts before I have a chance to consciously react, or I'm halfway down before I an ready to respond to it. Tens of thousands of steps are carefully made with that in mind. Hiking is supposed to be what keeps me young in the future, but as age sneaks up, my risks are greater. Good shoes and vigilant awareness.

Fall and break and it can be a mess and then an injury that last, too long.
Jbee

 

[BlueTrain]

A hiking stick is probably the best thing to keep from falling but I don't see any in the photos. I have a few that I made myself but those store-bought hiking sticks used in pairs like ski poles seem to be popular. I think I mentioned somewhere before that the only serious falls I had occurred at home, including inside the house. It might be safer in the woods.

I've never been able to achieve a decent or even a noticeable tan. I even think I bleach out in the sun.

[AZ_Nudist]

JB, another great article introducing us to many of the well-kept secrets of Arizona. I will be taking an early retirement in 3 weeks and hoping to get out and do some exploring of my own, unfortunately CB needs to work for a few more years.
I had a friend who used to live in Yarnell, just down the hill from Jerome. So, I am familiar with the area, have ridden my motorcycle through the forest many times. Back in the 90's I competed in a bicycle race from Yarnell to Jerome, was in much better shape then.
     

[jbeegoode]

Congratulations on the retirement and attitude of new life.
Jbee

[jbeegoode]

I don't like those walking sticks. They can be an extra point of support, stepping down rocks, etc., but I've often found them in the way when climbing.

Also, since I have been working on retraining my walk and posture to a more natural barefoot style, leaning on something defeats my efforts and compromises my body's natural ability to balance as it should. It trains muscle groups to get lazy. If I was lugging a heavy load on my back, or top heavy, it might be good support, but I don't do that and it is bad for me over time. I'm not a four legged animal.

I've read that we still have limitation left over from where we evolved from, but that appears to be debatable. It is a question of use it or loose it.

It goes along with stiff sole hiking boots, not trusting our nature and heel toe walking. It all leads to lower back problems and dependence on the unnecessary.

Maybe it is good in snow and ice, but naked Arizona me rejects that stuff.
Jbee

[BlueTrain]

I still rely on my homemade walking stick, about five feet long (real bushcraft stuff) for balance but that's about it. Nice to lean on when I stop to take in the view and handy for pushing the spiderwebs out of the way. But it gets carried more than actually used. It was free, too. I am top heavy, too. I make no recommendations for those things, nor will I criticize the bare footers, provided you let me wear whatever I feel like wearing on my feet.

[jbeegoode]

Okay, I'll let you wear anything that you want on your feet. I'll even let you wear clothes when you want to. Maybe, I'll allow a coat in winter. Why can't those foolish prigs just let us be naked as we feel? We have no need to keep them clothed. I'm sometimes offended by clothing, but I let it go. I might even join them when an arctic wind comes our way.

I have a nice oak walking stick with a brass handle that I used to use to give me some glide, protection and is handy for isometric exercises. It is a hassle when I have to climb. It restricts my balance and natural flow, now that I'm barefoot oriented, instead of wearing boots. I don't actually need the protection generally, but the rare instances. I have a tomahawk which has many uses, if I'm backpacking. I can find sticks laying around to exercise with, if I need them and trim them with the tomahawk, dig latrines, hammer stakes, pull stakes, trim, dig troughs for water flow in rain,  play throwing it at targets, firewood, clear brush and rocks to keep punctures into groundclothes, pry rocks, etc. .

Many people use the walking sticks to pitch a tent. I have ultralight sticks for that convenience. They weight a couple of ounces.
Jbee

[eyesup]

I remember a few months back Ken mentioning that he was working on that trail. Another example of your “Need a Nude Trail? Make One” post. He really does seem to love making trails so he can walk naked in the woods. More people making more trails is a good thing.

One of my concerns when hiking is the slip/fall. Out here it is more likely that you will encounter unstable surfaces because of the dry conditions. Ground that is moist doesn’t move as easily.

On a flat grade it’s less likely. Seeing debris on a sloped trail always makes me slow down and be careful. I’ve done a butt bounce more than once, usually when not paying attention. Of course the butt is designed to absorb the impact so I don’t really try to stop them when they happen unless there is danger of continuing on downslope. Yikes!

It hurts for a bit and if you’re on a surface with sharp edges it can cut you up. I am more concerned about a leg or head injury than anything else. A bruise or a cut is manageable. If you can’t move you are in trouble.

Especially if alone.

Duane

[AZ_Nudist]

Jbee,
I have also been interested in photography for quite sometime now, my new camera was just delivered this afternoon. It's a Cannon EOS T6, just an entry level camera, but much nicer than what I have been using. I also ordered two books on the subject of photography, one for digital photography and the second specific to this camera. I have just noticed a common theme of the books in my library, most of the tiles are are succeeded by "For Dummies"! Maybe I will take a photography class?
Until next time,
Les       

[eyesup]

I took a photography class back in the late 70’s or so. It helped with the basics of how to frame a photo so that you end up with the photo you intended. The class was taught by a professional photographer so he was able to answer questions based on real job experience.

Look for that if you decide to take a class. Book learning is fine but he knew tricks and techniques I wouldn’t have found in a textbook. He also taught us how to develop film and print photos. Fun!

Unfortunately that was 40 yrs. ago. I think I’ve lost a few memory cells in the interim.
The sands are inexorable.

Duane

[jbeegoode]

The little digital camera I use now does most of what a heavy bag of Nikormat equipment used to do...when I took a photo class back in the early 80's.

Back then, I had to deal with F-stop, this and that. The new camera does a better job with "auto" point and click. I rarely use the other settings, to the point that I sometimes find that I have forgotten how. Most of my "Pima College" class was practicing and film development. I used to enjoy playing with B/W development, burning images, etc. I had a friend with a lab and we would go in together for supplies and play in it. So when I started out with the Nikormat camera in 1976, I did settings and tried each to see what it did, meticulously writing down each pic and setting. That's how I learned, just like the homework for the class.

Going through my books for storage just yesterday, I found and disposed of some old books and photo mags from way back. I kept a couple. One, I hope to sell with that huge bag of Nikormat equipment.

DF and I love to play with the photography. It is quite a creative process to capture and present my own perception of what I see. It is very interesting to figure out ways and experiment with ways to make DF look "good", look real, make illusion, look like as I see her, and what I appreciate. For the website, it isn't so important that she is seen accurately, because she is supposed to be just a model, an illustration. I would think that it could be hard to recognize her from very many of the photos. She ends up looking like thirty in some pics.

I do a lot of crimping and some adjustments to light and color with a computer program, too. For example, the light frequently isn't best, but I can draw out, more or less with the computer. I have figured out how to soften the pic like a diffusion filter might be used. It is always interesting to make the most of a pic. These digital toys are great as there can be one thousand "mis-takes" to sort through, so I get more spontaneous natural looking people instead of the posing, which gets to be work too quick and often frustrating. Some that I think bad, turn out best, some best turn out not so. Frame it, hold it steady and capture a moment. I take it as a challenge to get the shot that I'm going for,
but then get surprised

Books give a great idea here and there, but practice, the fun thing, teaches me best. There is a thick book, with DF's camera. I know that she hasn't been through it, and experimented very thoroughly...yet. Her photos from her camera can be the majority in a trip report at my site. The camera is good and she is a bit of a natural and has a good eye for things that I don't always notice. It is a compliment having two contributing from different perspectives and two different cameras.

Flora is the biggest challenge. If I'm not quick, the wind notices that I'm after a pic and will begin to blow it around and blur my shot. It always seems to know, Murphy's Law. Anybody else notice that?

As one amateur to another... Cripe, I just realized that I've been practicing for over 40 years and still happy just having creative fun.
Jbee