Oh, I got much more adventurous than that. I went way out on a headland 100 feet or so above the Pacific Ocean, at the farthest point that I felt was safe to venture to, after studying the wave motion for about an hour. The rock I wanted to explore was completely swept over by waves 2 or 3 times during that period, so just after it was swept over for the 4th time, I dashed out and looked at the little plants, dripping in salt water, at the western-most piece of land in that area - that I could see in the whole area for miles. I collected some in a zip-loc bag and brought them back to my camp where I had several books of the botany of the area. Spent a whole summer doing that, and a total of about 2½ years altogether - and discovered many incredible things - about myself, and about the natural world in that area, totally uninfluenced by humanity.
Which brings to mind (at this early hour of 1:45 AM local time, as I'm just now getting ready for my 2nd cup of coffee, and starting to get completely focused): I'd like to recommend one of the best books ever:
"Man and the Natural World" by Keith Thomas - written in 1983 so that term "Man" is archaic now - it would now be something like "Humankind and the Natural World" in the present time. This copy was previously owned by a person who, in my view, has broken the first rule of treating a book: NEVER MARK IN IT (or add your own ridiculous comments in the margins) or underline almost every sentence in the book, or completely yellow the pages with your highlight felt marker, etc.
