"Canicular"...dog days. I didn't know about that history.
I suspect that the record breaking temperatures, that you have mentioned, have put a damper on your free hiking this summer. Is that correct?
Here, the heat makes it necessary to drive further to gain elevation out of the desert and into the shade and cooler, or get up at sunrise. The torrents of monsoon rains also get in the way, as the rain and strong lightning tends to get in the way, even dangerous, at those higher elevations. So, then we get less day hiking and have to look for spots in-between to camp. Determined however, naked hiking gets done, maybe not as much.
Like your carnuding and reluctance to get dressed (I often feel resentment) hiking with clothing on, just doesn't feel right. It feels wrong, uncomfortable, too. I haven't worn clothing on the trail in years. I feel the liberation and then push the limits on the way back, too.
So, I like the old piece of rock. I have to wonder if the mountain has eroded that much, or that is what is left after a cataclysmic rumble single event sheered off a grand layer off the top of the mountain and ended up in the valley.
Jbee