Did The Idiot walk 17 miles in the Redwood National Park near Orick, California, just to go skinny dipping?
Although the refreshing swim was exhilarating after a long hike, that was not the only reason that The Idiot backpacked on the Redwood Creek Trail to the Tall Trees Grove, site of some of the world’s tallest trees.
Here are some of the other objectives and whims that prompted the pleasant saunter on a trail that The Idiot frequently used for training when he spent twenty years (1998-2018) walking around the Mediterranean Sea and writing The Idiot and the Odyssey trilogy of travel narratives about the exploit.
The Idiot walked the 17-mile loop to the Tall Trees Grove on the Redwood Creek Trail to ensure that he still enjoyed it. 
The Idiot wanted to walk through an elk-filled meadow on the way to the Redwood Creek Trailhead.
The Idiot wanted to see three new bridges built to enable hikers to cross Redwood Creek between June and September.
The Idiot wanted to asses the quality of the trail in an era of reduced maintenance due to budget cuts. It ranged from excellent (above) and interesting to very poor.
The Idiot wanted to asses the quality of the trail in an era of reduced maintenance due to budget cuts. It ranged from excellent and interesting (above) to very poor.
The Idiot wanted to asses the quality of the trail in an era of reduced maintenance due to budget cuts. It ranged from excellent and interesting to very poor (above).
The Idiot wanted to check out local animals, which include deer (above) and bears (unseen on this outing).
The Idiot wanted to walk to the Tall Trees Grove before he succumbed to the temptation to skinny dip in Redwood Creek.
The Idiot wanted to have lunch at the Tall Tree before he succumbed to the temptation to skinny dip in Redwood Creek.
Only after conducting these various tasks did The Idiot go skinny dipping to enjoy the chilly water, deep swimming holes and challenging current in Redwood Creek.
The Idiot, and The idiot’s hair, after skinny dipping in Redwood Creek before walking 8.5 miles to return to the trailhead.
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