Hiking without a net

[Greenbare Woods]

Rebus:  The family with fishing lines could be dangerous.  Hooks are sharp and hurt.   Glad they left.

The Columbia river is often a fast and dangerous place to swim.   Frequent dams now make it less so.

I associate the term "nudist" with factory farms and lists or rules.  I tried that for a while, a short while, but its not me.  I don't do rules much.  If I wanted rules I would wear clothes.

I associate "naturist" with the Naturist Society, an organization that began by encouraging public nudity everywhere, or at least at public beaches where nudity was common.  Naturist is a philosophy that natural humans are naked like every other species, and clothes are the unnatural.  Its about being part of nature rather than an intruder on nature.  So I think of myself more as a "naturist" than a nudist.  I really don't much like labels though.  I could be a "free hiker," but what if I'm sitting about naked, or riding a bike naked rather than hiking?   Maybe I'm a "Free Person" or "Free Human."  I like freedom more than rules.

Bob

[BlueTrain]

I associate "factory farm" with agriculture. Clothes may be unnatural but not abnormal. They are in fact, the norm.

I used to drive by a certain nudist club in Virginia, the only one, I think. I would pass it on the way to the beach on the Outer Banks. But I never stopped in, even when they had an open house. But I did visit another one in Maryland, just about the same distance away. It was nice enough but I'm not really a social nudist and even though they had a pool, sitting around the pool was nothing I was interested in. It didn't help that the place is probably a hundred miles away. The one in Virginia is even further away. I probably wouldn't even go to a nude beach were there one close by. The sun is the problem. The sun is not a problem when hiking, at least not in the places where I go, or used to go. My go isn't what it used to be.

The Naturist Society started as a result of the free beach movement. The thing was, they really wanted everything to be free.

I think I mentioned labels elsewhere. They are usually accurate enough but nearly always too narrow to tell the whole story, like bumper stickers. Chances are, the label someone else gives you is probably more descriptive and accurate than the label you would give yourself.

I just remembered that there is a club in West Virginia, presumably the only club, that seems to have enough room for nude hiking. But it wouldn't be free and I think it's at least fifty miles further from the other club in Maryland that I mentioned. So, when the spirit finally moves me, and the weather warms up (it snowed last night here), I'll go back to the places I've hiked nude before--for free. I guess I think like the free beach people did.

[eyesup]

. . . there is a club in West Virginia, presumably the only club, that seems to have enough room for nude hiking. But it wouldn't be free . . .

Free as in “pay a fee” or free as in “free range”?

I can see paying a fee at a resort, but I have thousands of square miles of BLM land available for hiking, if I am willing to drive to it. The farther I go the fewer people I see. Which is good.

I still would like to go to a CO resort just for the experience to see whether I like it. The closest one though is about 250 miles.

Duane

[Greenbare Woods]

I used to drive by a certain nudist club in Virginia, the only one, I think. I would pass it on the way to the beach on the Outer Banks. But I never stopped in, even when they had an open house.

Back in the late 1980s I had a wife and 3 children.  When we went on vacation we often camped at nudist parks because they were inexpensive places to camp.   Except for weekends they were so "uncrowded" that they were downright lonely.  Sometimes we were the only people there. 

One year we camped a few days at White Tail Park in Virginia.  On a Saturday night about July 1. they had an Independence Day Party at the club that was quite fun.  Lots of people.  Lots of drinking and naked dancing with the ladies and gentlemen.   Our kids had gone to bed.  My wife and I partied late.   On week nights it was lonely.   I haven't been back to that part of the country since. 

Bob

[nudewalker]

I remember when this thread first came up on a thread on the first hiking forum I joined. The joy of finding like minded people was tempered with stories of arrests, fines and losing employment after being caught nude. Then the without a net became more of a dare or a challenge and I looked for such an occasion and ability to do it. Since then, with the help of more seasoned free rangers, techniques were learned and ability well seasoned so that being without a net in low impact places became a reality. We don't have the wide expanses of BLM land here but at the right time wilderness and wildlife areas provide the needed space to enjoy nudity without the burden of a cover.

[Rebus]

Rebus:  The family with fishing lines could be dangerous.  Hooks are sharp and hurt.   Glad they left.

The Columbia river is often a fast and dangerous place to swim.   Frequent dams now make it less so.

I associate the term "nudist" with factory farms and lists or rules.  I tried that for a while, a short while, but its not me.  I don't do rules much.  If I wanted rules I would wear clothes.

I associate "naturist" with the Naturist Society, an organization that began by encouraging public nudity everywhere, or at least at public beaches where nudity was common.  Naturist is a philosophy that natural humans are naked like every other species, and clothes are the unnatural.  Its about being part of nature rather than an intruder on nature.  So I think of myself more as a "naturist" than a nudist.  I really don't much like labels though.  I could be a "free hiker," but what if I'm sitting about naked, or riding a bike naked rather than hiking?   Maybe I'm a "Free Person" or "Free Human."  I like freedom more than rules.

Bob

That part of the Columbia River is known as Lake Wallula, thanks to the dams.  Quite scenic but the river is so expansive (two miles wide) the current is not so strong.  The island is known as Peavine Island.

Libertarian is much more comprehensive than naturist, if you're so inclined to actually value true liberty.  It has become in quite short supply in this country.

Scott

[Greenbare Woods]

That part of the Columbia River is known as Lake Wallula, thanks to the dams.  Quite scenic but the river is so expansive (two miles wide) the current is not so strong.  The island is known as Peavine Island.

Libertarian is much more comprehensive than naturist, if you're so inclined to actually value true liberty.  It has become in quite short supply in this country. Scott

Thanks.  I may drop on down to lake Wallula one of these days myself. 

I'm really a philosophical libertarian.  Get the government off our backs and out of our pockets.  They want to control and regulate our whole lives.

Bob

[BlueTrain]

There will always be government. A homeowner's association is a government writ small, with more taxes and more intrusive. Those who talk the most about freedom will be the first to shoot you for trespassing.

[Greenbare Woods]

There will always be government. A homeowner's association is a government writ small, with more taxes and more intrusive. Those who talk the most about freedom will be the first to shoot you for trespassing.

There are "no trespassing" signs on fences through out this part of the country, but not on my land.   I removed them when I bought the place.   I have discouraged motorized vehicles which tear up the vegetation. 

[eyesup]

I'm really a philosophical libertarian.  Get the government off our backs and out of our pockets.  They want to control and regulate our whole lives.

I think most people don’t strictly adhere to a single political agenda. I am American in my political/philosophical tendencies, i.e. a bit of a melting pot. I pick and choose. People ask “what’s your political party?” My reply will depend on the person. If they want to just check a box, I’ll give them a label, otherwise my explanation takes more than one word.

I also believe that as naturists, nudists, nakedists (Larry’s term) or whatever you choose, it requires a certain level of independence. The mainstream culture has all it’s rules that define it and to be “in” that, you must follow the rules. To practice nudity and believe that it is a benefit, means you must travel against the accepted norms.

So, libertarian would be the closest I would be willing to apply to myself as a political term.
Otherwise I would prefer contrarian, merely for the fun of it.

Duane

[BlueTrain]

Good reply. I'm rather contrarian and politically incorrect sometimes, if you hadn't noticed it already.

I don't remember if anyone ever asked me what party I was. If I was a fast thinker, I'd probably say I didn't have one. I realize there are political parties but I don't have one of my own.

There is also something called community. We may like to think of ourselves, those who are in this forum and others who we imagine who think the same way, even thought we don't, as a community. A virtual community, if you will, which means we aren't really a community. We don't live next door to one another and don't have to get along. From the tone of some posts, it unfortunately sounds like many don't care anything about their neighbors or others they actually live close to. It's the old, "if you don't like what you see, then don't look." That might explain a lot of unsightly homes I see--but none are near where I live. Maybe individual freedom has become so important that we're willing to destroy the community in order to have it. Maybe that's why people run red lights. They are too important and in too much of a hurry to trouble obeying a simple traffic light. If we can't trust one another in little things, how can we trust one another with the big things?

[JOhnGw]

There are "no trespassing" signs on fences through out this part of the country, but not on my land.   I removed them when I bought the place.   I have discouraged motorized vehicles which tear up the vegetation.

You have reminded me of a notice which was erected on the local marshes by the duck shooting club. It read "Armed trespassers will be prosecuted."

[jbeegoode]

Good reply. I'm rather contrarian and politically incorrect sometimes, if you hadn't noticed it already.

I don't remember if anyone ever asked me what party I was. If I was a fast thinker, I'd probably say I didn't have one. I realize there are political parties but I don't have one of my own.

There is also something called community. We may like to think of ourselves, those who are in this forum and others who we imagine who think the same way, even thought we don't, as a community. A virtual community, if you will, which means we aren't really a community. We don't live next door to one another and don't have to get along. From the tone of some posts, it unfortunately sounds like many don't care anything about their neighbors or others they actually live close to. It's the old, "if you don't like what you see, then don't look." That might explain a lot of unsightly homes I see--but none are near where I live. Maybe individual freedom has become so important that we're willing to destroy the community in order to have it. Maybe that's why people run red lights. They are too important and in too much of a hurry to trouble obeying a simple traffic light. If we can't trust one another in little things, how can we trust one another with the big things?

Community has varied and a broader spectrum of definitions according to Webster. We are a type of community.  We often seem to me as a group gathered at a virtual pot belly stove in in a general store in a small web town. Just stopping in  to see and visit, shoot the breeze. We have our one commonality and some others.

Because I don't allow my neighbors to dictate a dress code, doesn't say that I don't care about them. Out here I have a couple who are a pain about my body freedom, but being a tad rural, when we need each other we are there for each other. I'd love to have other neighbors than them. On the other hand he doesn't give a Sh***t about other boundaries, as long as he dictates and does his inconsiderate ways. The consensus of the neighborhood is that he is an a-hole. I think home upkeep and personal freedoms are two different things, because one chooses to buy into a place with CC&R's.

I can trust people in little things much easier than people in big things, like state and federal government, large corporations, and especially government owned and run by large corporations with an oligarchy. Much the same as some here, but my solutions are probably more mixed. Certain aspects of personal freedom and common sense are widely agreed here.
Jbee

[eyesup]

Because I don't allow my neighbors to dictate a dress code, doesn't say that I don't care about them.

I can trust people in little things much easier than people in big things, like state and federal government, large corporations, and especially government owned and run by large corporations with an oligarchy.

To care about neighbors, something we are all asked to do, presumes that they too care. It cannot descend into tit-for-tat for there would never be an end. I try to take people at face value and their word. If they disappoint, well that just causes me to adjust how I deal with them going forward.

Something we must all do is expect the best from the government but do not hesitate to let them know when they get it wrong. The same holds for friends and neighbors, with the difference being that you can hold friends and neighbors accountable. They are at arms length.

Duane

[BlueTrain]

Don't speak of the government in a way that suggests that "they" are somehow different and separate from "the people." Surely you realize that in all places and in all forms of government, the government is made up of the people. The only differences are, which people. After all, the first words of the constitution are "We, the people," when you know it didn't mean all the people, only some of them, maybe about 25%. Besides, there are lots of governments here. There are state governments, county governments and city governments and sometimes both, as well as the federal government.

Likewise, your obligations to your neighbor, whatever you think they may be, should not be predicated on your neighbor.