When she dropped trou on that remote Gila Box trail, she was just toileting. Hadn't seen anyone in a couple of days. Didn't see anyone else. Just perfect timing. Otherwise we would have loved to more spend time with a fellow naturist much better versed than us about the area. Yea, she she hikes dressed.
I don't know how far we hiked. It was more a pleasant naturist stroll, with many stops and no goals for four hours or so. We imbibed, savored, each step. After looking at google Earth, it wasn't much distance. Maybe three miles plus and that back, adding side jaunts. For example, we discovered that the road wrapped around that meadow in a U through the forest, so as the crow flies it wasn't covering distance ...only maybe a 1/2 mile exploring the other-side, taking off shoots just to explore.
That's a major thing about this place. We can stroll completely unencumbered for miles, 10 or twenty in a radius, with most other campers only along the main roads in big RV's. There are many of these winding little roads among this to explore. like a huge park. All I need is a little shoulder protection, hat and shoes. Next trip there, I'll probably leave all clothing behind, just to embrace the feeling of liberation. That strategy to just sit off the road during encounters works very well there.
We encountered those two quads when out and about. There were probably four sets of quads from a mile or two away that came by visiting by our campsite, one set a few of times. That's in nearly five days. If anything, while we're out and about, they would drive the wildlife toward us. The wildlife might go into the safer deep forest to protect from the noise, but then so do we. I saw a herd of elk a few hundred yards from the highway, in a huge field, years ago, near the restricted preserve that we were about a mile from. The lack of wildlife is weird to me. I'll see more critters in my desert. It probably has to do with the harsh winters. Few bunnies and rabbit raisins, but lots of squirrels. There is a population of something rodent under the ground in many places. Those huge hawks have to make a living. If we can avoid people and keep mostly to roads, animals can certainly avoid people when they have travel without roads. With the new GPS, I'll probably spend time backpacking in the restricted area, which has no roads, just to observe critters. After decades, I still remember the elk herd that I "once" saw and I've never seen a wild bear. It is thrilling. Imagine naked in a pristine alpine forest, naked, close enough to smell them as they browse in the field, just to be a part of the landscape, primitive. I get a big kick out of Javalina, deer and big cats clothed, and even more naked. A herd of huge elk crossing my trail, a bear (but not too close), woohoo!
As for water, I usually carry a pair of liters in my mailbag rig, if there is no water to filter, like this place. We were strolling, not marching, in perfectly pleasant weather. I don't need that much. I learned to regulate in the desert in New Mexico as a kid. DF drinks much more. She usually carries one or two on shoulder straps. Sometimes, One of us will carry the weight, so the other gets to enjoy the freedom of more totally naked and unencumbered.
Jbee
