Hiking without a net Part II

[eyesup]

Rollo, on our old site (TSNS) we had a couple of members that did what was referred to as enforced nudity. Exactly what you are talking about. Stashing your gear and walking naked with no means to cover up if there is an encounter.

One of our members, Alf, was a particular practitioner of this and had a few posts where he described his techniques. One was what you mentioned about leaving your gear in the car and then he would stash his keys somewhere. I seem to remember that he even ensured that the keys would be unavailable until a certain deadline. So he was unable to access his keys unless he followed a specific set of rules.

He pushed the boundaries a little more than any of the rest of us. I did an enforced hike once, but I stashed only my clothes. I live in a desert and I was unwilling to abandon my pack with my essentials in it. Old habits die hard.

The hike I did was with no clothes backup at all, which was a big stretch for me at the time. It was liberating. Knowing I had no way to cover up if I ran into anyone. It made the tenor of the hike completely different.

I remember the intensity of the hike and will probably do it again.
I can sense your excitement and wish that your attempts are a success.

Duane

[BlueTrain]

My idea of hiking without a net was nothing more than not taking any clothing along. But everything else that I might otherwise take would still be brought. But that varies a lot depending on where I'm going and how long the hike is. Also, it depends on what I feel like taking and whether or not I actually remember it. I am in no sense a purist about nudity or hiking or much of anything.

For nude hiking generally, I always have a small pack of some sort, not having pockets. I take the same first-aid kit I've been using for the last 40 years. There is a square of foam that is part of the pack system but also to sit on, along with a piece of plastic. I like to enjoy the view if there is one, so I will sit a spell. If the hike is long enough, I might take lunch and water. I take a poncho if rain is at all possible. Where I live, it has rained about eight out of the last ten days but at least it isn't cold. This is a very humid area most of the time in warm weather, so I might also take a bandana or face towel. Perspiration doesn't evaporate like everyone says it does when you're naked, or at least mine doesn't.

Mosquitos are particularly bad around here right now and I should take insect repellant, too. But I usually just spray some on before I leave, if I remember. If I don't, I will regret it for sure.

That about covers it. I wear a hat, something on my feet and always carry a hiking stick so I won't get dizzy and tip over.

[nuduke]

One of our members, Alf, was a particular practitioner of this and had a few posts where he described his techniques. One was what you mentioned about leaving your gear in the car and then he would stash his keys somewhere. I seem to remember that he even ensured that the keys would be unavailable until a certain deadline.

My memory is that Alf used to freeze the car key (or a key to his cache of clothes etc) in a block of ice so that it was inaccessible until the ice melted.

John

[eyesup]

I was thinking that was his method, but wasn’t sure I wasn’t remembering that from a different hiker. Good thing we have someone else here from that forum.

Duane

[Rollo]

As vacation winds down, I have two final free range excursions to relate.  Sorry for the length of my story, but the detail is important.

I tried a new segment of the Cumberland Trail yesterday.  The trail head was in a very remote area and I was expecting to hike without a net.  I jumped out of the car, and had just removed my shorts and shirt when suddenly a state wildlife management officer rounded the bend.  There’s no way that he didn’t see me, but he simply drove right on by.  So Encounter 1 was a nonevent.  I ended up taking my shorts with me because the first quarter mile required hiking on the road, but once I hit the trail the shorts went in the pack.  When I left the trail three hours later, I decided to leave the shorts stowed for the 1/4 mile hike back to my car.

I arrived at another trailhead this morning and the parking lot was totally empty.  Since I hadn’t seen anyone on the trail all week, I left my shorts and shirt on the floor of my car and hit the 2.5 mile trail with my pack.  I was well into the hike when I noticed someone approaching about 100 feet up the trail.  I was determined to act naturally and friendly.  As I closed the gap between us, her two dogs approached and diverted my attention briefly. 

I offered a cheery, “Good Morning.” 

Somewhat concerned, she commented, “This is a very unusual situation for me.  I will just step aside and let you pass.” 

I never broke stride, and simply reassured her with, “No worries.  I’m just enjoying some free hiking today.”

So Encounter 2 really didn’t amount to much either, BUT, I found myself wondering if she was calling law enforcement.  As I completed my hike and rounded the last corner, arriving at the trailhead.  The first vehicle I spotted at the gate was another state wildlife management officer and a completely packed parking lot!  Fortunately, all the vehicles were unoccupied and I simply made my way to my vehicle, dressed and departed.

What I suspect is that a trail maintenance team had met at the lot and departed the connector trail in the opposite direction that I had chosen,  So, lesson for the day, just because the trailhead is empty doesn’t mean it will stay that way, especially on a Saturday morning. 

Would I hike without a net again?  Of course, but maybe with a bit more care.  I don’t see a reason to beg for trouble.

[BlueTrain]

I don't think any trailheads are really that remote, at least not in the East. If there's a road and you can get there, so can anyone else. I've not seen any wildlife management officers/game wardens but I have passed park rangers on the trail. They were armed, too.

I generally prefer not to go out on weekends, if possible, in order to avoid crowds. Once, I had completed a long circle hike, maybe ten miles or so (an all day hike), staying nude the entire time. It was a weekday and I had the trail to myself. It was in George Washington National Forest near Front Royal, Virginia, and just about this time of the year, too. I had retuned to my car and sitting there making notes when a school bus and a couple of cars pulled into the parking lot. A moment later 20 or 30 grade school kids got out and ran up the trail that I had just come off of. So timing is everything. Good timing, that is.

[Greenbare Woods]

I jumped out of the car, and had just removed my shorts and shirt when suddenly a state wildlife management officer rounded the bend.  There’s no way that he didn’t see me, but he simply drove right on by.  So Encounter 1 was a nonevent.


I offered a cheery, “Good Morning.”  Somewhat concerned, she commented, “This is a very unusual situation for me.  I will just step aside and let you pass.”  I never broke stride, and simply reassured her with, “No worries.  I’m just enjoying some free hiking today.”

Sounds like your nude hiking was very successful.  The wildlife management officer had another opportunity (probably not his first) to encounter nude hiking among the wildlife.  He ignored it again as usual. 

The lady you encountered and passed received a cheery greeting, got a good look, and suffered no harm.  She learned that seeing a naked man on the trail is not dangerous or harmful.  If she grabbed her cell phone it was probably to take a picture for her BFF to recount the view she had seen.  You taught two other people that seeing someone naked is a regular part of life.  Good for  you.



 

[eyesup]

I’ve read posts from people on the AT or writing later about their hike and if you are on a section that is not near any populated area, it’s generally accepted by the hikers if you go naked. It happens to some when they simply become inspired to ‘go natural’.

Apparently there are cabins for those that don’t want to set up camp and the etiquette is that if you need to change clothes or clean up, you don’t stare. There are rules that are known and followed but not written down.

Duane

[BlueTrain]

Earl Shaffer, first man to walk the Appalachian Trail just after the war and later, the oldest to thru-hike (someone even older has since then) encountered a nude hiker and did not have nice things to say about it. It is entirely possible that some people's claims about nobody being bothered may be slightly exaggerated. None of the trail is really that close to populated areas.

There are a few cabins, all locked, along the way or otherwise not far away. They belong to local trail clubs. But there are open-front shelters spaced more or less regularly all the way and have been in some places since before WWII. Nudity is probably not that high on the list of things that bother people about the shelters. Not everyone hiking and camping on the Appalachian Trail is a thru-hiker and there is sometimes a feeling among some thru-hikers that the trail and the shelters belong to them. But don't make too much of that comment. I have sometimes hiked on the A-trail and sometimes nude but there are so many other trails in the Front Royal area and some of them are rather closer. All the same, there is something special and other worldly about Skyline Drive. It evaporates completely the moment I live the park.

One complaint about the Appalachian Trail is that, because it is sometimes relocated, it has become more difficult over the years. Originally, it simply followed local roads sometimes. Mostly it follows the ridge of the Blue Ridge mountains and there is a lot of up and down. But the trail itself is fairly good.

For hiking, though, I generally prefer places in George Washington National Forest, which parallels Shenandoah National Park ten or fifteen miles to the west. No gates, no fees and fewer rules.

[Greenbare Woods]

Earl Shaffer, first man to walk the Appalachian Trail just after the war and later, the oldest to thru-hike (someone even older has since then) encountered a nude hiker and did not have nice things to say about it. It is entirely possible that some people's claims about nobody being bothered may be slightly exaggerated. None of the trail is really that close to populated areas.

Of course there are always a few who get up-tight about seeing someone naked.  They are not hurt but have their feelings in a snit.  Perhaps they are jealous of the freedom implied, or for whatever psychological reason they oppose bodies.   Even if Earl Shaffer was offended seeing a nude hiker, all the other people who saw the same nude hiker have not made a public complaint about the experience.  And, Earl Shaffer was not actually harmed by seeing a human being on the trail.  It gave him something to write about to hold the interest of readers, so even he benefited from the experience. 

[BlueTrain]

It amounted to a couple of sentences in a book of 126 pages. I can think of a few things and probably you could, too, of things that are infuriating yet cause me no harm whatsoever.

[jbeegoode]

According to anecdotal testimony by a couple of dozen nude hikers and on particularity the AT, not everybody does have "no problem" with nudity, BUT!!!

The stats tell us that maybe only 0ne or two in every 126 people out on a trail will have a snit at all. Some claim encountering hundreds of people while nude and comments might as well be things like, "Where'd you get that backpack", "How far?", as "Where's your pants?" or "I think that you forgot something."

There are no difficulties for other hikers, other than a couple of weirdos here and there with issues.
Jbee

[John P]

Following BlueTrain's mention of the Appalachian Trail, I've already quoted the through-hikers' favorite motto, "You walk your own walk" twice on this board (now three times). See
http://freerangenaturism.com/forum/index.php?topic=788.15 on  May 25, 2016, 02:28:39 PM and
http://freerangenaturism.com/forum/index.php?topic=924.0 on June 17, 2017, 08:24:59 PM

Both times I talked about what's considered good manners in shelters--"Neither a peeper nor a flasher be". Out on the trail, the usual motto applies.

I'm never going to be a through-hiker myself, but I've spent a lot of time on the trail and talked to hikers. The way I've done that has been by volunteering at a shelter in western Massachusetts, which is an unusual place by AT standards. It's actually a small house that was on the property when the National Park Service bought the land, and the local trail club (Berkshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club) runs a program to recruit caretakers to run the place all summer. We go in for a week each, handing over to a new person every Sunday (usually). I think if the cabin had electricity and running water, and if you could drive your car to it, it wouldn't appeal to the hikers as much, because they'd feel as if they were off the trail. But by being what it is, a wooden house without any civilized conveniences (ha ha!) it's still the most luxurious shelter they've been in, and we hear them say all the time "This is the best shelter on the AT!" Look up "Upper Goose Pond cabin" and you'll find pictures and trail journals that mention the place. This year I've signed up for a week in August--anyone want to drop in? That time of year is rush hour for AT hikers in our neighborhood (must get to Maine by early October) but there'll be leisure time during the day, after one lot leaves and before the next group arrives.

These days I don't walk nude on the AT unless I'm in a group, but there are certainly opportunities around the area for some free range naturism.  The cabin is just up the hill from a lovely lake, and somehow I never seem to remember to bring a swimsuit.