Retreat

I am headed to the desert for a five-day/four-night men's retreat in the desert.

According to the geography on WiKi, the venue is in the "... Homestead Valley of the southeastern Mojave Desert. The nominal elevation of the community is 3,100 feet (940 m) above sea level; its highest point is the top of Goat Mountain that rises 625 feet above the surrounding area."

CMEN – Community of Men Enjoying Naturism

The venue is generally the meeting grounds for a California Men's Group known as CMEN.

...

The retreat has come and gone. It started on Wednesday at 1600 and ended on Sunday after noon. I was assigned a bunkbed in a large bunk that could accommodate five bunkbeds. Fortunately there were only three of us in the Bunk Room so we each slept in the bottom bunk and used the upper one to spread out our baggage.

I'll start with the negative aspects. I slept on two gym-style mats that were the size of a twin mattress. Even using two pillows that were folded, my head remained tilted (I sleep on my side). I had stuffed sinuses at night and due to excessive mouth breathing, I also had dry mouth in the middle of the night. The half bathroom was a bit of a distance from the bunk and I had forgotten to bring my handy-dandy plastic urinal. I found some dirt outside that was not going to be the fertile soil of desert vegetation and took my wizzes al fresco. In my behalf, I did apply tap water to the site before heading in for breakfast.

There were a variety of activities; trail hiking, heart circle sharing, tie dying tee shirts, butt painting, massage, and even BINGO.

Considering how large these events can be, this one seemed manageable. There were 26 participants. I had opportunities to chat 1:1 with select(ed) participants. Some conversations were pleasant and interactive. Others seemed to be challenging and one-sided. I couldn't tell if the person was sending body language messages by offering such short answers. I had seen from a close distance that I was not the only one who was communicated with thusly. Perhaps he is shy or has a(n) healthy sense of paranoia and therefore doesn't choose to share a lot. I--after all--can be that way as well.

I left with a sense that this would be a nice place to re-visit. I also don't feel the need to do that with any sort of frequency. The lifestyle was a bit too rugged for my taste. I'd prefer a bed that doesn't run the risk of my banging my head against the bottom aspect of an upper bunk. I also don't feel the need to be outside my comfort zone (i.e., my urban metropolis) for extended periods of time. I am not the outdoorsy type.

I would nonetheless recommend the place to those who want a retreat with like-minded male spirit.