No back up, no net, is found in both of the two original posts of "My Most Memorable Hike" thread.
What is it that is so appealing? I know how that has felt for me, but I haven't nailed it down, except others descriptions of liberation, or feeling more naked and aware, and rush. It has at times buried resentments, as I have stood up for myself, demanding my freedom after years of body repression. It has given me that gambling risk factor and rush. It has that just go with it sense of throwing myself into a sense of freedom, akin to say, for example, jumping off a cliff and diving into water below. It is sometimes like going barefoot all over feels a further degree of the delight of naked in the world. There has been that accomplishment factor when the distance is calculated.
I feel delight when I go to Redington Pass. I now always leave any coverings in the car, sneak to the trail-head and back just for the pleasure of having less to carry, to be more naked and then more a part of the nature of it all, the physical experience. It is a safe place and I enjoy celebrating the inherent sense of it being the right thing to do. I know that when I meet others that they will expect nudity and mostly are nude as well, which would be a more practical and perfect world order, without the boundaries of a resort. No backup has much to do with expanding boundaries that have been imposed.
During my backpacking trips, I relish the point when I can stuff my covering away with the cold weather protection in the pack and feel the environment even more. I always wait until the last minute, when I become uncomfortable, before putting on clothing and then I only cover what is necessary to that purpose. I delight in my aware sensitive nude state.
I am looking forward to backpacking and experimenting with not covering during encounters far in the back areas this season, which hasn't been my policy before. I'll be dealing with my knee jerk responses, my conditioned responses, standing proudly as a human being without shame. I'll be tuning into the nature of my surroundings and less with the preoccupation of catching other hikers before they are aware of me. I assume that I'll learn to trust people more, because I will be conditioned to realize and feel comfortable with the fact that most, 95 plus percent of others, are reasonable and will not be alarmed. My reaction will be more natural in time and consequently, I'll be more natural in my skin, as I was intended to be. This is something that I have known only among socially nude situations. So, I figure part of the no back up draw is to feel accepted as I am and drop the social conventions and then experience better the nature within me. I know that it will enhance my sense of being in the wilderness. I know that from my base camp, I can travel with just a water bottle, or a water filter, feeling even more naked in nature and within trust of what I have been given and those natural blessings.
What is it about feeling more naked, the desire to be more naked, the act of becoming just that? Could it be a desire learned during that first time as a kid and being naked out of doors and wandering where I wasn't supposed to? Is it to re-experience that amazing rush that I felt decades ago? Is it something inherent in a human being to let go and let God and appreciate aspects of that gift in that domain? I certainly do feel more alive without the net.
Can it be akin to a young man going out alone to make a life, or on a vision quest? There is something about packing and hiking alone rather than with someone. When it is night and there is no one there but you and the shadows and fears at camp, there is a growth and a need to find a trust in "Something." One has to come to terms with trust. Or there is to rationalize the reality, which always comes down to the ease, feelings and trust of the unpredictably of the immediate situation. When I'm alone naked, I feel more of a comfort with being alone than when I am bundled up in a bivy or a tent. The boogey men and giant bears can't seem to touch the naked one, although the creepy little biting stinging critters can. I can't place a finger on it, yet. Maybe more solo adventures will reveal it, but naked feels more a part of. So, there we find a naked guy standing alone in a wilderness and he is having a spiritual/religious experience! There IS something more than the fact of a goofy unclothed man and a bunch of trees. The clothing steals the trust. The less clothing, the more trust is known, or needed. The more trust needed the more trust is found and the deeper the experience.
There is something compelling about getting out there nude and the greater the sense of naked the better.
There are also those which like to take risks, the gamblers. They take elaborate measures to trap themselves from any clothing covers and have to find their way back to safety. There is a physical rush and alarm. It is to feel more alive to a civilized person. This tendency is why we have Las Vegas and 12 step programs. It isn't always about winning, or not losing. It is about the rush, the fear, the risks. But, what are the risks of being seen naked in an unusual situation? Reality eventually sets in diminishing the returns, or an arrest takes place. Sometimes the rush is terrifying, or destructive. No backup can be just a dare, or something brave to accomplish. It can give a false sense of mastery. Whatever, it does enhance the experience of simple nudity.
Jbee
