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You will find trip reports by Lloyd Johnson here.  The most recent reports are at the top. 

Don't read too much into my reports.  Gaps in coverage sometimes indicate bad weather, but also reflect my schedule.  I'm a strong swimmer and generally don't notice currents unless they are very strong.  I'm not a surfer and don't really know how to measure a wave.

December 30, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  Once at the bottom, I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  There were still a lot of mud flows across the sand, from the recent rain.  It looked dry on the surface, but you could sink in an inch or two in many places.

I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I couldn't raise my flag right away, because the tide was too high to put it where I wanted. I eventually raised my club flag and put another bulletin board under it.

I set up an umbrella for hanging food.  I set up a reflector to keep extra warm, and I was glad to have it, especially after swims.

The flies were bothersome.  I brought a bug repellent, and found it useful.

I went swimming twice, just past the surf.  I could hear dolphins.  They sounded close, but when I found them, they were far.  I managed to catch a few waves.  There was a small boat following the dolphins.  It looked like they were doing a study.

I noticed a dense cloud enveloping La Jolla Cove about 4pm.  I was planning to leave about that time anyway, and I was getting cold.  I dressed, packed and headed to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I paused on the way up and noticed that the cloud was moving faster than I thought.  It overtook me before I reached the top, and I finished the hike in the fog.  I left the parking lot a little before 5pm.

December 29, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, wearing shoes for a change.  Once at the bottom, I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  There were still a lot of mud flows across the sand, from the recent rain.  It looked dry on the surface, but you could sink in an inch or two in many places.

I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and put another bulletin board under it.

I set up an umbrella for hanging food.  I set up a reflector to keep extra warm, and I was glad to have it, especially after swims.

The flies were bothersome.  I wish I had brought a bug repellent.

I went swimming twice, just past the surf.  I could hear dolphins.  They sounded close, but when I found them, they were far.  I noticed they swam around Geoff, who was on a surfboard, for quite a while.

I was able to stay warm until about 3pm.  I dressed, packed and headed to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  The sun set while I was hiking up.  I stopped to talk with the Diggers working on the trail.  In the fading twilight I could again see a thin crescent moon as well as three planets, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury.

December 28, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, wearing shoes for a change.  Once at the bottom, I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  There were still a lot of mud flows across the sand, from the recent rain.  It looked dry on the surface, but you could sink in an inch or two in many places.

I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and put another bulletin board under it.

I set up an umbrella for hanging food.  I didn't expect to find dry sand, so I had a chair instead of a sheet.  There was plenty of dry sand.  I set up a reflector to keep extra warm, and I was glad to have it.

The flies were a bit bothersome.  I wish I had brought a bug repellent.

At first there was too much cool wind to do a swim.  It died down about 2pm and I went for one swim, a good ways past the surf, but not to the sand dollars.  I tried body surfing on the back to shore, but I just didn't manage to be in the right place at the right time.

I was able to stay warm until about 4pm.  I dressed in a fleece shirt and a windbreaker, packed and hiked to the trail.  I saw sunset while still on the beach.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  In the fading twilight I could see a very thin crescent moon as well as three planets, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury.

December 21, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, wearing shoes for a change.  Once at the bottom, I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  There were still a lot of mud flows across the sand, from the recent rain.

I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and put another bulletin board under it.

I set up an umbrella for hanging food.  I didn't expect to find dry sand, so I had a chair instead of a sheet.  There was plenty of dry sand.  I set up a reflector to keep extra warm.  I probably would have been fine without it.  I was hot at times and had to cool off.

I went for one swim, to the sand dollars.  I'm not sure I got the right temperature.  Maybe I should have stayed in longer, but I think it was long enough.

About 3pm I decided it wasn't going to get any better.  I dressed, packed and hiked to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  One of the Diggers was working on the trail.

November 30, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  Once at the bottom, I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  There were still a lot of mud flows across the sand, from the recent rain.

I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and put another bulletin board under it.

I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  I sat in the sun and only used my umbrella for hanging food.  The sun hardly came out.  I felt cold and had to put on a warm shirt.

About 1pm I decided it wasn't going to get any better.  I packed, dressed and hiked to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

November 29, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  Once at the bottom, I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  There were a lot of mud flows across the sand, from the recent rain.

I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and put another bulletin board under it.

I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  I sat in the sun and only used my umbrella for hanging food.  The cool wind was enough to keep me out of the water.  I felt cold and had to put on a warm shirt.

There were some clouds off-shore that eventually blocked too much sun.  About 3pm I decided it wasn't going to get any better.  I packed, dressed and hiked to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

November 17, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  Once at the bottom, I undressed.  There was already a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  My club flag was already flying above another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  I sat in the sun and only used my umbrella for hanging food and swim gear.

I went swimming twice, both times to the sand dollars.  There was a lot of seaweed in the surf.  The water was fine once past it, but I had to step high to get through it.

I watched sunset from the beach and left a little after 5pm.  I dressed, packed and hiked to the trail.

November 15, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  On the way down I could see that much of the beach was flooded.  The water was draining by cutting through an area of sand and removing sand.  There was standing water along most of the beach.  Eventually the water soaked into the sand, but was never quite dry.

I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

The only dry sand was up against the cliff.  I chose a spot between the standing water and the surf.  I raked an area, hoping it would dry faster.  I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  I sat in the sun and only used my umbrella for hanging food and swim gear.  The flies were bothersome, like yesterday.

I went swimming twice, once to the sand dollars and once until I met up with some dolphins.  I caught one good wave, and rode it without injury.

A wind came up about 2pm, but died before 4pm.  I left about 4pm.  I packed and hiked to the trail.  I dressed at the trail, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

I saw the sunset when I was near the top.  There was a crowd at the top of the trail, watching and photographing sunset.  I left the lot about 5pm.

November 13, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  On the way down I could see that much of the beach was flooded.  The water was draining by cutting through an area of sand and removing sand.

I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  I sat in the sun and only used my umbrella for hanging food and swim gear.  The flies were bothersome.

I went swimming twice, both times to the sand dollars.  I caught one good wave, and it threw my camera into my head.  I found that I was bleeding and had quite a lump.  With a little help, I dressed the wound and stayed out of the water.

I decided to get an early start about 5pm.  I packed and hiked to the trail.  I dressed at the trail, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

November 8, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  I sat in the sun and only used my umbrella for hanging food and swim gear.

I entered the water for my first swim, but was stung by a ray.  It was barely a scratch, but it ended my swim.  I went straight to the dark sand to cook the toxins.  Thirty minutes later I was fine.

Later, I went swimming twice, both times to the sand dollars.  I caught one good wave.

It was cooling off about 5pm and there was a bank of clouds off-shore.  I watched the sun go behind those clouds, then I packed, dressed and headed to the trail.  At the trail I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

It was dark, by the time I got to the parking lot.  I could see the moon, planets and stars again.  I left the parking lot about 5:30pm.

November 7, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  I sat in the sun and only used my umbrella for hanging food and swim gear.

I went swimming twice, both times to the sand dollars.  I caught one good wave.

It was cooling off about 4pm, so I put on a warm shirt.  I watched sunset from the beach, then I packed, dressed and headed to the trail.  At the trail I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  Black's Beach Diggers were doing a little trail work.

It was dark, by the time I got to the parking lot.  I could see planets, Venus and Jupiter, along with the gibbous moon.  I was able to make out a few constellations, Sagitarius and Cassiopia to name two.  I left the parking lot about 6pm.

November 6, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  I sat in the sun and only used my umbrella for hanging food and swim gear.

I went swimming twice, both times to the sand dollars.  I caught one good wave.  I caught an released a hermit crab.  I saw dolphins breach, but I wasn't close.

It was cooling off about 3pm, so I decided to leave.  I packed, dressed and headed to the trail.  At the trail I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

October 26, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  I sat in the sun and only used my umbrella for hanging food and swim gear.

I went swimming once, to the sand dollars.  I caught one good wave.

It clouded over about 3:30 and I had to put on a shirt to keep warm.  I packed, dressed and headed to the trail about 5pm.  At the trail I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

October 24, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  I sat in the shade of that umbrella much of the day, since it was so hot.

I went swimming three times, twice to the sand dollars and once just to catch some waves.  I caught some good waves.

It was nearly 6pm when I decided to start packing.  It was still warm, but not for long.  I headed to the trail.  I dressed at the trailhead, collected my bulletin boards and started up the trail.

October 23, 2008: Black's Beach

Parking at 10am	street parking: full gliderport: plenty of spaces
Visibility	I could see Longbeach.
Burro Trail	mostly good condition, except for the very bottom
Climate	hot and sunny, wind from north
People	maybe a hundred
Activities Observed	swimming, body surfing, body boarding, surfing, volleyball
Water	surf: 3' tide: It rose a little while I was there. temperature: 64º current: I didn't notice any. visibility: 10'
Wildlife Observed	crows, western gulls, Heermann's gulls, whimbrels, marbled godwits, grebes, osprey, pelicans, cormorants, willets, squirrels, sand dollars, bat ray, kelp crab, dolphins
Lifeguards and Law Enforcement	I saw city lifeguards in a white truck.

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  I sat in the shade of that umbrella much of the day, since it was so hot.

I went swimming three times, to the sand dollars.  I did a little body surfing on my way there and back to shore.  I found a little kelp crab, about the size of my hand.  He had a very aggressive posture in my photo.

It was nearly 6pm when I decided to start packing.  It was still warm, but not for long.  I dressed and headed to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and started up the trail, pausing to watch sunset.

There were two helicopters at the gliderport.  They were getting their props up to speed and soon took off.  It was unusual that they were there, but I didn't find out why.

October 21, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  I only used the umbrella to hang my food out of reach of squirrels and sea gulls.  I hardly even saw my shadow.

I went swimming once to the sand dollars.  I did a little body surfing on my way back to shore.

I had to put on my fleece shirt twice.  I finally called it quits about 5pm.  I packed and dressed, then headed to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot about 5:30pm.

October 18, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised an American flag, my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  I was comfortable in the shade, but also in the sun.

I went swimming twice, to the sand dollars.  I did a little body surfing on my way back to shore.

We started to get some cloud cover about 4pm.  I eventually put on a fleece shirt and packed.  I dressed and headed to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot about 6pm.

October 14, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I could see a plume of smoke up north.  It was probably Camp Pendleton, but it looked further north.  I couldn't make out the plume later, but it did leave a smoky later.

The wind was very strong, so I set up a wind break.  I set up an umbrella and a sheet.  The sand was getting around my blocker and I had to shake out my sheet.  By 12pm the wind died and it was unclear what direction it was coming from, because it was so weak.

I went swimming once, to the sand dollars.  I did a little body surfing on my way back to shore.  From shore I noticed some divers at the reef.

About 5pm I was packing and hiking to the trail.  I dressed at the trail, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot about 6pm.

October 12, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised an American flag, my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

October 9, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up my own stuff, an umbrella and a sheet.  I hardly sat in the shade.  I could only keep warm in the sun.  Some of my friends set umbrellas on the side to block the wind.  I have noticed that sand still gets around the wind blocks and covers my sheet, so I didn't try.

I went swimming once.  There was a lot of sea weed in the surf.  It pretty much ruined the surf.  I swam out past the sand dollars, but didn't see any.  I caught one good wave on my way back to shore.

The day was not looking good, so I packed up early, about 3pm.  Several friends were just arriving and starting a game of volleyball.

On my way to the trail, there was a man trying to come down Hully Gully.  I called lifeguards and they started a cliff rescue.  I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I guess it was a serious rescue, since lifeguards were setting up their mountain climbing equipment.

October 2, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  There I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up my own stuff, an umbrella and a sheet.  It was very hot and I tried to stay in the shade much of the time.  The sand was also too hot for my bare feet.

I went swimming three times, first to the reef and twice for some body surfing.  There were several lobster trap markers at the reef.  I did three dives there.

Much later in the day.  I dressed, packed and waited for sunset.  Afterward, I headed to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot after 7pm.

September 28, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  Flags were already flying, an American flag and my club flag.  I set up another bulletin board.

I set up my own stuff, an umbrella and a sheet.  I didn't sit under the umbrella.  It just wasn't warm enough.  I used the umbrella to hang my food out of squirrel reach.

Eventually, I had to put on a shirt to keep warm.  The sun did come out, but only for a short time.

Much later in the day.  I dressed, packed and headed to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot about 7pm.

September 27, 2008: Black's Beach

This was another dive trip.  We dove off-shore and never swam to the beach.  I could see the lifeguard truck and camper.  There were only dozens of people on the beach.  The weather was cloudy and cool.  We were only nude long enough to change into wetsuits.

We went straight to Reef 2, using GPS coordinates.  There were many lobster trap markers on the surface, and the one that has been there all summer.  We knew we were in the right place  We chose a lobster line and followed it to the bottom.  Four of us found the reef and explored it.  I found a sculpin right away.  I also saw a lot of other fish, a few lobster, lots of spined stars and keyhole limpets.

A lifeguard approached on a jetski as our last diver was finishing his safety stop.  We chatted a little.  He wanted to know how to find the reef.  Apparently he had tried before.

September 25, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.  I set up my own stuff, an umbrella and a sheet.  The sand was hot enough that I wished I had brought my sandals.

I took three swims, twice to the sand dollars.  I had some dolphin encounters.  I also paddled out on a surf board hoping to meet up with dolphins and take some pictures, no such luck

Much later in the day.  I packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot about 6pm.

September 20, 2008: Black's Beach

This was a dive trip.  We dove off-shore and never swam to the beach.  I could see the lifeguard truck and camper.  There were dozens of people on the beach, maybe a hundred.  The weather didn't seem hot and sunny, maybe warm and sunny.  We were warm on the boat and it was often sunny.  Some of us were nude as quickly as we left Mission Bay.

We were planning to dive Torrey Pines Reefs 1 and 2.  We circled the GPS coordinates of Reef 1, watching the depth finder for signs of the reef.  There was a fisherman there in a kayak.  We anchored and started our dive.  We were directly west of the lifeguard mound.

We started our dive about 12:30pm.  I felt a brief panic as I was descending into the murky abyss.  Once I could see the bottom, I relaxed.  I immediately started photographing sand stars and sea pens.  I waited a little for the other divers.  Then I spotted fish, and fish mean reef.  I followed the fish and soon saw a darkness ahead, the reef.

It was a small reef, about 500 square feet.  I found many nudibranchs and cowries.  There were also anemonies, painted greenlings and tubeworms. I found another reef within sight of the first.  I found much the same life.  I even found a few lobster and a rainbow star. I saw I was down to 700psi, meaning I was overdue to begin my ascent.  I did a 3 minute safety stop at 15' and surfaced.

Once on the boat I learned that the other two divers never found the reef, and one of them surfaced too fast.  After some rest we paid Reef 2 a visit, but skipped the planned scuba dive and headed back to Mission Bay.

September 21, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.  I set up a few things for the picnic.  Then I set up my own stuff, an umbrella and a sheet.

I took three swims, twice to the sand dollars and once to the reef.  I only managed one dive at the reef.

While on shore I saw a whale surface for air.  It was very close to shore, just beyond the surf.  I saw the spout.  I saw the back, without a dorsal fin.  I shouted "whale" and everybody looked.  Later there were doubts of what I saw.  A few people saw spouts farther south, but couldn't say for sure what they saw.  I know I saw a whale, not a dolphin.

Much later in the day.  I packed, dressed and headed to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot about 7pm.

September 18, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.  Then I set up my own stuff, an umbrella and a sheet.

I saw a dive flag on a boat at the reef.  There were three boats together and at least four people on board.  I swam to the reef as fast as I could, to compare notes with them.  By the time I was half way, I couldn't find the boats.  I didn't think they could get so far away so fast, but they did.  I did two dives to the reef and swam back.

Much later in the day.  I packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot before 7pm.

September 14, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.  Then I set up my own stuff, an umbrella and a sheet.

We set up umbrellas for others we expected.  We set up grills and lit the coal.

I did two swims, both to the sand dollars.  I also went out twice, just to body surf.  It was for a photo shoot for Nude and Natural.

We gathered the Naturist Society for a group photo around the flag.

I packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot before 7:30pm.

September 9, 2008: Black's Beach

From the trail I could see strong rip currents, even a whirlpool.  I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.  Then I set up my own stuff, an umbrella and a sheet.

I did two swims, one to the reef and once to the sand dollars.  At the reef I did three dives, one to 47' where I picked up a cowerie shell.  There was some good surf and I caught some big waves.  I also went out twice, just to body surf.

I packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot before 7:30pm.

September 7, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I raised two of my club flags, and set up another bulletin board.  Then I set up my own stuff, an umbrella and a sheet.

I did two swims, one to the reef and once to the sand dollars.  There was small surf and I managed to catch a few rides in.  I also did some body boarding.

I packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot before 7:30pm.  I noticed the Salk exit was closed, but not locked.

September 6, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.  Then I set up my own stuff, an umbrella and a sheet.

I did three swims, once to the reef and twice to the sand dollars, once with buddies.  The current was so strong and had to swim at quite an angle to reach the reef.  I had to swim north between dives, and I missed the reef my last dive.  There was small surf and I managed to catch a few rides in.

I packed, dressed and headed to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot before 7:30pm.  I noticed the Salk exit was closed, but not locked.

September 4, 2008: Black's Beach

I checked the alternate exits as I arrived.  The one was still blocked by concrete and the other, Salk parking, was guarded.

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.  Then I set up my own stuff, an umbrella and a sheet.

I did two swims, once to the reef and once to the sand dollars.  My marker flag was back up, so I had no trouble finding the reef.

I packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I barely left the parking lot before 7pm.  I noticed the Salk exit was open.

September 2, 2008: Black's Beach

I checked the alternate exits as I arrived.  The one was still blocked by concrete and the other, Salk parking, was guarded.

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.  Then I set up my own stuff, an umbrella and a sheet.

I did three swims, once to the reef and twice to the sand dollars.  I had a buddy for my reef swim and two buddies for my sand dollar swims.

I packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I barely left the parking lot before 7pm.  I didn't notice the other exits.

September 1, 2008: Black's Beach

I checked the alternate exits as I arrived.  The one was still blocked by concrete and the other, Salk parking, was closed and chained.

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up two bulletin boards near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I raised an American flag and two of my club flags, and set up another bulletin board.  I joined the effort to set up for the picnic.

There were two grills set up for the picnic.  Some of the hot food included sweet corn, hot dogs, bratwurst, chicken and salmon.

I did three swims, once to the reef and twice to the sand dollars.  I had six buddies for one of my sand dollar swims.  I also did some body boarding.

I packed, dressed and headed to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I barely left the parking lot before 8pm.  The guard was there locking up.

August 31, 2008: Black's Beach

Parking at 10am	street parking: plenty gliderport: plenty of spaces
Visibility	I could see beyond Flatrock.
Burro Trail	good condition, except for the very bottom
Climate	mostly overcast and warm, some sunshine, wind from northwest
People	maybe a thousand
Activities Observed	surfing, body surfing, body boarding, swimming, paragliding, RC gliding, volleyball, fishing, Frisbee, sand castle building, paddleball, horseshoes, blongoball
Water	surf: 5' tide: It was highest just about the time I arrived, and way out most of the day. temperature: 73º current: I didn't notice any. visibility: 20'
Wildlife Observed	crows, western gulls, Heermann's gulls, cormorant, terns, whimbrels, willets, marbled godwits, pelicans, squirrels, sand dollars, garibaldi, kelp bass, star fish, keyhole limpet, tunicates, bat rays, sting rays
Lifeguards and Law Enforcement	There were a lot of different law enforcement agencies on the beach today, lifeguards, rangers, police, fire and rescue.  There were trucks, ATVs, jetskis, boats and helicopters.

I checked the alternate exits as I arrived.  The one was still blocked by concrete and the other, Salk parking, was closed but not locked.

I did three swims.  Two swims were to the sand dollars and one was to the reef.  One of my markers was missing and I had trouble finding the reef.

We were all a bit crowded, due to the recovery effort.  We had our barbecue, serving hot dogs, sweet corn, chicken, bratwurst, hamburgers and pineapple.

I dressed and packed up about 7pm.  At the trail I collected my bulletin boards.  I left the parking lot about 7:30pm.  The gate was still open, but the Salk gate looked locked.

August 30, 2008: Black's Beach

I checked the alternate exits as I arrived.  The one was still blocked by concrete and the other, Salk parking, was closed but not locked.

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  I needed sandals for the hot sand.

I did three swims and went body boarding a few times.  Two swims were to the sand dollars and one was to the reef.  There was a fishing boat there and I talked with the fishers about the reef and the fish down there.

I took a few friends fossil hunting.  We also stopped to look at the squirrel carnival.

I packed up and left about 7pm.  I dressed at the trail and collected my bulletin boards.  I left the parking lot about 7:30pm.  The gate was still open.

August 24, 2008: Black's Beach

I checked the alternate exits as I arrived.  The one was still blocked by concrete and the other, Salk parking, was closed but not locked.

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up two umbrellas for myself.  I had sandals, but never needed them.

The water looked rough and murky.  I didn't do any swims.  I did do a little body boarding.  I caught many good waves.

A paraglider landed in the surf.  It was only ankle deep, but he dropped his sail in the water and the surf was dragging him out.  I saw it all coming and ran to help right away.  I got a hold of his sail and stopped it from dragging him out.  Some friends saw he was in danger and came to help too.  The sail was holding a lot of water, so we had to wait for it to drain, then pull.  We managed to pull him and his sail to safety, then left him to pack it up.

Fox Sports, channel 5, was there for a story on naked volleyball.  They interviewed a few people and taped some volleyball.

There was a lot of variety cooked on the grill.  There were hot dogs, shrimp, sweet corn, veggie burgers, pork, chicken and pineapple.

I packed and left about 7pm.  There were still people playing volleyball.

August 23, 2008: Black's Beach

I checked the alternate exits as I arrived.  The one was still blocked by concrete and the other, Salk parking, was closed but not locked.

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up two umbrellas for myself.  The sand was so hot I needed my sandals.

I swam to the reef once and to the sand dollars twice.  There was a fishing boat drifting across the reef.  I did five dives to the reef.   I did some body surfing too.  I got one great ride.

A ranger was on the beach with a camera crew, Beach Patrol.  It seems they made an arrest for lewd conduct.

I packed and left about 7pm.  There were still people playing volleyball.

August 22, 2008: Black's Beach

I checked the alternate exits as I arrived.  The one was still blocked by concrete and the other, Salk parking, was open.

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  The sand was so hot I needed my sandals.

I swam to the reef once and to the sand dollars twice.  I did three dives to the reef.   I did some body surfing too.  I got two good rides.

I packed and left about 6:30pm.  There were still people playing volleyball.

August 21, 2008: Black's Beach

I checked the alternate exits as I arrived.  The one was still blocked by concrete and the other, Salk parking, was open.

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  The sand was so hot I needed my sandals.

I swam to the reef once and to the sand dollars once.  The water was choppy.  I did three dives to the reef  I did some body surfing on the way to shore.

I packed and left about 6pm.  There were still people playing volleyball.  The ranger had stopped a group of people with a dog.  I think he wrote them a citation.

August 19, 2008: Black's Beach

I checked the alternate exits as I arrived.  The one was still blocked by concrete and the other ,Salk parking, was open.

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up two umbrellas for myself, one for right away and one to shade me later in the day.  The sand was so hot I needed my sandals.

I swam to the reef once and to the sand dollars twice.  I did some body surfing on the way to shore.

I packed and left about 6pm.

August 17, 2008: Black's Beach

I checked the alternate exits as I arrived.  The one was still blocked by concrete and the other was still locked.  There was only the one way in and out.

I parked in the west lot and hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up two umbrellas for myself, one for right away and one to shade me later in the day.  The sand was so hot I needed my sandals.

I went swimming three times, once to the reef and twice to the sand dollars.  I had buddies for two swims.  On our way to the reef I found a needlefish coiled around some kelp.  There was a boat at the reef.  As we got closer we could make out two divers getting ready for a dive.  They went under just as we were arriving.  Both my buddies were able to dive to the reef.  I did three dives to the reef, each time hoping to spot the scuba divers and poke some fun at them for needing all the gear.

I packed up, dressed and headed to the trail about 7pm.  At the trailhead I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  The sun set while I was in the parking lot.  I saw a green flash.  I left the parking lot just before 8pm.

August 16, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up two umbrellas for myself, one for right away and one to shade me later in the day.  The sand was so hot I needed my sandals.

I went swimming three times, once to the reef and twice to the sand dollars.  I had a buddy for my reef swim and one swim to the sand dollars.  I did four dives to the reef.

News reached me of a police force in the parking lot.  Also the secondary and tertiary exits were locked.  I knew I had to get out the primary exit before 8pm.  Tonight was to be the full moon party and the police were there because last month a man was stabbed.  They were there to enforce parking regulations, as well as bans on alcohol, glass bottles, fires and smoking.

I packed up and headed to the trail about 6:30pm.  At the trailhead I collected my bulletin boards, dressed and hiked up.  Once in the parking lot, I could see the twenty or so police vehicles, some of them vans.  I left the parking lot about 7pm, noting that the secondary exit was locked and the tertiary exit was blocked by concrete dividers.

August 12, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, put on sandals, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, for hanging my food.  The sand was so hot I needed my sandals.

I went swimming three times, once to the reef and twice to the sand dollars.  I took my float again, trying to stay warm until I was ready to dive.  I paddled out backwards, as my float slowly leaked.  I had to add air twice.  I did two dives to the reef.  It was dark and murky, so I headed back.  I was sinking again, but didn't stop to add air.  I lost the benefit of being mostly out of the water and warm.

I dozed off and woke up to sunshine.  It only lasted from about 4-5pm.

I packed up and headed to the trail about 6pm.  At the trailhead I collected my bulletin boards, dressed and hiked up.

August 10, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, put on sandals, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, for shade and for hanging my food.  The sand was so hot I needed my sandals.

I went swimming three times, once to the reef and twice to the sand dollars.  I did three dives to the reef.  There was a thick layer of particles I had to pass through, but once I did, it was clear.

It was never apparent when the surf festival was.  I asked Geoff a few times, and he didn't answer.  I saw him taking pictures of surfers, so I got my video camera going.  There was no talk of judges or prizes either.  The surf wasn't very good, so I suppose he just let it go.  He did provide three surf boards for people to use.

There was a lot of food from the grill, hot dogs, hamburgers, sweet corn, shrimp, zucchini, pineapple, chicken, bratwurst and salmon.

It was about 7pm when I finally finished packing.  I dressed and headed to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and started up.  The sun set as I hiked up.  I stopped in a few places to watch a little then hiked a little further.  I left the parking lot about 7:54.  I got out just before the guard locked the gate.

August 9, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, put on sandals, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, for shade and for hanging my food.  The sand was so hot I needed my sandals.

I went swimming three times, once to the reef and twice to the sand dollars.  I tried something different for my swim to the reef.  I towed my float and tied it to a marker near the reef.  I towed it and tied it using a surf leash.  The marker buoy is small and covered in moss.  I've followed the rope to the bottom.  It's tied to an old lobster trap, half buried in the sand.

This gave me a few advantages. 1) I could to the swim with my goggles instead of my dive mask.  2) I had my dive mask handy when I was ready for a dive.  3) I could relax on the float between dives and warm up.  4) I could do more dives.  5) I could relax in the sun without getting hot, while drifting to shore.

It didn't all work out.  The marker buoy is about 100 feet west of the reef and the current was carrying me east, so it took some effort to swim to the float after each dive.  I also had to swim from the float to the reef for each dive.  So I didn't swim back to the float after each dive.  I think I got in ten dives.  I told my friends not to expect me back until 2:30.  I didn't drift back fast enough, so I paddled some, in order to be visible by 2:30.

It was still warm when I packed about 7pm. I headed to the trail.  At the trailhead I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot at 7:30pm.  The main gate was still open.

August 8, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, put on sandals, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, for shade and for hanging my food.  The sand was so hot I needed my sandals.

I went swimming four times, once to the reef, twice to the sand dollars and once just to float beyond the waves.  I did four dives at the reef.  Once, on my way to the sand dollars, I found a school of corbina.  They rushed by so fast that it sounded like rushing water.  While floating beyond the surf, three friends joined me on body boards.  A lifeguard approached us on a jetski to see that we were ok.

It was still warm when I packed about 7pm. I headed to the trail.  At the trailhead I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot at 7:30pm.  The main gate was still open.

August 3, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, for shade and for hanging my food.  Today turned out to be the best weather I've seen in a month, sunny with a gentle breeze, lasting until sunset.

I went swimming three times, once to the reef, twice to the sand dollars.  I did four dives at the reef.  I also did some body surfing and body boarding.  The waves were great for body boarding.

It was still warm when I packed about 7:30pm. I headed to the trail.  At the trailhead I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot at 8:05pm.  The main gate was already locked, so I used the secondary exit.

August 2, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, just for hanging my food.

I went swimming twice, once to the reef, once to body surf and once body boarding.  I did four dives at the reef.

The weather turned overcast and cool about 6pm.  About 6:30pm I packed, dressed and headed to the trail.  At the trailhead I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

August 1, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, for shade and for hanging my food.

I went swimming three times, twice to the sand dollars, both times with buddies, and once to the reef.  I did three dives at the reef.

The weather turned overcast and cool before 5pm.  About 6:30pm I packed, dressed and headed to the trail.  At the trailhead I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

July 27, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, for shade and for hanging my food.  It turned out that I only needed the shade for a short time.  It was overcast all afternoon.

I went swimming three times, twice to the sand dollars and once to the reef, with a buddy.  I did two dives at the reef, but missed it the first time, finding only the sandy bottom.

We had three grills going, one exclusively for vegetables.  Some of the food I saw and/or sampled included, hot dogs, sweet corn, chicken and  carne asada.

I packed, dressed and headed to the trail about 6:30pm.  At the trailhead I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

July 26, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, for shade and for hanging my food.

I went swimming three times, once nearly to the sand dollars, once to the reef and once about half way to the reef.  I did three dives at the reef and took pictures.

I packed, dressed and headed to the trail about 7pm.  At the trailhead I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

July 25, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, for shade and for hanging my food.

I went swimming three times, once to the sand dollars, once to the reef and once about half way to the reef.  I did four dives at the reef and took pictures.

I packed, dressed and headed to the trail about 7pm.  At the trailhead I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

July 13, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, and used it for shade.  It was still hot, even when cloudy.

I went swimming twice to the sand dollars, and once to the reef.  I did three dives to the reef and took pictures.

We had three hot grills from about 12-6.  People were cooking sweet corn, chicken, shish kabobs, hot dogs, pineapple and hamburgers.

I packed, dressed and headed to the trail about 7pm.  At the trailhead I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I knew today was a Catalina sunset, but I didn't want to wait.

July 12, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, and used it for shade.  It was still hot, even when cloudy.

A man speared a spotfin croaker.  It was about 2 feet long or so.

I went swimming twice to the sand dollars.  I also when out on my pool lounge.  I just paddled out past the surf and drifted.

I packed, dressed and headed to the trail about 7pm.  At the trailhead I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I knew today was a Catalina sunset, but I didn't want to wait.

July 6, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and two of my club flags, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, but never used it for shade, since I couldn't find a shadow.  I did use it to hang food and for hanging things to dry.

I went swimming three times to the sand dollars.  Something bumped my ankle while I was threading water.  I looked down and it was a big bat ray.

The sun came out for an hour or so around noon.  Otherwise it was overcast and warm, until about 5pm.  I was cold enough to put on my fleece shirt.

I packed, dressed and headed to the trail about 6:30pm.  At the trailhead I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

July 5, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag and my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, but never used it for shade, since I couldn't find a shadow.  I did use it to hang food and for hanging things to dry.

I went swimming three times beyond the sand dollars.  I had a close encounter with a pair of dolphins, but couldn't reach my camera fast enough.  I caught a great wave.  I also caught a hermit crab and brought it to shore for children to see and throw back.

The ranger was giving citations for alcohol.  I know at least two people were cited.  There were claims that he had an alcohol detecting device, but I saw no evidence of that.

It cooled off enough that I put on a fleece shirt for a while, sometime around 5:30pm.  I left about 6:30pm.  I dressed, gathered my things and hiked up.

July 4, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised an American flag on a tall aluminum pole and two of my club flags, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, but never used it for shade, since I couldn't find a shadow.  I did use it to hang food and for hanging things to dry.

I went swimming four times to the sand dollars, once with a buddy.  I rejected the idea of swimming to the reef.  With the fog, there was no way I could see my markers to find it.

The grill was hot from about 11am to 6pm.  I cooked and passed around sweet corn.  Others shared hot dogs, chicken, venison, pork ribs, beef ribs, bell peppers, mushrooms, pineapple, potatoes and zucchini.  I think I saw some salmon too.

It was still warm when I left at 7:30pm.  I dressed, gathered my things and hiked up.  I decided not to stay for fireworks this year.  I was convinced the haze would ruin the show.  I left the parking lot a little after 8pm.  I was surprised to find the gate locked.  I expected the city to give a little and let people watch fireworks.  I drove to the other gate and out.

July 2, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, but only for hanging things to dry.  I didn't wear any sunblock or sit in the shade, since I couldn't even find a shadow.

I went swimming once, and that was to the sand dollars.  The water temperature had taken a dramatic drop since my last visit.

I wanted to leave earlier, but I didn't want to get stuck in traffic.  About 6pm I packed and headed to the trail.  At the trail I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

June 29, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag, and an American flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  I eventually had to move back from the rising tide.  Volleyball games moved from the yellow court near the water, to the green court closer to the cliff.

I swam to the reef once, and three times just beyond the san dollars.  I buddies for two swims.  At the reef, there was a cormorant swimming nearby.  It must have been diving for fish there.  I was surprised that he didn't move further from me.  I made three dives to the reef.

The tide was coming up high and fast.  Several people, including me, had to move back.  A volleyball court was completely underwater.

About 6:30pm the tide was very high and I was done for the day, so I packed, dressed and headed to the trail.  At the trail I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I left the parking lot about 7:30pm.

June 28, 2008: Black's Beach

As I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot, the man ahead of me caught a gopher snake and released it.  I reached the bottom, undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag, and an American flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  I eventually had to move back from the rising tide.  Volleyball games moved from the yellow court near the water, to the green court closer to the cliff.

I swam to the reef once, and once just beyond the san dollars.  I had a buddy for both swims.  I made three dives to the reef and we swam back.  I also went out just to body surf.

About 5pm it started clouding up and cooling down.  I thought the day was over, so I packed.  Then the sun came out again.  I hung around a little, but eventually left early, 6:30.  I then headed to the trail.  At the trail I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

June 25, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself, but did not sit in the shade.

I swam to the reef once.  The water was choppy and white caps were hitting me from the south.  I made two dives to the reef, but I had drifted so far that I didn't think I could hold my position for a third dive.

About 4:30pm it started clouding up and cooling down.  I didn't want to leave right away and get stuck in traffic, so I stayed until 5:30.  I then headed to the trail.  At the trail I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

June 22, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag, and an American flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  The sand was very hot at first, but cooled with the fog.

I swam to the reef as fog rolled in.  There were times when we couldn't see shore.  I took three other swims, all to the sand dollars.  I had a total of five different buddies, not all at the same time.

A few guys insisted on doing a barbecue.  So they cooked a few things, hot dogs, venison sausage and chicken, and passed it around.

About 7:30pm I dressed and headed to the trail.  The sun set before I reached the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

I left the parking lot about 8:20.  The main gate was locked, but I used the secondary gate.

June 21, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag, and an American flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  The sand was very hot, way too hot for bare feet.  The flies were a problem almost the entire day.

I swam to the reef twice, once with a buddy.  I could actually see two people raising one of my usual markers, a blue flag, while I was above the reef.  I also swam beyond the sand dollars twice.  I caught some waves on my way back to shore.

I inflated a float and took it out beyond the surf.  I drifted at first, but was able to paddle to the spot of my choice.  I just soaked up sun without getting hot.  While I was drifting, a pair of dolphins swam past.  I could also see and hear occasional splashes from small fish near the surface.

While I was drifting out past the surf, there was some sort of emergency.  Two of their trucks and the camper responded to some sort of water injury.  It looked like they put somebody on a board.  Maybe there was a neck or back injury in the surf.

I stayed until about 7:30pm.  I dressed and headed to the trail.  Then I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up, stopping to watch sunset.

I left the parking lot about 8:20.  The main gate was locked, but I used the secondary gate.

June 20, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  The sand was very hot, way too hot for bare feet.  The flies were a problem until afternoon.

I went swimming four times, once to the reef, otherwise just past the sand dollars.  I had a little trouble finding the reef because some of my markers were gone.  I found other markers, including a small buoy, probably marking a lobster trap.  I saw a seal swimming straight at me, then I guess it realized I wasn't another seal and I didn't see it again.  I caught some waves on my way back to shore.

Volleyball games didn't get started until late because the sand was too hot.  A new court was set up, closer to the water and on cooler sand.

I stayed until about 7:30pm.  I dressed and headed to the trail.  Then I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up, stopping to watch sunset.

I left the parking lot about 8:20.  There was no ticket on my windshield, but the main gate was locked.  However, the second gate was open and the road was better, thanks to the US Open.

June 19, 2008: Black's Beach

Lifeguards were rushing down Torrey Pines Scenic Drive ahead of me.  Apparently there was a cliff rescue, but I didn't see it.  It must have been on the city beach.

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  I used it mostly to hang things and sometimes for shade.  The sand was very hot, way too hot for bare feet.

I went swimming four times, three times past the sand dollars distance.  I caught some waves on my way back to shore.

I stayed until about 7pm.  I headed to the trail.  Then I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

June 17, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  I used it mostly to hang things and sometimes for shade.  I wore a fleece shirt much of the day.

I went swimming twice, each time to the sand dollars distance, but I didn't see any.  I did have a close encounter with a few dozen dolphins.  I managed to get a video clip of two passing under me.  But, they are pretty much just shadows.

I was planning to leave about 6pm, but it got too hot to go up the trail.  I stayed until about 7pm.  I dressed and headed to the trail.  Then I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

June 14, 2008: San Onofre

There were two signs at the entrance stating that nudity was illegal, but I knew there would be no problem.  I drove the three miles south and parked a little south of the last bathrooms.  These two signs were posted at trail 6.  We hiked down trail 6 to the beach then south to the nude section. Allen was passing out flyers as people crossed the nude boundary.  We found a few expected friends, undressed and joined them.  I raised my Black's Beach flag and set up my umbrella. Dave and Geoff quickly joined in a volleyball game, while I took my first swim.  I couldn't see anything, because visibility was so poor.  I did catch one good wave. I was nude most of the time, but put on a fleece shirt later in the day.  We were packed and ready to go about 5pm.  It was almost 6pm when we finally drove out the gate.

June 8, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag and an American flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  I used it mostly to hang things and sometimes for shade.  The sand was too hot for my bare feet.

I went swimming twice, each time to the sand dollars distance, but I didn't see any.  I caught the best ride of my life on a wave.  It was pretty big and I got a long, smooth ride out of it.

By 5pm it was getting too cool for me.  I packed, dressed and headed to the trail.  I collected my bulletin board at the trail head and hiked up.

June 7, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.

The wind was very strong so I waited for others to arrive.  We often sit closer and put up wind breaks, and I wanted to figure out where it should be.  A few people showed up and we decided to set up our village east of the volleyball court and against the hill.  I set up an umbrella for hanging my food.  Others were used to block the wind.

The wind was dyed down about 5pm.  I could see a thick bank of clouds near the horizon.  It was still warm, but I packed about 6pm.  I collected my bulletin board and dressed at the trail head.

June 6, 2008: Black's Beach

I parked about a mile south of Black Gold Road and coasted down Salk Canyon on a bike.  Then I rode across the packed sand to my usual near Valentine Slide.  I undressed, raised my club flag and set up bulletin boards, one at my spot and one at the trail head.

I set up an umbrella for myself, for hanging my food and for shade.  I went swimming three times, each time just beyond the surf and some body surfing on my way back.

The tide had been very high and left most of the sand wet.  It had also taken away some sand.

I asked people about the parking situation.  Despite signs that we could not park at the gliderport, people were able to park there.  Everyone told the same story of the lot being packed thought.  There was also a parking ticket issued to a car still parked at the gliderport at 8:15, fifteen minutes after the lot closes.

Late in the day fruit started washing up on shore.  There were a lot of oranges, but also apples and lemons.  The soggy boxes also washed up.  Some people were telling me that the fruit was fine.

It was still hot when I packed and left about 6:30pm.  I had to push my bike up the road.

June 3, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag and set up another bulletin board.  I set up two umbrellas for myself, one for hanging my food and the other to block the wind.

The wind was covering my sheet with sand.  Also there was plenty of sand sticking to my sunblock.  The day wasn't turning out the way I'd hoped.  I left early, 3pm, to beat traffic.

June 1, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag and an American flag, and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  I used it mostly to hang things and sometimes for shade.  I was often too cold to sit in the shade.  The sand was too hot for my bare feet.

I went swimming three times, each time beyond the sand dollars.  I saw a big bat ray again.

About 6pm the clouds convinced me the day was over.  The tide was also rising, enough that we had to back up a few times.  I packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed at the trail and collected my bulletin boards.  I left the parking lot about 7pm.

May 31, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag there and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  I used it mostly to hang things and sometimes for shade.  I was often too cold to sit in the shade.  The sand was too hot for my bare feet.

I went swimming three times, each time beyond the sand dollars.  Twice I saw a large bat ray.  Maybe it was the same one on two occasions, or maybe there were two.

A few clouds started blocking the sun about 6pm.  The tide was also rising, enough that we had to back up a few times.  I packed and left about 7pm.  I dressed at the trail and collected my bulletin boards.

I waited in the parking lot for sunset.  I was trying to figure out exactly when I could see Catalina Island.  I predicted May 28-31, but it was probably May 27-30, since I didn't see it this time.

May 30, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag there and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  I used it only to hang things.  I wasn't warm enough in the shade, but the sand was too hot for my bare feet.  This time I brought sandals.

I went swimming three times, twice beyond the sand dollars.

A few clouds started blocking the sun about 5pm.  The tide was also rising, enough that we had to back up a few times.  I packed and left about 6pm.  I dressed at the trail and collected my bulletin boards.  I left the parking lot about 7pm.

May 28, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  There were two dump trucks and two bulldozers building a mound for a lifeguard lookout at the city beach boundary.

I undressed and set up a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.  I raised my club flag there and set up another bulletin board.

I set up an umbrella for myself.  I used it only to hang things.  I wasn't warm enough in the shade, but the sand was too hot for my bare feet.  This time I brought sandals.

I went swimming twice, both times to the sand dollars.

It was cooling off when I packed and left about 6:30pm.  I waited until almost 8pm to see the Catalina sunset.  Catalina Island was silhouetted by the setting sun, probably yesterday too.

May 26, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  There was already a bulletin board near the trailhead.  I stocked it up, undressed and headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

There was already a club flag and an American flag flying.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it only to hang things.  I wasn't warm enough in the shade.  The sand was too hot for my bare feet, but I didn't bring sandals.

We had our grill lit by 12pm.  Not many people came, due to the weather forecast.  Even fewer had food for the grill.  I brought sweet corn.  Others brought chicken, lamb, carrots and hot dogs.

I went swimming once, to the sand dollars.  That's when I saw a cormorant ahead of me.

It was still warm when I packed and left about 6:30pm.

May 25, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  There was already a bulletin board near the trailhead, so I restocked it.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my club flag and an American flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and for shade.

We had our grill lit by 12pm.  Not many people came, due to the weather forecast.  Even fewer had food for the grill.  I had sweet corn and Dave brought chicken, pineapple and hot dogs.

I never felt warm enough to get in the water.  I'm sure the water was warm, but the cold wind would have been too much.

It was still warm when I packed and left about 6:30pm.  As I started up the trail, a cliff rescue began.  I hiked to the top and watched the top end of the rescue.  They were done before 7:30pm.  Somebody started down a false trail.

May 24, 2008: San Onofre

I met with several people in the parking lot.  We were there to show our support for nude recreation at San Onofre.  Several of us left "Nude Beaches Yes" posters in our car windows.  We hiked down to the beach an met a few others who were there ahead of us.

The weather was warmer than I expected, since the forecast called for scattered showers in the afternoon.  I was nude for a short time, but wore a shirt much of the time.  I did not bring my usual supplies for a sunny day at the beach, so I didn't want to stay long.

We talked about the Cahill Policy and the current problem at San Onofre.  People were setting up the volleyball court as I left about 2pm.

May 18, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my club flag and an American flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and for shade.  The sand was too hot for bare feet, but I brought sandals.

I went swimming four times.  I only made it to the sand dollars once.  I tried to swim to the reef, but the waves kept pounding me back to shore and driving me off course.  Otherwise, I swam out for some body surfing.

It was still hot when I packed and left just before sunset.

May 17, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my club flag and an American flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and for shade.  The sand was too hot for bare feet, but I brought sandals.

I saw a little dust from a rock slide, again, but didn't actually see any rocks come down.  The flies were quite a bother most of the day, again.  I only managed to keep clear of them by being active, in the water or walking around.

I went swimming five times, four times to the sand dollars and once most of the way to the reef.  Dolphins swam close to me twice.  I also managed to capture videos of them from shore.

It was almost time for sunset as I packed and dressed.  The sun set while I was hiking to the trail.  I saw some pale green, the green flash, as the sun went below an inversion layer.  I collected my things at the trail head and headed up.  I left the parking lot a little after 8pm.  The gate was still open.

May 16, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my club flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and for shade.  The sand was too hot for bare feet, but I brought sandals.

There was a rock slide almost immediately upon my arrival.  Material fell from just about directly below a light blue windsock.  Rocks broke up during the fall and nothing bigger than a man's torso reached the sand.  The cloud of dust blew up the cliff and it was all over within a few seconds.  I was only able to capture the dust cloud on video.

The flies were quite a bother most of the day.  The wind picked up for an hour or so and they didn't bother me as much.

I went swimming twice, both times to the sand dollars.  Both times dolphins swam close to me.

I found a crab in the sand, at the surf line.  It was one of those with dark stripes.  They usually hide in rocks, but this one was lost and in danger.

It was still hot and sunny when I left about 6pm.  I packed and headed to the trail.  I collected my things at the trail head, dressed and headed up.

May 15, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my club flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and for shade.  The sand was too hot for bare feet, but I brought sandals.

The flies were quite a bother.  I cleared a lot of seaweed, but it didn't seem to help.

It was still hot and sunny when I left about 5:30pm.  I packed and headed to the trail.  I collected my things at the trail head, dressed and headed up.

May 3, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my club flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and for shade.  The sand was too hot for bare feet, but I brought sandals.

There was a lot of kelp on the beach, so I used a pitchfork to move some to the hillside.  I also uprooted some tumbleweed.  I didn't find much tumbleweed in the area I cleared last year.

Some clouds covered the sun about 4pm and it started getting cold.  I stayed until about 5pm.  I packed and headed to the trail.  I collected my things at the trail head, dressed and headed up.

May 2, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my club flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and for shade.

The sand was too hot for bare feet.  Fortunately, I brought sandals this time.

There was a lot of kelp on the beach, so I used a pitchfork to move some to the hillside.  I also uprooted some tumbleweed.

I stayed until about 6pm.  It was still warm, but I needed to leave early.  I collected my things at the trail head, dressed and headed up.

April 27, 2008: Black's Beach

I was trying to get to the parking lot ahead of the La Jolla Half Marathon, but I failed.  There were so many runners that no turns to Torrey Pines Scenic Drive were allowed.  I parked at UCSD, walked to an SDPD officer and asked when access would be open.  She said not until 12pm.  Others had been told 30 minutes.  I decided not to wait 30 minutes only to be told it would be another 30 minutes and another and another.  I went back to my car, collected my things and hiked across campus and North Torrey Pines Road.  A few people made the mistake of listening to me.  As we were well into our hike, the road was opened and people drove in.  Whether people walked from UCSD or waited, we all reached the parking lot about the same time.  But some of us had a longer hike back to our cars.

As I started toward the trail, I noticed a lot of bugs flying.  I later found the same beetles on the beach.  I hadn't realized these bugs could fly.

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my club flags.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and for shade.

The sand was too hot for bare feet.  Fortunately, I brought sandals this time.  The kelp flies were a problem at times, but not consistently.

Despite the shark fears I went swimming five times, each time to the sand dollars.  I had dolphin encounters each swim.  Once I heard them very close and surfaced to find them cutting right across my path.  Based on this close encounter, I wore a friends helmet cam for my next swim.  I got pretty close that time.  I caught a few good waves.  I met a new swimming buddy on a swim and he joined me later.

It was still warm at 6pm when I packed and left.  I dressed at the trail and collected my bulletin boards.  I managed to mooch a ride to UCSD, finding no citation on my car.

April 26, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my club flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and for shade.

The sand was too hot for bare feet.  Fortunately, I brought sandals this time.

Despite the shark fears I went swimming twice.  Once I stayed near shore and did some body surfing.  Later I swam out further.

It was still hot at 3pm, but I had plans, so I packed and left.  I dressed at the trail and collected my bulletin boards.  Expecting a hot trail, I wore sandals for the hike.

April 24, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my club flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and for shade.

The sand was too hot for bare feet.  Fortunately, I brought sandals this time.

I spent some time picking up tar.  There was a lot.  Anyone down wind of me smelled the tar I'd collected.

I went swimming once.  The water was choppy and I was hardly able to catch any waves.

It was still warm at 6pm, but I packed and left.  I dressed at the trail and collected my bulletin boards.

April 23, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my club flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and for shade.

The sand was too hot for bare feet.  Unfortunately, I misjudged the weather and left my sandals at home, again.  I picked up a lot of tar, but I still missed some and had to clean it off my feet.

It was still warm at 5pm, but I packed and left.  I dressed at the trail and collected my bulletin boards.

April 22, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my club flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and for shade.

The sand was too hot for bare feet.  Unfortunately, I misjudged the weather and left my sandals at home.

I went swimming three times, each time to the sand dollars.  I caught a few good waves, but no great rides.

Clouds started crossing in front of the sun about 4pm.  I put on a shirt a few times, but quickly took if off after is passed.

It was still warm at 7pm, but I packed and left.  I dressed at the trail and collected my bulletin boards.  I saw sunset while hiking up.

April 17, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my club flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and I actually used it for shade too.

The sand was too hot for bare feet.  Fortunately I brought sandals.

I went swimming five times, each time to the sand dollars.  I caught a few good waves, with little effort.

It was still warm at 6pm, but I packed and left.  I dressed at the trail and collected my bulletin boards.  I took my time going up the trail, stopping to pour water on a new step.  I was trying to turn the dusty step into hard clay.  I also kicked some dust down into cavities of new steps, trying to get them to settle and pack.

April 13, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised two flags, one American, the other my club flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and I actually used it for shade too.

The sand was very hot and barefoot people had to run across the sand.  I remembered to bring sandals this time.  Other people poured water where they often walked.

I went swimming three times, each time to the sand dollars.

It was still warm, but I had a chore to do, so I packed and left.  I was leaving the parking lot about 7pm.  There were cars parked in the east lot, indicating that parking was scarce late in the day.

April 12, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I stopped to pour water on one of the new steps, per recommendation of trail workers.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised two flags, one American, the other my club flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and I actually used it for shade too.  Late in the day gusty wind forced me to take it down in a hurry.

The sand was very hot and barefoot people had to run across the sand.  I remembered to bring sandals this time.  Other people poured water where they often walked.

I went swimming six times.  One time I did some body surfing with a helmet cam.  The other five times I swam to the sand dollars.  Three times I had dolphin encounters, but nothing good enough to photograph.  I found and caught a lobster.  I didn't get a good grip on it though, and it had a good grip on my glove.  Concerned that he would rip a hole in it, I let him go and he soon released me.

About 5:30pm I was taking my last swim.  I looked to shore and saw that my flag was missing.  I also noted that the American flag was about to get blown over.  I hurried back to shore to save it, but saw somebody else was taking it down.  Once on shore it became obvious that a sudden gust of wind had taken over the beach.  A few umbrellas were tumbling down the beach.  A few were folded on the ground and a few were in danger of getting blown over.

I packed my things as fast as I could and headed for the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and headed up the trail.  I was leaving the parking lot about 7:30pm.

April 11, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I stopped to pour water on one of the new steps, per recommendation of trail workers.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.  I set up an umbrella.  I used it to hang things and I actually used it for shade too.  The sand was too hot for my bare feet, and I didn't bring sandals.

I went swimming four times.  Despite the murky water, I was able to find the sand dollars each time that I tried.  One swim I just went in to body surf.  I caught several good waves.

About 6pm I was unable to warm up after a swim, so I packed and hiked to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and headed up the trail.

April 10, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I stopped to pour water on one of the new steps, per recommendation of trail workers.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.  I set up an umbrella, but only used it to hang food and wet swim gear.

I went swimming four times.  The water was murky and I only managed to find the sand dollars once.  I saw a grebe.  I heard dolphins, but never saw them.  I caught one very good wave and a few mediocre rides.

About 7pm I hiked to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and headed up the trail.  Black's Beach Diggers were busy building some new steps.

I saw sunset, but didn't have time to get my camera out.  I saw pale green, a green flash.

April 8, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.  I set up wind screen, but soon moved closer to the cliff and took down the screen.  I set up an umbrella and used it for shade for a while.  Sometimes I was hot and sat in the shade.  Sometimes I needed the sun and something to do to keep warm.  I walked around picking up tar a few times.

About 5pm I was getting cold and dressed.  Soon after that I collected my bulleting boards and headed up the trail.  Black's Beach Diggers were busy building some new steps.

April 4, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot near Valentine Slide.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.  I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels.  Before long I was cold and had to put on a fleece shirt.

About 2pm I gave up on the weather, packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed, collected my bulleting boards and headed up the trail.

April 3, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.  I headed north to my usual spot, this time a little north of Valentine Slide.  I sat behind the volleyball court with the green poles.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.  I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels.  Then I sat in the shade since I neglected to bring a hat or sun block.

At times it was warm and I felt foolish for not bringing my swimming gear.  Other times a cloud passed over and I was glad I didn't carry the extra weight.  I spent some time walking around picking up tar again.  I still managed to find some stuck to my feet at the end of the day.

About 6pm I was feeling a little too cool, so I dressed and headed to the trail.  Black's Beach Diggers were working on the trail again.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up. 

March 31, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.

As I approached my usual spot in front of Valentine Slide, I noticed the volleyball poles had been replaced.  The new poles were painted a dark green.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.  I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels.

There was a cool breeze, so I didn't go swimming.  I walked around picking up tar.  I picked up a lot, and I still stepped in some.  I cleaned it off with some baby oil.

Lifeguards made two long stops, one at Indian Canyon and the other at the Burro Trail.  They were still there when I hiked up about 5:30.  There was a 911 call for lewd conduct and they were detaining their suspect at the trailhead.  I watched from the trail as the police arrived handcuffed him and eventually released him.

March 22, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  Near the bottom I discovered a few steps and a bridge missing, presumably taken for firewood.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.

As I approached my usual spot in front of Valentine Slide, I noticed the yellow volleyball poles had been cut off about a foot above the sand.  I made a few calls to alert the players, so they could make other plans.  The poles were still there, lying on the sand, so it wasn't about firewood.

I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.  I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels, and to hang things to dry.  I cleared some seaweed, as a fly abatement remedy.

I went swimming three times, once to the sand dollars.  The other times I caught waves and even had a dolphin encounter.  The first time, I spotted a torn up jellyfish drifting in the surf.  I wanted to keep track of it, to avoid it, but I lost track and entered without getting stung anyway.

Volleyball players moved to the red court, north of Valentine Slide.

I headed for the trail about 7pm and watched sunset from a spot a little ways up.

March 13, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.

I set up in front of Valentine Slide where I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.  I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels, and to hang things to dry.

It was warm when I first arrived, but after one swim and a stronger wind, I couldn't warm up.  I wore a shirt for a while, but quickly gave up and headed for the trail about 5pm.

I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and started up the trail.  I didn't get very far, because I stopped to talk with Black's Beach Diggers for a while.  I video taped the sunset from the trail, then headed up.

March 11, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.

I set up in front of Valentine Slide where I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.  I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels, and to hang things to dry.

The kelp flies were really bad, so I spread my sheet a few feet away from my backpack and umbrella.  Once they land on your dark stuff, and they do for some reason, you don't want to disturb them often.  I only had peace from the flies while I swam.  I used repellent, but it wasn't completely effective.  I had to eat my sandwich while standing in ankle deep water.

There were a few dozen moon jellies washed up on the shore.  I also saw a red layer in the water, while I was swimming.  It was also visible in a few waves.  Maybe red tide killed the jellyfish. I went swimming four, three times to the sand dollars.  The surf was pretty good and I managed to catch a few good waves.  I had a video camera on a monopod and Geoff got some clips of me body surfing.  We also captured some video glimpses of a seal.

I called it quits about 6pm, packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and started up.  I stopped a little ways up to to watch and videotape sunset.  I could see green, but it wasn't much of a flash.

March 9, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.

I set up in front of Valentine Slide where I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.  I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels, and to hang things to dry.

I went for a swim and a fog descended on the beach while I was out.  I could barely see the top of the cliffs.  It was another two hours before it blew away.

The flies were bad again and I used a repellent.

I went swimming two more times, just past the waves.  The waves were good, and I managed to catch one great wave, followed my a spectacular wipeout.

I called it quits about 6pm, packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  I stopped about half way up to watch and videotape sunset.

March 4, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.

I set up in front of Valentine Slide where I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.  I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels, and to hang things to dry.

It was windy at first.  I wore a fleece shirt for a while because of that.  I dozed off and woke to a gentle breeze.  The flies were bad again and I used a repellent.

I went swimming once, to the sand dollars.  The waves were good, but I just didn't manage to catch any rides.

I called it quits about 4pm, packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.  Black's Beach Diggers were working on the trail again.

March 2, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.

I set up in front of Valentine Slide where I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.

I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels, and to hang things to dry.  I also set up reflectors to warm up after swims.

The flies were a problem early in the day.  They were no longer so bothersome once the wind picked up.

I went swimming twice, both times to the sand dollars.  The waves were good, but I just didn't manage to catch any rides.

The weather was warm until about 1pm.  Then the wind kept me feeling cold.  My reflectors kept me warm until about 3pm.  Then I had to put on a fleece shirt.

I called it quits about 4pm, packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

February 28, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.

I walked north and set up in front of Valentine Slide.  I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.

I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels, and to hang things to dry.

I thought the wind would end the fly problem, but it didn't.  I tried a new bug spray, but it didn't help much.  The flies don't bite, but it's just annoying to have so many on you constantly.

I was nude at first, but eventually I had to face the fact that I was cold.  I wore a fleece shirt most of the day.  About 3pm it warmed up and I briefly considered going for a swim.

About 4pm I finally gave up on the weather.  I dressed and hiked to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and hiked up, passing Black's Beach Diggers on the way.

February 27, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board near the trailhead.

I set up in front of Valentine Slide where I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.

I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels, and to hang things to dry.

The flies were just as big a problem as yesterday.  When I tried to relax for a minute, I found a dozen or so covering my legs.  I used some bug repellent, but it wasn't completely effective.  The time I spent walking and swimming were the only bug-free times.

I went swimming twice.  I only swam just past the surf and tried to catch waves.  I caught a few good rides.  I set up a video camera on a monopod.  Then Geoff and I took turns taping each other.  I got some shots of him surfing.  He got some shots of me body surfing.  We both got shots of dolphins.  Some dolphins swam by during my second swim and I drifted north with them for a while.

The weather was warm almost up until sunset.  I packed and headed to the trail.  I dressed, hiked up a little and set up my camera on a rock to record sunset.  I managed to capture the green flash, but it wasn't quite focused.  Black's Beach Diggers were at work again.

February 26, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  Once at the bottom, I noticed that a state sign was missing, the one I put my bulletin board under.  I undressed and set up my bulletin board on a different sign near the trailhead.

As I walked north it was obvious that there would be a problem with flies.  I set up in front of Valentine Slide where I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.

I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels, and to hang things to dry.

The flies were a problem.  When I tried to relax for a minute, I found a dozen or so covering my legs.  I used some bug repellent, but it wasn't completely effective.  The time I spent walking and swimming were the only bug-free times.

I went swimming three times.  I only swam just past the surf and tried to catch waves.  I was never successful in catching any good rides.

About 5pm it was cooling off, so I packed and headed for the trail.  I saw sunset from the trail head.  A red line lingered where the sun had gone down. Black's Beach Diggers were again hard at work adding a few steps to the trail.  Gradually the staircase once known as the Stairway to Heaven and recently called London Bridge, is being replaced with a wider, earthen staircase.

February 12, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail.  Once at the bottom, I undressed and set up a bulletin board at the trailhead.

I set up in front of Valentine Slide.  I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag where I expected it to stay dry the whole day.

I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels, and to hang things to dry.

I dozed off a few times.  One time I woke up and found Flatrocck fogged in.  Later I woke up and saw that La Jolla was fogged in.  Finally I woke up and everything was hazy, but no fog.

I went swimming twice.  I just did some body surfing.  Mostly I was unable to catch waves.  I just couldn't seem to be in the right place at the right time.  I did manage to get one good ride.

I set up a video camera on a monopod to capture some dolphin activity.  They didn't have any trouble catching waves.  I managed to catch one breaching. My friends were playing volleyball nearby. It  cooled off about 5pm, so I dressed and headed to the trail.  I collected my bulletin boards and headed up the trail.  Black's Beach Diggers were hard at work again.

February 9, 2008: Black's Beach

I hiked down the Burro Trail, barefoot.  The new repairs looked even better than before.  Once at the bottom, I undressed and set up a bulletin board at the trailhead.

There was a lot of seaweed on the beach, much of it covered with flies.  The flies weren't as bad as Friday.  Once the seaweed dries out they are not so bad.

I set up in front of Valentine Slide.  I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag where I expected it to stay dry the whole day.

I set up an umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels, and to hang things to dry.

I went swimming twice.  I just did some body surfing.  I got a few good rides.  Other attempts just got me tossed around.

My friends were playing volleyball nearby.  There was also some Frisbee tossing.

It was still warm when I left, about 4pm, but I had some evening plans.  I dressed at the trail, collected my bulletin boards and hiked up.

February 8, 2008: Black's Beach

The parking lot was muddy.  Some of the mud had dried, making it a rough surface.

I hiked down the Burro Trail.  The new repairs looked even better than before.  Once at the bottom, I undressed and set up a bulletin board at the trailhead.

There was a lot of seaweed on the beach, much of it covered with flies.  The flies weren't as bad as Thursday.  Once the seaweed dries out they are not so bad.

I set up in front of Valentine Slide.  I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag where I expected it to stay dry the whole day.

I set up reflectors and an umbrella.  I used the umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels, and to hang things to dry.  I used the reflectors to warm up after a swim., and extend the warmth of the day.

I took two swims out past the sand dollar.  I caught a few good waves on my way in.

I could see spouts off shore, but I was never convinced they were whales.  They could have been dolphins.

I dressed, packed and headed for the trail about 5pm.  I managed to get a little ways up the trail in time to watch sunset.  I tried video taping it, but my camera wouldn't focus.  I examined it later and found a green flash. Black's Beach Diggers were hard at work again.  I learned that they have plans to replace the wooden staircase in stages.

February 7, 2008: Black's Beach

The parking lot was muddy.  Some of the mud had dried, making it a rough surface.

I hiked down the Burro Trail.  The new repairs looked like they were incomplete, but it was better than before.  Once at the bottom, I undressed and set up a bulletin board at the trailhead.

There was a lot of seaweed on the beach, much of it covered with flies.  The flies weren't as bad as Tuesday, but they still made it difficult to relax.

I set up in front of Valentine Slide.  I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag where I expected it to stay dry the whole day.

I set up reflectors and an umbrella.  I used the umbrella for hanging food, to keep it safe from the squirrels, and to hang things to dry.  I used the reflectors to warm up after a swim., and extend the warmth of the day.

I took one swim out past the sand dollars, although I didn't see them.  I caught a few good waves on my way in.

I spotted whales again.  They were again far away, farther than Tuesday.  First they were south at La Jolla Canyon.  Later they were straight out, west.

It was getting cold, so I dressed and headed for the trail.  I was nearly at the trailhead when I stopped to watch sunset.  I definitely saw a green flash.  As I hiked up Black's Beach Diggers were again hard at work.

February 5, 2008: Black's Beach

The parking lot was muddy.  Some of the mud had dried, making it a rough surface.

I hiked down the Burro Trail.  Once at the bottom, I undressed and set up a bulletin board at the trailhead.

There was a lot of seaweed on the beach, much of it covered with flies.  The flies swarmed whenever people came near.  Despite moving seaweed far away, they never left me alone.

I set up in front of Valentine Slide.  I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag where I expected it to stay dry the whole day.

I spent the day raking and moving seaweed.  It keeps me warm and it's good exercise.

Whales were spotted and eventually I found them too.  We could see their spouts about a quarter mile offshore.  When they surfaced I could see there was no dorsal fin, so they weren't dolphins.  I'm speculating they were humpbacks.

It was getting cold, so I dressed and headed for the trail.  I was heading up about 5pm and Black's Beach Diggers were hard at work.  It looked like they had something big planned.

January 19&20, 2008: Little Beach, Makena, Maui, Hawaii

The first day I didn't really know where I was going.  I passed the sign for Big Beach, thinking there would be another sign.  I soon found myself on a narrow road and had to turn around.  I pulled into a lot south of the Big Beach lot.  The walk was a bit longer, but it still got me to Little Beach.  I had seen pictures on the internet, so I had a good idea what to expect.  Still the trail was unexpectedly easy.

The beach was much smaller and people were closer than I'm used to.  I picked a spot, set up an umbrella and spread a sarong.

I was quickly ready for a swim.  I went out exploring the reef.  I found plenty of colorful fish, most of which I could already name from scuba experience.  Suddenly I found a turtle surfacing for air.  He took a few breaths and dove to the bottom, hiding under a ledge.  Later at that same ledge, a manta ray came out of nowhere, approached me, turned and swam away.
I went out for four swims each day.  I swam further and deeper my second day, some swims for as long as an hour.  My dive watch recorded a 27' dive.  I saw more turtles.  I must have seen 8 turtles in a single swim.  Sometimes it might have been the same turtle again.  I did see two at once, so I know they weren't all the same turtle.  I could hear the whales singing every time I went underwater.  I saw a few whales in the distance and even made out the distinct humpback pectoral fin.

I took a short hike north, on the advice that I might find turtles grazing on moss in the rocks.  Maybe I didn't walk far enough.  Maybe I didn't wait long enough, but I didn't find any.

I left early each day, 4pm and 3pm.  It was still warm, but there were other things I wanted to do on my short trip.  Sunday there was an influx of people for a drum circle.  The beach was getting crowded by the additional people and the rising tide.  There was somebody happy to take my space as I left the parking lot.

January 13, 2008: Black's Beach

The parking lot was muddy.  Some of the mud had dried, making it a rough surface.

I hiked down the Burro Trail barefoot.  Once at the bottom, I found one of my friends had already set up a bulletin board at the trailhead.

I undressed and hiked north toward my usual spot at Valentine Slide.  There was a lot of seaweed on the beach, some of it in big piles.

I set up in front of Valentine Slide.  I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag at the high tide mark.

I set up and umbrella too, but only for hanging my food.  I spent the day reading and watching the big waves.  I probably couldn't have swam through those waves anyway, but I might have gotten some good rides.

The wind was picking up for a while.  I finally left about 4pm.  It was still warm, but not for long.

January 12, 2008: Black's Beach

The parking lot was muddy.  Some of the mud had dried, making it a rough surface.

I hiked down the Burro Trail wearing sandals, because I expected it to be cold.  Once at the bottom, I undressed and set up my bulletin board at the trailhead.

I then hiked north toward my usual spot at Valentine Slide.  There was a lot of seaweed on the beach, some of it in big piles.

I set up just north of Valentine Slide, behind a volleyball court.  I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag at the high tide mark.

I set up and umbrella too, but only for hanging my food.  I spent the day reading and watching the big waves.  I probably couldn't have swam through those waves anyway, but I might have gotten some good rides.

We saw a lot of dolphins in the waves.  They were silhouetted in some of the big waves.  I counted five in one wave and another must have had eight.

I left early, 3pm.  It was still warm.

December 31, 2007: Black's Beach

Parking at 10:30am	street parking: plenty gliderport: plenty of spaces
Visibility	I could barely see La Jolla Cove.
Burro Trail	two new steps added, in good condition
Climate	warm and sunny, wind from north
People	maybe a hundred
Activities Observed	swimming, body surfing, paragliding, RC gliding, volleyball
Water	surf: 5' tide: It was very far out the whole time I was there. temperature: 55º current: I didn't notice any. visibility: 5'
Wildlife Observed	crows, grebes, heermann's gulls, black phoebes, pelicans
Lifeguards and Law Enforcement	I saw city lifeguards in a white truck.

I hiked down the Burro Trail barefoot.  It was cold for my bare feet.  Once at the bottom, I undressed and set up my bulletin board at the trailhead.

I then hiked north toward my usual spot at Valentine Slide where I set up another bulletin board and raised my flag.

I set up and umbrella too, but only for hanging my food.  I set up reflectors and went for a swim.

I went swimming twice, just out to the big surf.  I caught some waves on my way back to shore.  I laid near the reflectors and warmed up afterwards.

Some of my friends set up a volleyball court about 12pm.  They were sill playing when I left.

About 3:30pm the haze got thicker and I couldn't see La Jolla Cove any more.  I packed and headed for the trail.

My bulletin board was gone.  I'd already been told it was vandalized and taken up to the parking lot.  I dressed and hiked up.