A Naked Hike Gets lost

[jbeegoode]

This guy got lost. Forgot that he wasn't wearing clothes and how to get back! Too much fun? Cocktails? No sense of direction and lost in the moment?
http://youngnaturistsamerica.com/hiking-naked-lost-in-the-mountains/
Jbee

[nudewalker]

I have not had the occasion to get lost yet. Clothed or unclothed the trail that I frequent are not that remote enough for there to be any danger of that happening. But it seems my biggest fear is a seed planted by a mountain bike encounter many years ago. As we discussed the trail I warned him of a fallen tree ahead and he cautioned me of an ankle sprain on a particular steep portion where footing could be a problem. A trip out west keeps creeping up in importance on the bucket list.

[Davie]

Getting lost in unfamiliar territory is frightening. Some years ago we took a holiday to California and quite early in the holiday ended up at Mammoth. We decided we'd take a walk to something on the map described at Red Cones. It was't a naturist walk. Off we set with minimum equipment. We followed a trail and eventually found and ascended one of the cones.  Having had a good look around we descended and realised we weren't sure were the trail back began. After some ten minutes or so and looking at the position of the sun and stopping and thinking we found the start of the trail. It was a lesson learnt, after a frightening few minutes.

Even in the UK in familiar country its possible to become disorientated if you are not careful with small hill all looking the same. We almost got lost on a walk in the mist when we expected to be in a wood. We then looked down and saw lots of tree stumps. This was the early days of GPS and shortly after this an investment was made.

Davie 

[Greenbare Woods]

Even in the UK in familiar country its possible to become disorientated if you are not careful with small hill all looking the same. We almost got lost on a walk in the mist when we expected to be in a wood. We then looked down and saw lots of tree stumps. This was the early days of GPS and shortly after this an investment was made.
Davie 

A long time ago an old Scoutmaster taught us to always take time when hiking to turn around and look where you have been.  The world looks quite different from the other direction.  It is the view behind you, not the view ahead, that you need to know and remember when you are trying to find your way home. 

Since then I've been hiking in the wild for over half a century and have yet to be lost the first time.

Bob

[jbeegoode]

I miss a switchback or something and have to backtrack a few hundred feet or more at times.

I was following Green Mountain Trail on The Lemmon a couple of years ago and found myself away from what I knew in a more public place. I looked for a short cut over the hill, but that didn't work out. I backtracked until I found the turn off. Not so scary, but I did feel particularly naked and embarrassed by my mistake.

I choose the best option and know my circumstance, so not to get caught with my pants down, so to speak. That's part of the game.
Jbee

[Davie]

Its all too easy to get lost. I recall two of us walking a complete sircle in the mist up on the Glyders in Snowdonia. I suddenly realised the wind was on the wrong side of my face. I was still young then and exploring serious mountain terrain with only one inch OS maps. Those were the days, but we certainly learnt how to navigate. (Except my adventure in the US!)

Davie 

[JOhnGw]

This year I was following waymarked paths at Village du Bosc but on trying to return the path turned out to have an unfortunate gap in the return markings with the result that I ended up on a distinct, but different, path.
It was quite an experience pushing naked through the woodland vegetation but luckily there were no nettles, hawthorne or brambles.

[jbeegoode]

We have had a couple of nights dipping deep into the 30F’s. There are fewer reptiles about. The rattlers will soon all be in hibernation. It will be a time to do some free range roaming, bushwhacking so to speak, around the hills. There has been so much less usual rain, that the gaps between vegetation have closed in.  Also, much of the stealth trail to Havarock has growth, giving places for animals to lounge under. I’ll have to meander through a maze to get from place to place, when off of trail.
 
It is a closer relationship with the desert to visit where things are not so humanly disturbed. There is much to discover, observe and appreciate. Because everything is sharp and defended with needles barbs, etc., it is a snakelike dance, sometimes a balancing act, to work around these obstacles. Each step becomes more than feet and their placement, avoiding barbs scattered on the ground, or testing a rock to see if it is stable, or avoiding stepping on a life that sits there after extreme conditions surviving and nourishing other plants and animals. The step also requires sliding through gaps, and around branches, sideways, carefully, or bending backwards cautiously. It is a whole body meditation.

Occasionally, because there is exposure from a home in the distance, this wandering path must be altered, least the secret nude wanderings are discovered. Each boulder, bush, and ridgeline must be calculated to avoid discovery.

One can only walk in a straight line for twenty feet at the most. Generally it is much less. Sometimes it requires climbing. When concentrating on the immediate steps, the longer goal is sometimes missed. Here, it may appear clear, until exploring leads to a patch of prickly pear, or many other potentials, blocking the way. Then, a new alternative route must be found, often backtracking, as if being lost. 

The movement is very slow, but rich. Steps are being taken where no other has treaded for decades, or ever. It is being intimately connected with the pristine.

Those that wander are not always lost.
Jbee

[John P]

Back in August our hiking group was out in search of a swimmin' hole in northern Vermont, and we had some outdated directions that told us to go past the village school. We noticed a new school earlier along the road, and when we got to the spot where the directions told us to look for it, there was a new library there instead. So I volunteered to go in and ask, and the first thing the librarian said was, "You look lost". I replied, "Not all who wander are lost--I read that in a book!" But once I described the quest, she gave us useful directions (and explained that the new library replaced the old school). Librarians like sharing information.

The swimmin' hole was quite populated with textiles that day. But we found another one and had a very nice time.

[nuduke]

I've been lost a few times in woodland.  Obviously (maybe not for Ian!) you have to get off the tracks into the untrod undergrowth to get out of sight and naked.  One tree's much like another and I find it easy to lose/forget the trail of subtle landmarks that I try to remember as I go along.  Most of the time, though I was in 1 of 2 woods which were less than a mile or so to the other side but a nuisance to have to retrace my steps along the paths or perimeter with no chance of being naked.
 
John

[eyesup]

"I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks." - Daniel Boone

I haven't been lost , yet. I'm sure it will happen sooner or later. We taught the Scouts the same thing Bob was talking about. When you are headed back, you learn what the opposite view looks like as you go.

I started intentionally looking at what was along the trail. Eventually you will learn how to spot unusual feature and remember them on the return trek. Also, if wearing shoes, memorize what your footprint looks  like. If it's a busy trail it helps.

Duane

[jbeegoode]

I take note of trails that fade in and out. If they do, they usually follow the course of least resistance, so I look for that.

The distinct trails are easy to follow, but whenever they intersect, or a switchback has been messed up from others making mistakes regularly, I start taking copious notes and pictures in my mind in all directions.

Some of these remote mountain trails, good for roaming naked, don't get used much and fade. One of us sometimes takes a break when the other goes forward to scout. They are certainly not all clearly marked. Sometimes, we climb up off trail to view, making sure that we are heading in the general direction. Some of the trails don't look like trails and there is shaky/slippery danger to walk on, especially because these are usually on slopes, or cliffs. When," Do you think that we are on the trail?' "I dunno," hits, we always know how to get back. Lost without water is deadly.

I often feel fear in me when out 4x4. We can get into dangerous trouble on the wrong trail, or if taking the wrong one, go miles before realizing the we are off. There is oops back up, or running out of gas to consider. That slow pace doesn't eat up as much gas per minute, however. There are now many old fire roads carved, abandoned and unmarked.

The thing about being lost, or on the wrong trail, is the potential for finding a secluded freely naked spot. I am often temped to try some of these out, gamble and explore. There is sometimes a reason for them.
Jbee

[eyesup]

For those that haven't been to a desert, what jbee means by fading is that the ground is so hard packed that you don't leave a mark when you walk. After repeated passes the small stones scattered all over start getting packed down or kicked off the side. Over time and after rain and wind erosion, if the trail isn't used, it starts to fade and the trail becomes harder to see.

It's not like a trail in a woods or other moist environment where plants don't grow in the packed trail. There aren't many plants in the desert so that makes it harder to spot. It takes a long time to wear a permanent trail into the desert.

I'm getting better at spotting trails that are seldom used. If you can see the direction the trail was headed you can spot where it was if you just stand and look for the signs.

I try to always use the existing trail and not create new damage on the terrain.

Duane

[Davie]

Reminds me of a magazine article about a walk in the "green desert"  of Wales. The paths are vague and faint - translated to non-existent!

Davie 

[eyesup]

I was hiking once and decided, instead of climbing a pourover (that's essentially where a waterfall would be during a flash flood) I would try to locate a path to walk around it. Normally I just climb it. It's only about 10-12 ft. high and easily climbed, but I needed an excuse to go exploring. To the east was a vertical rock face, no paths there. To the west was a series of mud hills of 40-50 ft in ht. with gullys coming out to the north. Surely there is an easy walk up.

I headed in and immediately lost my horizon and any distant landmarks. I was down in the gully and could only see the hills on either side. After about 30 or 40 mins. of hiking I decided I was not in the right place and had become disoriented. I had made several turns and wasn't sure of my direction.

Luckily I hadn't gone very far and was able to retrace my steps and find my way out. This has happened a couple times and only has reinforced my habit of paying attention to my surroundings and as Bob mentioned, constantly turning around while hiking to see what the landscape looks like if I were headed in the opposite direction.

Losing the horizon, as I did, or if you are in a heavy woods and can only see the trees, only means you mark your trail or look for recognizable features. So far I haven't been lost, but I have been confused a couple times.

With regard to the pourover. The next time I was above it, I hiked back and located the trail that headed DOWN. I noted the landscape as I headed out and discovered where I had made my wrong turns before. It wasn't as fun as exploring to find it from the bottom, but more efficient.

Duane