desert – Active Naturists

hiking and bouldering in Painted Canyon (California)

30 November 201415 December 2014 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

naturist 0015 Mecca Hills, California, USA

Painted Canyon in California is yet another place for a nice hike in the buff; it’s not an official naturist territory, but it has a history of naturist excursions and feels quite secluded.

view 0015 Mecca Hills, California, USA

This place is also known as Mecca Hills, but Painted Canyon makes better justice as its name – the rocks are quite colorful there!

view 0008 Mecca Hills, California, USA

Shortly after then entrance (parking), you’ll have to get up the ladders on another level of the dry riverbed,

naturist 0001 Mecca Hills, California, USA

but otherwise it’s pretty flat. Except for the vertical rock walls around! It’s difficult to imagine how this place is transformed when the river gets full here, but you can get a rough idea when you see the traces of its work, such as the base of this rock wall being washed off…

naturist 0000 Mecca Hills, California, USA

I posed both as a Titan supporting the whole thing and being succumbed to some kind of gravitational force pulling me deep in the Mother Earth…

naturist 0014 Mecca Hills, California, USA

We continued the hike,

view 0011 Mecca Hills, California, USA

and after a brief clothed break as we let some school group pass by, we got naked again.

Here is just a brief overview of the variety of rocks that you may see there.

I have no idea of their composition and geological names, so I can only offer to enjoy the esthetic aspect of their colorful variety:

view 0002 Mecca Hills, California, USA

dotted

view 0014 Mecca Hills, California, USA

and striped,

view 0013 Mecca Hills, California, USA

green

view 0003 Mecca Hills, California, USA

and pink-red!

naturist 0003 Mecca Hills, California, USA

As we continued, there were a few bifurcations – dried estuaries of the dried river – and we were taking the left ones, but I imagine they all look similar.

view 0012 Mecca Hills, California, USA

I climbed up one of the hills to get a view from above, and it was quite spectacular with all those rocks zigzaggedly eroded by rivers.

naturist 0002 Mecca Hills, California, USA

After that we headed back, but then I saw something I’d been trying to photograph for years –

naturist 0016 Mecca Hills, California, USA

a hummingbird!

Anna's hummingbird 0002 Mecca Hills, California, USA

I knew that they could be around as soon as I saw elongated red flowers that this pollinating bird loved.

Anna's hummingbird 0000 Mecca Hills, California, USA

I managed to take a few pictures, as you can see, even while it was hovering,

Anna's hummingbird 0003 Mecca Hills, California, USA

but the light was quite low already, so given the speed with which hummingbird flaps its wings, they become invisible on the photo 😀

Anna's hummingbird 0004 Mecca Hills, California, USA

There was also a plant with red stems, but I’m not sure if that is to attract any kind of animal.

desert plants 0000 Mecca Hills, California, USA

Once I started paying attention to plants, it was quite fascinating to see such a variety,

desert plants 0002 Mecca Hills, California, USA

and many of them blooming, in such arid conditions.

desert plants 0001 Mecca Hills, California, USA

Some cacti though looked somewhat squashed, as if they used up almost all their water cache.

cactus 0001 Mecca Hills, California, USA

This one seemed to be very well protected.

cactus 0000 Mecca Hills, California, USA

Close to the exit, Don knew of another trail that was rather special. As all passages here, it was a dried riverbed, but the river that carved this canyon must have been nothing more than a narrow creek. It looked very surreal.

view 0004 Mecca Hills, California, USA

I’ve only seen such kind of terrain in the movie ‘127 Hours’. It was like a winding labyrinth, sometimes very narrow,

view 0018 Mecca Hills, California, USA

where you never knew what you’d see at the next turn –

naturist 0006 Mecca Hills, California, USA

perhaps a naked man? 😀

naturist 0007 Mecca Hills, California, USA

Mostly the walls looked too steep to try to climb up, but in one place I was tempted to do so, as the cliff wasn’t entirely vertical and had a lot of dents and bumps.

naturist 0008 Mecca Hills, California, USA

It was quite easy to climb up,

naturist 0019 Mecca Hills, California, USA

but I didn’t dare to go all the way up that tower-like rock.

naturist 0013 Mecca Hills, California, USA

I still felt like king of the hill (or king of the castle?)

naturist 0018 Mecca Hills, California, USA

But as it often happens, it was much scarier to go down than to climb up, and the ground seemed suddenly shaky…

naturist 0020 Mecca Hills, California, USA

I made it down without problems though and even went back up half-way to take a picture of the slot canyon from above.

view 0006 Mecca Hills, California, USA

It was a lot of fun to walk through that labyrinth,

naturist 0010 Mecca Hills, California, USA

and it didn’t just turn all the time, we had to go up and down a few times too.

naturist 0021 Mecca Hills, California, USA

It was good though that there was a clear main path, as you wouldn’t want to get lost there.

view 0007 Mecca Hills, California, USA

After we reached a relatively wide part, we decided to turn back.

naturist 0012 Mecca Hills, California, USA

The sun was just about to set, but it was getting dark in the slot canyon already. We headed back fast, as we still needed to set up the camp,

view 0016 Mecca Hills, California, USA

but we still got the last sun rays.

view 0017 Mecca Hills, California, USA

I guess we were so inspired by the views of the Painted Canyon, that despite being quite sleepy we spent a couple of hours painting each other… with light! I actually posted the results of our light-painting frenzy a while ago.

Next day, we visited Morongo Valley,

naturist 0022 Mecca Hills, California, USA

where we could refresh in the remains of the river that was still flowing (and was very cold too).

naturist 0023 Mecca Hills, California, USA

The following night and morning we spent in luxury at Vista Grande Resort in Palm Springs; nudity combined well with luxury too, as it turned out 🙂

DeAnza resort, Heartbreak Hotel etc.

30 November 2014 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

naturist Heartbreak hotel 0000 DeAnza resort, California, USA

In case you thought this photo depicts DeAnza Springs Resort, don’t worry, it’s in much better condition. This is just one of their sites of interest, where some scenes of a 1988 movie Heartbreak Hotel were shot. The resort hosts a resident nudist community, as well as a motel and RVs to rent; it’s actually the largest clothing-optional resort in North America, according to their website. Below is a photo with the view of DeAnza resort and its surroundings taken from a rocky peak nearby.

view 0003 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

But before I get to tell you how I got to that peak, a couple more words about the resort itself. Typically for a nudist resort, there is a sauna, hot tub and two pools – open-air and indoors, where water volleyball is played. There are also tennis courts, and perhaps the best equipped gym I’ve seen at a nudist resort so far!

naturist gym 0000 DeAnza resort California, USA

However, the most attractive thing about DeAnza Springs Resort is its nature surroundings and possibilities for outdoor recreation: bouldering, and miles of hiking and mountain-biking trails. I was a bit disappointed they didn’t have a bike rental – it would be useful when we explored the ‘rail-trail’, which I described in my previous blogpost. There’s definitely a lot of potential for outdoor activities at DeAnza, and I think they should put more emphasis on it on their website.

view 0005 DeAnza Peak trail, California, USA

The Peak Trail, which was called so for obvious reasons, is a lot shorter than the ‘Rail-trail’ (about a mile), but it’s very diverse in terms of sights and experiences that you get on the way. It starts right off that Heartbreak Hotel movie scene site and goes around a rocky peak.

view 0006 DeAnza Peak trail, California, USA

Right off the start, there are some enormous boulders,

Native American art 0000 DeAnza Peak trail, California, USA

and some rocks with Native American art. There is apparently a lot more of it, but we couldn’t find where… (Better self-guide maps and markings on trails would be my other suggestion to DeAnza Springs resort for improvement!)

plants 0000 DeAnza Peak trail, California, USA

The trail is quite easy to lose; it’s not like you can get really lost, as everything is quite visible and in the open there, but you should watch out for those cacti and other spiky plants.

lichen 0000 DeAnza Peak trail, California, USA

There’s actually quite a lot of vegetation. Lichens may not seem as interesting at first, but it’s quite amazing how they manage to live on bare rocks in the desert.

view 0001 DeAnza Peak trail, California, USA

We lost the trail a couple of times and my travel buddy decided to go back to the campground, while I was determined to climb up the peak. As I was coming up behind the peak, I noticed a few small caves, where I thought I might see more of Native American art or could pose for a picture, so I was looking for a rock on which I could leave my camera on self-timer… I reclined, trying to find the best angle, and then turned around

rattle snake 0001 DeAnza Peak trail, California, USA

and saw a rattle snake right behind me!

I jumped away in a split second. Oh well, it was just chilling in the crack between the rocks and didn’t seem to be bothered by my presence. I spent quite a lot of time taking pictures of it, and it barely moved at all.

rattle snake 0000 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

We were warned about rattle snakes, but after that I was certainly a lot more cautious even just stepping over rocks, as I was also reminded of my first encounter with a rattle snake which was also chilling behind a rock in a forest near New York City… Nevertheless, cautious doesn’t mean anxious, so I continued exploring and enjoying the surroundings.

naturist 0001 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

As I mentioned, there were a few small caves that looked very cozy with their rounded smooth edges. Now it was my time to chill on the rocks 😉

naturist 0002 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

This could be a nice little community of natural studio apartments 🙂

naturist 0003 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

Well, I’m not sure about living in caves, but cooling down for a bit in one of those was nice.

view 0002 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

The one on the photo above might be perfect for camping, maybe next time!

naturist 0004 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

I’ve seen pictures with nudes in the rocks of this sort by some photographer, but cannot recall who… I wouldn’t be surprised if the pictures were taken here (please leave a comment, if you know the artwork). So, even though this landscape was kind of desolate, it made me at the same time feel comfortable and willing to interact with it.

view 0000 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

The next step was to conquer the peak itself. Here, I saw the rope I was told about at the reception, and it certainly made climbing a lot easier. Here is how it looked like and what I saw from up there 🙂

“Rail-trail” at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Southern California

9 November 2014 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

naturist 0014 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

This post would have suited last weekend more, as there is a bit of a necromantic element to it… Better later than never, so here it is, another hiking story, but very unusual in a way, as the landscape through which this trail goes is deeply influenced and modified by people of the recent past. I call it a ‘rail-trail’, as it runs along an abandoned railroad, which in its initial times used to be called ‘Impossible Railroad’ due to difficulties with which it was built (in 1919). It was abandoned and then reused a few times in its history with last operation as late as 2011. As nowadays it is not in use, hikers and bikers are free to explore it. Although it might have been [nearly] “impossible” as a railroad, it is obviously very much possible as a hiking and biking trail, perhaps the easiest one in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, with as little change in elevation as it possibly gets in a mountainous terrain.

view 0002 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

We started at DeAnza Springs Resort (I’ll review it in the next post), which is the largest clothing-optional resort in the US by territory. I don’t think I should even mention what option we chose in terms of clothing (none!) – the weather was perfect for that, as it usually happens in Southern California. Just the fist couple of minutes of the trail go away from the railroad through cacti and shrub.

view 0001 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

The first ghostly train was already behind the first hill.

view 0003 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

The train seemed so out of place there, that the fact that we were entering it in the buff didn’t make it much odder than it was…

naturist 0000 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

How often do you get a chance to ride a train naked?

naturist 0002 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

As it should be expected from a ghost train, there was a ghost floating through the aisle… 😀

naturist 0003 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

The cars were still in quite solid conditions,

naturist 0001 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

but nature is slowly taking over. Clearly some birds were happy to have this shelter.

view 0032 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

We felt like we could spend a lot of time taking pictures in the train, but our hike had barely started!

naturist 0004 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

This view from the back side seemed irresistible to pose with,

naturist 0005 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

so we had to stop for a couple more pics.

naturist 0006 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

It’d be fun to ride a train like this, but the train didn’t move.

naturist 0007 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

Even when we tried to push it!

naturist 0009 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

… after which we were too tired to hike, so we decided to hitchhike instead…

naturist 0012 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

Our train never arrived, we had to walk after all.

view 0004 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

The first bridge was soon followed by the first tunnel, of which I wasn’t aware at all. This was just the beginning!

view 0006 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

This tunnel was very short though,

naturist 0013 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

with enough light passing through. Tunnel’s repeating geometry and symmetry were sort of mesmerizing.

view 0033 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

After that straight tunnel, the road started winding quite a lot.

view 0008 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

The valley of Carrizo Creek, which was dry at that time, was still relatively green compared to the rocks above.

view 0007 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

Nevertheless, even the rocks were full of desert vegetation,

plant 0000 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

such as cacti and yuccas.

view 0005 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

This dead stem of yucca looked as if it was made of metal.

plant 0001 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

But then we saw a “skeleton” of a cactus!

plant 0002 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

The skeleton was actually sticking out from a cactus that was still alive… so it was half-alive, half-dead… a ZOMBIE cactus! I knew something was wrong in that place…

plant 0003 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

But we continued walking, and there I remembered about an episode of ‘Walking Dead’ TV series that I watched on the flight… In those post-apocalyptic scenes, people were walking on an abandoned railroad towards a refuge center. Once they had to go through a tunnel, and of course there was a zombie ambush! If you look at this view below closely, you’ll see entrances to four tunnels that we had to cross…

view 0010 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

Here is a zoomed photo of the farthest two, if you couldn’t see them…

view 0011 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

And just like in the series, there were encouraging signs on the way.

view 0012 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

Luckily, these tunnels were pretty short and enough sunlight could pass to see without torches.

view 0013 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

Here we saw another ghost train.

view 0014 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

And if that wasn’t odd enough on its own,

view 0015 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

this train turned out to have been used in the city of Montreal! This is probably the most unexpected place to see a metro train from Montreal, and we could only guess why this train was brought here from across the continent and then was just left in the middle of the desert…

view 0016 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

We got creative again with photography, so here is a scene of me typically being late and trying to catch the train in the last moment (would the train be more likely to wait, if I were naked?)

naturist 0018 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

… and a bit of goofing around.

naturist mooning 0017 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

No zombies were spotted there, and only later on pictures did I notice that we were actually watched by the devil… However, judging by his mischievous smile, he was happy about the mooning 😀

view 0017 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

We continued our walk and were approaching another tunnel. There seemed to have been some construction planned but never finished.

view 0018 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

Here, the railroad was at the edge of a very steep slope, and this was clearly a site of an accident…

view 0034 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

After entering through that massive gate,

view 0029 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

we realized that tunnel was quite different from the ones we had seen before. It looked more like a cave.

view tunnel 0035 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

And it actually looked more like on the photo below, as brightness on the one above was adjusted. It was very dark, especially after leaving the bright sunlight, and we could hardly see the light on the other side of the tunnel… I wasn’t entirely sure if there was one at all…

view tunnel cave 0036 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

And of course we didn’t think of bringing torches, when we planned a day hike in the desert… In this cave, if anywhere, zombies would definitely have caught us! We had to rely mostly on the tactile sense in our feet and could only hope not to step on a corpse or bump onto some kind of “walking dead”! This tunnel was half-mile long! Luckily, pretty soon it was evident that there was indeed light on the other side of the tunnel. The only problem with it is that once you pass the middle of the tunnel and there is more light coming from the front than from the back, you practically can only see this light and nothing else around you… Nevertheless, zombies missed all those wonderful opportunities to get us, and we were outside in the broad daylight again. Only cacti looked like they were gathering for an attack, but they were certainly not walking, and they were certainly not dead 🙂

view 0019 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

We didn’t have to wait long for another tunnel, and then yet another right away, but these were much shorter.

view 0037 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

One more weird abandoned/unfinished structure…

naturist 0019 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

Leaving the last of those tunnels, we came to a fork on the railroad with an option to either continue the road or enter yet another tunnel…

view 0020 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

Although tunnels provided shade and coolness from blazing sun, we picked the open road, as that tunnel on the side looked particularly uninviting… We were rewarded with a spectacular view,

view 0021 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

but soon had to go through a different tunnel. This one was was very short though, and we could see the goal of our hike right after it!

view 0022 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

I think I forgot to mention that our hike actually had a goal to see “the tallest curved wooden trestle ever built in the world”, the bridge over Goat Canyon. Yeah, it’s quite specific, but how often do you get a chance to hike naked to the biggest something of the world?

view 0023 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

Here it was, but we decided to cross it, as the other side seemed to provide a better view. It was quite scary to walk on that grid 60m (200′) above the ground! And frankly, the fear wasn’t unreasonable, as not all of the grid plates looked stable.

view 0025 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

We saw a group of bikers who continued their way further (and who were utterly over-dressed for that place in my opinion!)

view 0024 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

For us though, it was the final stop, as we still had to make the way back before sunset.

graffiti 0031 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

It was funny to see those messages on the cargo container: “longest hike of my life… brutal” and “I’ll be back when there’s helicopter service”. I’d have to agree with the one in between, who called the authors of the other two “wimps”. 11km one way is a good exercise, but it was still more of a long stroll than a “brutal” hike!

naturist 0020 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

By that time, we forgot about threat of zombies, but I was a little afraid to look inside that wagon. There was… nothing! A much scarier sight revealed on now the opposite side of the Goat Canyon – a crushed tunnel. It was actually that same side tunnel that we saw at the railroad fork a little earlier… I hope no one was hurt in that disaster.

view 0026 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

But then, from the corner of the Goat Canyon, we could see the bridge in its full glory.

view 0000 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

The tallest curved trestle in the world!

view 0027 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

Certainly not recommended for people who are afraid of heights… or zombies!

view naturist trestle bridge 0027 DeAnza railroad trail, California, USA

טיול רגלי בסמוך לנווה מדבר בים המלח

26 June 2014 by αNaturist, posted in Uncategorized

English

אחרי , יומים של שנירקול במפרץ אילת המשכתי הלאה. התחנה הבאה במסעי ישראל היתה ים המלח. חברה שלי אירחה אותי אצלה בקיבוץ עין גדי (זה אותה החברה שלקחה אותי לחוף געש). הקיבוץ שוכן בשמורת עין גדי השלוה לחופו של ים המלח. הימה המלוחה היא הסיבה העיקרית לטייל במקום. אני ארחיב על ים המלח בפוסט הבא. בשמורה עצמה, המיועדת לטיול של יום שלם ברגל, אפשר לפגוש מגוון יפה של צימחיה מדברית ושערות שולמית. בשמורת עין גדי יש שני מעינות המפכים במשך כל השנה; נחל דוד ונחל ערוגות. נחל דוד הוא המתוייר מבין השניים ולא מומלץ להיסתובב בו בעירום. יש סיכוי גדול שתמצא את עצמך מוקף במטילים המגיעים לשם בטיולים מאורגנים.

view 0001 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

שמתי פעמיי לנחל ערוגות. שם יכולתי לפשוט את בגדי ולטבול בנקיקים מבלי לפגוש יותר מדי מטילים אחרים שעברו בנחל.

view 0000 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

נכנסתי לנחל שהוא נקיק צר וחרב. בהמשך הנחל מבצבצת צימחייה ירוקה לאורך המיים. אפשר ללכת על הגדה או לשכשך במיים הרדודים.

view 0002 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

לא יכולתי שלא לטבול את התחת הערום שלי בבריכת הטבעיות שבנחל.

naturist 0001 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

קולות רמים של בני תשחורת אמריקיים הפרו את השלווה. התלבשתי בחיפזון. הזמן חלף ונאלצתי לשוב למהר מכיוון שהשמורה נסגרת ב5 אחה”צ.

בהמשך הנחל ראיתי את הבריכה המפורסמת עם המפל אבל האמריקאים שפגשתי בדרך הגיעו לשם בהמוניהם ונאלצתי לותר ולהמשיך הלאה.

view 0003 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

סימנתי בריכה נוספת בדרכי כמעומדת למנוחה אם לא אמצא בריכה טובה יותר.

view 0004 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

המשכתי לצעוד מדלג בין השביל למיים בחיפוש אחר מקום מסתור. מצאתי בריכה מוקפת בעיצים ומוסתרת מעיני המטילים והאוטובוסים ונכנסתי ערום למיים להתרעננות נוספת.

naturist 0003 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

ניצלתי את פינת החמד לארוחת צהריים. סיבכי ובולבול גילו התעניינות בסנדויץ שלי ונעמדו ממש קרוב אליי

bird 0001 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

bird 0000 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

אחרי האוכל יצאתי לטיול נוסף

naturist 0002 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

פגשתי מעופף נוסף של נרתע מהמצלמה שלי.

dragonfly 0000 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

ואז חלפתי על פני המפל הגבוהה ביותר בנחל.

view waterfall 0005 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

לא התמהמתי שם כי רציתי לראות את כל המסלול.

view waterfall 0006 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

אייך שעברתי את המפל איש השמורה קרא לי ואמר שמאוחר מדי להמשיך בשביל ושצריך לחבור לכיוון היציאה. זה נשמע לי לא הגיוני אבל לא רציתי להיתווקח. שמתי פעמיי חזרה לכיוון ים המלח.

view 0007 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

בדרך חזרה במפל הגבוהה פגשתי קבוצה קולנית של חרדים צעירים ברובם. למה הם צועקים בשעה שהמקום כל כך רגוע. הצעקות שלהם החרישו את רחשי הטבע. נראה שבישבילם זה טיול לפרק שעשועים והטבע זר להם על מימו ובריכותיו הזקים. הבחנתי פתאום בקבוצת יעלים על ראש הקניון.

nubian ibex 0000 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

הם נראו כאילו הם מהרהרים בליבם ושואלים מה לקבוצה הרעשנית הזאת המשחקת במפל ולמידבר. טוב שהם כל כך רעשנעם. כך אני לא צריך לחשוש לפשוט את בגדי כי הקולות הרמים יודיעו לי מתי הם מתקרבים.

הבריכה שסימנתי מוקדם יותר עמדה בשיממונה ניצלתי את המגלשה הטיבעית להחליק על התחת לתוך הבריכה

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xghfk2_skinny-dipping-in-the-desert_travel

אפשר לראות בסרט אייזה כיף זה לגולש על התחת במורד הזרם לבריכה.

מדהים – שרכים ענוגים מסוג שערות שולמית גדלים במדבר על קירות הנקיק מעל למיים עד לנקודה שבו התחיל המדבר

fern 0000 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

מדהים יותר לפגוש סרטן וצפרדע שוחים יחדו בבריכה בלב המדבר

frog & crab 0000 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

לא העלתי בדעתי שאפשר להיתרענן במחיצת חיות בר בים המות

nubian ibex 0001 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

Text in Hebrew by Dror

צף על המים בים המלח

19 June 2014 by αNaturist, posted in Uncategorized

English

המסע שלי בחופי ישראל החל בים סוף ומשם לים התיכון ועכשיו הגיע תורו של החוף המיוחד ביותר בישראל (ואולי היחודי ביותר שפגשתי אי פעם) הוא ים המלח.

ים המלח נמצא בנקודה הנמוכה ביותר בעולם כולו ואחד משלושה האגמים המלוחים הקיימים בתבל. ים המלח הוא אתר תיור חשוב בישראל. לימה וססיבותיה יש מטען היסטורי ורוחני עמוק. אבל בסיכומו של דבר אני ממש לא יודע. יש שרואים בים המלח כמקום לשהות קצרצרה בעיקר עם הגעת לשם במסגרת טיול מאורגן באוטובוסים רבי משתתפים. אבל יש גם חופים פחות מתוייירים שבהם אפשר לבלות יותר כי שם משך הזמן הוא אחר זאת בתנאי שתיזרום עם המידבר ותן לו לעשות את שלו.

חברתי החדשה שהמליצה לי על החוף באילת היא זאת שסיפרה לי גם על החוף שלה בים המלח. חוף פיראי ונפלא מול צוקי דרגות.

קו 847 אגד מירושלים לעין דגי תחנה צומת מצוקי דרגות. כך נראית תחנת האוטובוס (בסמוך לה יש עמדה צבאית) שבה עליך לרדת. שים לב שהאוטובוס לא יעצור אם לא תבקש מהנהג. אתה יכול להראות לו את התמונה של התחנה ולבקש ממהו לעצור שם.

לצרי נאלצתי לצאת בגפי ללא החברה. אז אייך היה.

בסרט למטה אתם יכולים להיתרשם מהתחושה של ציפה מרחפת במים הכבדים של ים המלח. התחושה היא יחודית ולא ניתנת לתאור. חייבים להינסות כדי להבין… מומלץ לכולם! זה לא דומה לשום דבר אחר. בקיצור זה נפלא. אבל זה רק צד אחד . הנוף השומם החסוף וחסר החיים של המדבר משרה אוירה של עולם זר ואחר.

מצד אחר – תחושת הריחף בתוספת המים החמימים והמלטפים מכהים את החושים ומשרים אוירה של נוחות ושלווה. תחושה זאת מתעצמת בלילה כשגם חוש הראיה מתעמעם. ריחוף חסר דאגות וכוכבים מנצנצים סחף אותי לתוך הרקיע עצמו…

טוב, באו נשוב למציאות. מומלץ לא לשהות במים המלוחים יותר מדי זמן מחשש להיתיבשות. כאמור בכול הנוגע לבריאות יש לפעול במתינות. יש במים מינרלים רבים העושים פלאות לעור ומשפרים את הבריאות הכללית. אבל צריך להיות זהיר. היציאה מהמים מלווה בתחושה מוזרה. המים האילו לא מקררים את הגוף והגוף בתגובה מתחיל להזיע באופן מוגבר. בסופו של דבר כשהזעה מתיבשת אתה נשאר מצופה בשיכבה של מלח. אם יש לך פצע טרי או אפילו שריטה זה עלול להיות לא נעים. אני נשרטתי בתוך במים כששחיתי.

לכן צריך למצוא חוף שקיימת בו אפשרות להישטף אחרי היציאה מהמיים. בחופים מוסדרים, כמו חוף עין גדי, יש מיקלחות על החוף (שחיתי בפעם הראשונה בים המלח בחוף זה. אפשר גם להוריד את בגד הים אבל מומלץ לעשות זאת במרחק מה משאר האנשים או בערב לצאת לשחיה לילית בעירום) בחופים פיראים של לודא שיש מעין של מיים מתוקים בחוף. מעינות מתוקים זה משהו שלא ציפיתי למצא בחופי ים המלח אבל החופים לא כולם חסופים בחלקם יש צימחיה והרי צמחים זקוקים למים מתוקים.

אכן המים המתוקים נמצאים לא רק מתחת לפני הקרקע. אפשר למצוא מעינות ובריכת מים מתוקים על החוף.

לא תמיד המעיונת נובעים. צריך לשאול מקומי על נקודות בהם יש זרימה או פשוט לתור בעצמך את החוף. הבריכה הזאת ממש מזמינה והטבילה בה היתה מרעננת.

הנוף הנישקף מהברכיה עצמה.

במקרה אחד כשירדתי לבריכה היא היתה מלאה בתירים בריטים, כולם בביגדי רחצה. הם נאבקו נואשות לנקות את עצמם ואת הבגדים בעודם לבושים וזה רק החיף את כמות החול וחלוקי הנחל שנכנסו לתוך הבגדים. בבדיחות הדעת אמרתי להם שזאת הסיבה שאני לא לובש דבר (למען האמת לא היתי מודע לבעיה הזאת של רחיצה בבגדים) בחור אחד נדלק על הרעיון והוא חייך אליי. אני חייכתי חזרה ומהר מאוד התברר שהוא רוצה משהו מעבר לזה. כשהחבורה עזבה את המקום הוא נשאר כדי להיתנקות בצורה יותר יסודית. הוא ואני נשארנו לבד בבריכה. מבלי להיתמהמה הוא החל לשלוח ידים. אני סרבתי ואמרתי לו שאני לא בקטע. בעינו העירום התפרש כהזמנה למין כאן עכשיו ומייד. החברה שלי סיפרה לי שהיא הוטרדה במקום מספר פעמים על ידי גבר חרדי שיושב ליד הבריכה (לבוש כמובן) וארב לנשים הבאות לשם לירחוץ בעירום. התנהגות וגסות כזו אפשר למצוא גם במגזר החילוני המערבי.

אפרופו בוץ – ים המלח מפוסם בבוץ שלו בעל סגולות המרפא ותיקון פגעי הזמן. הבוץ אף נמכר בעולם כתכשיר קוסמטי. ים המלח מתיבש ומצתמק. אחת הסיבות לכך היא כריית המלחים, המינרלים והבוץ מהים לצרכים כלכליים. סיבה נוספת היא הטיית מי הירדן להשקיה וצימצום כמות המים המגיעים בסופו של דבר לים המלח. הדרך הטובה והיעילה ביותר להשתמש בבוץ היא פשוט להגיע לים, לחפון בוץ טרי ועשיר במינרלים ולמרוח אותו על הגוף כולו (אל תפספס אף נקודה ;-)) ואז הישטף במי הים.

רוב היום היתי לבד בחוף דומם ורגוע יושב בצל השיחים מתבונן בגונים המדהימים בטן גב ים בריכה.

לקראת ערב פגשתי בחור נחמד. זן נדיר של היפי בין זמנינו. הוא סיפר לי שהוא מגיע למקום באופן קבוע ושוהה שם מספר שבועות באוהל המאולתר שלו. מזג האויר הקיצי בישראל מאפשר שהות בטבע מציוד בקמעט כלום.

הפתיע אותי שהיה לו אוכל מועט. הוא אכל בעיקר מה שמבקרים אחרים השאירו לו (גם אצלי זה כך).
מאוחר יותר הצטרף אילנו בחור הזוי נוסף. תייר אוסטרלי מצוייד בכלי אוסטרלי ענק. ההיפי הציע להראות לי בריכות נוספות אבל חששתי לפספס את האוטובוס האחרון. שני בחורים נוספים וכלבתם הידידותית שהו אף הם בחוף. התעניינתי אם הם יכולים לעזור לי, עם האוטו שלהם, בדרכם הביתה, להגיע למקום שממנו אוכל להסתדר בכוחות עצמי. הם הסכימו. דרך אגב הכלבה שלהם ניסתה לבצע צלילה במים המלוחים. אוי… לקח לה פעמים להבין שזה רעין לא כל כך מוצלח לצרוב את הענים והפה במים האילה. ההיפי הוביל אותי לבריכות לאורך החוף. לחלק מהבריכות היה צבע משונה ירוק עז ולבן ירקרק. האדמה שם היתה לא יציבה פריכה וקימחית. הכל נראה כמו לא מהעולם הזה. אני כנראה לא היתי מעז ללכת לשם לבדי.

כשחזרנו כבר התחיל להחשיך. החושך יורד מהר מאוד. לשימחתי זוג הבחורים וכלבתם היה עדיין שם. נודע לי שיש הקבלה בין ללכת על המים של איתן פוקס לבין צמד הבחורים, ערבי פלסטינאי ויהודי (מאירלנד) מתגוררים יחדיו בירושלים. בניגוד לסרט אין שום דבר מסעיר בחייהם. זה נגע ללב לראות את הסיפור הזה מתממש בחים האמיתיים. בסופו של דבר הם לקחו אותי חזרה לקיבוץ ומשם לירושלים לביתם. שהיתי שם מספר שעות בחיפוש אחר מונית שרות זולה (לא ידעתי שיש דבר כזה) לשדה התעופה לטיסה שלי שיצאה מוקדם בבוקר. איזה טיול

נפלא. ביקרתי במקומות מקסימם ופגשתי אנשים נפלאים.

Hebrew text by Dror

floating in the Dead Sea

20 February 20118 March 2016 by αNaturist, posted in Uncategorized

עברית

Finally, after describing my adventures at Israel’s Mediterranean and Red Sea shores, I am getting to the third, and arguably most unusual sea on my trip (and in my experience in general), the Dead Sea! Being the lowest land spot on Earth and one of the three saltiest lakes, the Dead Sea is an obvious tourist attraction, topped with mythical healing properties. However, I had heard mixed opinions about it, some of which described it as just a place to hang out a couple of hours. And I bet it is so, if you come with a bunch of other tourists to a crowded beach on a planned excursion trip. But you may also experience the timelessness and peace, if you know the right places and look for relaxation.

My new friend who advised that nice relatively secluded spot at the Red Sea near Eilat again gave me an excellent recommendation for her favorite place at the Dead Sea, a wild beach near Metsoke Dragot.

This is how the bus stop (next to a military post) looks like where you need to stop for this beach (I put this photo, because the stops are not announced and you have to ask the driver in advance and watch out).

Unfortunately my friend couldn’t join me on that occasion.

So what was it like? Well, the video below probably shows how much I was excited with the idea of floating freely in the waters of the Dead Sea, but it is impossible to describe the feeling, it must be experienced… by everybody! As there is nothing like it 🙂 In few words, I felt fantastic: on the one hand, the deserted landscape and lifeless hyper-saline waters created an almost extraterrestrial ambience,

but on the other, the feeling of loss of gravity and soothingly warm water created an almost womb-like environment of comfort and peace. This feeling was even stronger at night, when the vision faded away and other senses became more apparent. Such careless floating in combination with stargazing made me feel as if I was drifting in the starry sky itself…

(I must mention in relation to this video that due to increased density of water in the Dead Sea, it actually was particularly pleasant for the genitals: my balls felt as relaxed and liberated as it gets, floating freely and kind of weightless, and this feeling spread to the rest of my body; in combination with perfectly warm water temperature, it provided a feeling of ultimate relaxation. This is something that non-nudist visitors may be missing out because of restricting clothes.)

Well, now back to the Earth: the sad truth is that one should not spend too much time in the Dead Sea’s waters because of risk of dehydration. As it often happens, many healing procedures should be done in moderation; mineral-rich waters of the Dead Sea may have amazing effects on your skin and health in general, but you have to be cautious… When you get out of the water, again you feel somewhat unusual, as there is no typical cooling effect from evaporation of water from the skin, because such hyper-saline water does not evaporate easily. But I imagine when it does, you’ll be covered with a layer of salt (also be careful if you have any open wounds, I still have a little scar on my foot as I had a scratch while I was swimming there).

For this reason, you should pick up a spot where it is possible to wash in a fresh water after swimming in the Dead Sea. Public beaches at the Dead Sea usually have showers, as, for example, at the Ein Gedi oasis, where I swam for the first time (also naked, but away from the main crowd – the first part of the video, at dusk and night, is from there). But in a wild place like this, you have to make sure that there are some fresh water springs. Actually this was something I didn’t expect to find at the Dead Sea at all, but obviously this stretch of the shore was quite luscious and plants needed fresh water…

And indeed, there were not only underground fresh water sources, but some springs and pools as well!

Not all springs are filled with fresh water though, so you will need to ask around or simply observe which one to use. This pool looked really inviting, and the water was very refreshing.

And this is the view from the pool itself.

One time when I went to refresh in the pool, it was full of British tourists, none of whom was naked. They were trying to wash their clothes from the mud and apparently they got sand and small stones in their shorts, so I noted jokingly that was the reason why I didn’t wear any clothes (I even forgot about this problem with bathing clothed)… One guy seemed to be especially moved by this notion and he started smiling to me and I smiled back, but soon it became too obvious that he wanted a bit more than exchange of smiles. Then, his friends were leaving, but he said he needed to wash his boxers still, and as soon as they disappeared, he didn’t waste any moment and started approaching to me until I had to tell him that I was not interested. I was quite annoyed that he took my nudity as a signal that I was ready for a quickie ‘right here right now’. I found it ironic as well, because my local friend who told me about this place, also said that sometimes she got irritated by men from conservative religious background who sometimes come here and sit next to the pool and wait for naked girls to wash there, while their wives sit somewhere in the shade (fully covered, of course) playing with children; but obviously, some more secular western men are not any more tactful…

And speaking of mud, of course the Dead Sea is known for its mud with healing and rejuvenating properties, which is sold worldwide by cosmetic companies. Unfortunately, some of the methods that they use to get the minerals, salts and mud from the Dead Sea are among the reasons why it dries out (another major factor is diverting water from the Jordan River and smaller water sources for irrigation). So, probably the best way to use the precious mud with minimal impact on this unique place is to go there, apply it directly all over your body (don’t miss any spot ;-)) and then wash it off back in the sea.

I spent most of the day alone, quiet and relaxed, sitting under those bushes and enjoying amazing colors between the floating/bathing sessions.

But in the late afternoon, I got to know this nice fellow, one of the rare nowadays kind of true hippies. He said he came there regularly for a few weeks and stayed in this self-made tent. Well, with the summer weather in Israel you don’t really need much.

What really surprised me was that he didn’t even have much food, as he ate mostly what other people shared with him (as did I as well). Later on, another ‘crazy’ guy joined us; he was an American tourist traveling around with a huge Australian aborigine instrument. The hippy guy suggested to show me some other pools along the shore, but I was worried that I might miss the last bus. However, there were two guys with a dog who looked very friendly, and I asked them, if they could give me a lift, to which they agreed! BTW their dog made an unfortunate attempt to dive into the Dead Sea waters, ouch! It took her two times to realize that it wasn’t a good idea to get mouth and eyes in contact with the water… So, I went with the hippy to explore the pools; some of them had very strange colors, bright green or grayish-white, and the soil around them seemed quite unstable and soft like flour; it all looked unearthly, and I probably would have felt very insecure, if I had come there alone…

As we returned, it was getting dark quickly and I was happy to find that the two guys with the dog were still there… It turned out that in the best traditions of Eytan Fox’ movies they were a couple, a Palestinian arab and a jew (from Ireland) living in Jerusalem, but it sounded like there was no big drama in their lives unlike in the movies, and it was really touching to see it real. So in the end, not only did they bring me to a kibbutz where my friend lived, but they also took me from there to Jerusalem, let me stay at their place for few hours and helped me to get to a communal taxi that is much cheaper than the usual private one (which I hadn’t known existed), as I had my flight back early next morning. What a great trip it was, both in terms of places I saw and people I met!

Hiking near oasis at the Dead Sea in Israel

8 January 201126 June 2014 by αNaturist, posted in Uncategorized

עברית

After spending 2 days of snorkeling at the Red Sea, I had to move further, and the next stop on my trip through Israel was the Dead Sea. I stayed at a friend of my new friend who brought me to Ga’ash beach in Tel Aviv. He lived in Ein Gedi kibbutz, which is a part of luscious Ein Gedi oasis off the shores of the Dead Sea. The sea-lake itself is of course the major attraction in the area, and I will talk about it in my next post, but there is also a nice opportunity to see local flora and fauna on a daily hiking trip. Ein Gedi nature reserve has two spring-fed streams with flowing water year-round: Nahal David and Nahal Arugot. The former is much more popular, and I was advised not to go there, as tourists pour in big portions coming with organized bus tours.

So, I went alone to Nahal Arugot and for most of the time I wasn’t disturbed by anyone and even found some moments to enjoy the refreshing waters in the buff!

Right after entrance, it did feel like it was a desert, but then it got quite green along the stream and at some points I walked right on its banks or even in its shallow waters.

When it got deeper and wider, I couldn’t resist dipping in the water. Skinny-dipping, of course!

But I heard some loud voices of american teenage tourists and had to cover fast. In any case I had to hurry, because the trail closes very early and I had to return to the entry point by 5pm.

Then I saw the first pool with waterfalls. That is what the trail is known for, but this one was quickly occupied by some American tourists and I continued further.

I noted another pool but decided to stop there on the way back, if I didn’t find anything else.

So, I continued hiking partially on the trail, partially through in the stream, in hope to find a more secluded spot. I found one pool that seemed to be somewhat hidden by the trees and bushes and refreshed again.

It also seemed like a nice spot for having a lunch. While I was eating my sandwich, a couple of birds came very close to me.

They did not beg for food like their urban relatives, and it was nice to imagine that they were as curious about me as I was about them.

bird 0000 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

After food I went for another dip

and encountered another creature that didn’t mind me taking a close-up photo.
dragonfly 0000 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

Then I finally continued hiking. I reached the tallest waterfall

but didn’t stay there for too long as I wanted to go till the end of the trail.

Unfortunately, just a little further above the waterfalls I was called by a guard, who told me it was too late to continue further. It sounded strange to me, as it was early still, but I didn’t bother arguing and started my way back in the direction of the Dead Sea.

I was passing by the high waterfall again, but it was then full of VERY noisy teenagers, orthodox Jews this time. I was wondering why they needed to shout so much, as the place looked so peaceful and perfect for listening to the sounds of nature, but for them it was more of an attraction park, which is also understandable, given that they might not have too much access to natural freshwater pools if they lived in that area. But then I raised my head and right above the gorge saw a group of nubian ibexes.

Apparently, they were thinking about the same issues, as they were staring from above at the noisy tourists fooling around at the waterfall. The good part about their noisiness, I thought, was that in case I would do skinny-dipping, I could hear them approaching.

The pool that I noted previously was still unoccupied so I decided to enjoy it for myself.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xghfk2_skinny-dipping-in-the-desert_travel

As you can see, I also found it to be quite an attraction to slide down the stream bed into the pool.

It was also amazing to see ferns growing on the walls above the stream given that few meters away a rocky desert was starting.

fern 0000 Nahal Arugot, Dead Sea, Israel

But then even more amazing was it to see two animals side by side that you would never expect to see in the desert: a frog and a crab!

After I had enough fun at the pool, I followed till the exit quickly and just stopped to take pictures of another group of ibexes, which came even closer.

I never thought I could spend such a refreshing day and seeing so much wildlife at the Dead Sea.

Tag: desert