Corndoggin’ Castle Lake

There is a hypothesis out there that we humans evolved from a hominid/ape species who had adapted to live in an aquatic environment; not surprisingly it’s called the “Aquatic Ape Hypothesis” (AAH). If you think about your ultra-hairy uncle exiting the family pool, the traditional family river spot, or a shower (maybe don’t picture that) with that forest of body hair hanging limply off his body, it’s easy to see why this theory is plausible. At the moment we don’t have the time or the space to fully explore the tenets of this theory, and whether we came up (evolutionarily speaking) in water or if it just so happened that we developed wrinkly fingers is not for Yonder Journal to say.

Whether you’re interested in cutting a curl, casting a line, throwing down gainer after gainer, or even if you’re just happy to bob along in a tranquil gravity-lax¹¹YJ knows that the gravity in water is the same gravity as the gravity outside of water, but we also acknowledge that due to our natural buoyancy the pull of gravity is less noticable when floating around. environment, water is a great place to be—and with the majority of the Earth covered in the stuff, it better be. But that doesn’t mean all water is right for recreation. In fact, research shows that not only is most of the water in the world not recreationally-oriented, but in fact there are relatively few places (percentage-wise) where water recreation can be consistently and safely carried out. Common issues resulting from the use of non-recreationally-approved bodies of water include:

1. Dismemberment
2. Dehydration²²Especially common in our world’s oceans.
3. Doldrums
4. Diarrhea
5. Dementia
6. Dipsomania

Unsuitable water recreation sites include places like the middle of the ocean, sewage treatment facilities, waterfalls, cataracts, power plants, and your local watering hole. Still, there are plenty of places where you can enjoy some water recreation or corndoggin'³³Corndoggin’ being the term that best represents Yonder Journal’s attitude and approach to swimming hole recreation. with little to no fear of facing a catastrophe.

Most will be familiar with the beach; yes, the ocean, with its endless braids of rolling waves, is a well-known recreational hotspot. Surfing, weightlifting, frisbee-throwing, and castle-building are common there, but for those of us who don’t live near the coast the ocean might as well be the Moon. Fortunately we’ve got swimming holes. These are the lakes, ponds, and slow-moving rivers dotting the landscape which have become the go-to locations for inland corndoggin’. Swimming holes need to be vetted and not all holes are equal and/or legal, but that’s not to say we discourage swimming hole exploration.

Take Castle Lake. This beautiful little puddle of heaven can be found tucked away in Northern California’s Trinity Mountains. Categorized as a glacial lake, cirque lake, or tarn, Castle Lake rests in a depression carved by a glacier during the Pleistocene Era. basically what we’re saying is that Castle Lake is NICE, the surrounding environment is pretty pretty, and even though it’s only good for swimming in the summer due glacial-temp water, it’s still a must-swim hole. We did all the normal stuff here. You know, swimming, dipping, lounging, tanning, but we also made sure to interact with local recreators. This is a key part of Yonder Journal’s Corndoggin’ Initiative, as it is regarded as fact that cross-cultural conversations occurring during recreation, and during aquatic recreation in particular, are the best way to foster societal acceptance and understanding. Basically, goin’ holin’ makes the world a better place.