Trip Report 7/25 (First timer!)

Hello all!

First off, thank you to all the posters for the wealth of information on this forum. I did my homework, and thanks to you all, I had a very nice first trip out. So glad I found it, truly, thanks for all you do.

I arrived at Bowen Ranch around 11:30am; after dropping my envelope in the little slot I drove to the parking lot (I wasn't quite prepared for the fact that the drive down to the parking area seems to be the most treacherous!)
When I got there, there were some people in the parking lot sunscreening up for the nude hike. It was great comfort for a first timer to see folks doing the hike in the nude. I started out nude; what a great day-- it wasn't too terribly hot and the sun felt great. The hike was great, saw a bunch of wildlife (including a really neat green-grey snake poking his head from under a rock) and really enjoyed the scenery. I slipped a bit on one of the steep grades, at which point I put my shorts back on (the modicum of protection would have made my slip a little less, err, uncomfortable, hah), so I did the rest of the hike with just some shorts.

The hike didn't take as long as I had expected, and the cool water of the creek was super refreshing. When I arrived, I was happy in almost all-nude company, which was great. I had a nice cool swim in the creek (the pools were just a bit warm for me) and ate my little snack in the sun. Just an afternoon of relaxation. It wasn't crowded at all, and people there were super friendly. Some other folks showed up a little later who were of the textiled variety, which is new for me (I am 32 years old and have been a nudist for 32 years, so it's old hat, but I've very rarely been in mixed nude/textile situation). Once again, the presence of the other nudists was very confidence building and I stayed nude all afternoon.

It was a great afternoon-- a great first experience. When I left, as per the entreaties on the forum, I left with more trash than I brought, and had a challenging hike back (seriously, whoa, it's steep on the way back-- still did it in less than an hour, even with lots of stopping).

If I can offer any advice to other people going for the first time (nothing new, but just to reiterate): brings LOTS of water. I thought I was bringing too much with over 2L and some odd bottles but I was out and parched by the time I got back to the car.

Can't wait to go back!