An Enjoyable Nature Walk

It has been an especially cold winter and thus far spring has been cool and unusually rainy with more cloudy days than sunny ones. I have eagerly been anticipating warmer weather and the chance to get back outdoors to enjoy nature in the natural. There is a nudist bed & breakfast not far from my home and I have been looking for nice weather that will permit a visit there during my time off from work but so far at least, I haven't had any luck.

While I haven't had chances for outdoor nude time, I have been spending time outdoors regularly in conjunction with my recent decision to get fitter and lose some weight. As a part of that I have been faithfully following the American Heart Associations recommendation for getting at least 30 minutes of exercise, five days a week. There is a park nearby with an all purpose fitness trail that I have been using for walking and jogging. This past Thursday, was a scheduled walk day for me and despite the fact that it was a little chilly out, with a stiff March breeze, I dutifully donned a pair of shorts, walking shoes and light fleece jacket and headed for the park. The park is quite popular especially for walkers and so I was surprised to find it almost deserted. Other than a young mother allowing her two small children to enjoy the playground equipment near the entrance and another walker who was finishing up as I arrived, I had the whole park to myself.

This particular park has a circular fitness trail the follows the entire perimeter and then there is a shorter connecting loop that runs down from a small ridge towards the river off the main trail. I especially enjoy that portion of the trail because it circles a dense stand of trees and really forms an oasis of nature in the center of an urban environment. Typically the area has lots of birds and small wildlife like squirrels in evidence. As I was starting back up hill towards the main loop, I noticed for the first time that the smaller loop is completely shielded from the view of anyone else in the park unless they happen to been on the main fitness trail near the point where the smaller trail connects. Suddenly an idea was born.

Rather than continuing on to the main trail, I turned back on the smaller loop and slipped off my shorts before continuing my walk. While it didn't seem wise to remove my jacket and get completely naked, it was very enjoyable to at least be partially nude as I continued my exercise. It certainly made my scheduled exercise period much more enjoyable and less of a chore than usual. Once the scheduled 30 minutes were up, I decided to continue walking off the fitness trail down along the river bank through the green belt area that joins the park. After a few minutes I knew I was completely shielded from view by the trees and brush and so at that point felt comfortable removing my jacket too. It has always interested me that the feeling of exhilaration and freedom one experiences while naked in nature never gets old and at least for me never seems routine. Each time I think is as enjoyable as the very first time I experienced it. The sun had popped out after I ventured off trail and the trees effectively cut the wind and so it was actually quite pleasant to be outdoors naked. I hiked and explored for another half hour, surprised that I hadn't discovered this area before which offered a very nice venue for naked walking without much real risk of running into anyone. In all I enjoyed almost of full hour outdoors naked and it was much appreciated leaving me feeling rejuvenated and relaxed.

Finally it was time to head back home so I walked back towards the fitness trail, stopping to dress just short of it and made my way back home. It is always enjoyable visiting the local resorts but my Thursday experience made me stop and think that there are likely lots of places where nudists can enjoy some naked time in nature that we never take the time to notice.

Managers of the Appalachian Trail Just Say “No” to Nude Hiking

What does Father’s Day and nudity have in common? Usually nothing, but this year summer solstice happened to fall on Father’s Day so dad’s special day shared June 21, 2009 with the annual observance of Naked Hiking Day. It should come as no surprise that nude hiking is a European tradition where the American aversion to the natural state of the human body is less keenly felt.

For an article published by the Associated Press, a reporter interviewed Brian King, spokesman for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. Brian’s take about hiking in the buff? “It's just rude.” “People are out there hiking with their kids and families, and there are Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.” Yes, by all means, we shouldn’t deny our Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts their inalienable American right to grow up sexually repressed with life-long body image hang ups. God forbid that they might become privy to the closely guarded, deep dark secret that beneath the clothing, everyone is naked and males have penises while females have vaginas.

In the same article Ranger Tammy McCorkle, of the state-managed South Mountain Recreation Area in western Maryland, acknowledged that rangers were on the job and responded quickly to reports of a group of naked men spotted hiking along the AT. Although all were clothed by the time a ranger reached them, eight received disorderly conduct warnings after admitting they had been nude. According to Ranger McCorkle, they got off lucky since full-frontal violations could have resulted in indecent exposure charges. In a way it is comical how seriously and negatively so many people take something as harmless as nude hiking. One also has to wonder why authorities can’t simply solve the issue for the benefit of non-nudists by declaring one or two days out of the week as clothing optional. I mean how much trouble would it be to post a few signs along the Appalachian Trail, “Warning! On Mondays and Wednesdays you may encounter nude hikers.” I guess it is just easier to deny nudists their personal rights to enjoy nature in the natural.

For those interested who might have missed it, my most recent nudist related article published at Associated Content, Modern Nudity, explains the practice of modern nudity and includes historical underpinnings.

My First Public Nudity Experience

On March 15, I experienced my very first visit to a nudist resort and my introduction to nude recreation. After deciding that social nudity was something I wanted to experience and explore, I had been eager to visit a resort but of course was a little nervous about it too. I packed my gear along with towels and other items that were suggested on the resort’s web site and then I was on the road around 12:30 p.m.

It took me about an hour and 20 minutes to reach the resort, Bluebonnet Naturists Resort. As the gates came into sight I was still feeling nervous, but committed to trying this. I stopped the car and took a couple of deep breaths before pushing the intercom button.

I chose this particular time for my visit day specifically because the owner of resort during our telephone conversation had told me he didn’t expect a very large crowd since it was early in the season and the weather had been cool and rainy during the past week. Since this would be my very first casual public nudity experience, I really thought not having to face a huge crowd might be a little less intimidating and would help me feel comfortable with it a bit faster. After identifying myself at the intercom, the gates swung open to admit me and I continued on to the Welcome Center, located just inside the entrance.

Stepping out of the car I was immediately greeted by the owner. I suppose I was somewhat surprised that he was dressed as I guess I just assumed the staff would be naked. It was however still a bit cool when I arrived. The owner spent a good deal of time talking with me after I arrived, telling me about the history of the place and about some of the facilities and activities available. I felt he was trying to help me feel at ease and get over feeling nervous but also could tell that he was sort of “checking” me out to make certain I was a stand up guy (which he later confirmed he was). I didn’t mind that at all because it demonstrated that he has a lot of consideration for his membership and wasn’t just profit driven.

After our discussion, the owner checked my identification, made a copy of my driver’s license and had me complete some brief paperwork to officially check-in. He went over the resort rules and then gave me some preliminary information on memberships and costs. After taking care of the financial end of my visit, he then escorted me to a building (which I later learned was the clubhouse). On arrival, he had me remove my clothes before starting the tour and he removed his as well, I think to make me feel more comfortable.

I was actually amazed by how nice and well equipped the clubhouse was. There was a spacious dining room, dance floor, big screen television with satellite service, a Wii setup, a game room, a sun room with lots of comfortable seating and a fully equipped commercial type kitchen. Adjacent was a pool area, with two pools, spacious sun decks with lots of loungers and chairs, a large hot tub and sauna. Across the street there were tennis courts and a sand volley ball pit. Everything was very clean and well kept and the grounds were well maintained with lots of landscaping evident.

After a thorough tour, the owner invited me to walk around a bit, explore the grounds and to choose my camp site. He also invited me to use any of the facilities I wished even the kitchen as long as I cleaned up after myself. I had my pick of sites as there were no other tent guests during my visit and there were lots to choose from. The fee for all tent sites, even those with electric and water are very reasonable, only $5 per day.

After walking around a bit and then setting up my camp site, I headed straight for the nature trails for my first nude hike. The sun was bright and the conditions were near perfect by that time and it was amazing how nice the sun felt on my skin. I was actually surprised with how quickly I became comfortable being outdoors completely nude. While there weren’t any other short-term guests during my stay, the resort has a good number of permanent residents and so I did encounter other people from time to time. Without exception everyone was friendly and didn’t even seem to notice I was naked and so I didn’t feel at all uncomfortable.

The first day I pretty much spent exploring the facilities, hiking on the groomed nature trails and took time for my first ever nude run. Following a restful night I awakened the following morning at about 8:30 a.m. It was a bit too chilly for clothing optional so I had to throw on a fleece jacket and a pair of sweat pants while I had breakfast and coffee. But by 10:30 a.m. it had started to warm up and was once again comfortable to go clothes free. I spent the morning taking a second jog around the resort roads then sunbathed beside the pool until lunch time. After lunch I showered and then enjoyed a dip in the hot tub. The hot tub was fabulous and my first hot tub experience without wearing swim trunks. I also tried out the sauna, my first time in one of those. I did a little more hiking on the nature trails and then grabbed a book and spent some more time lounging by the pool. By 4:00 p.m. I was starting to feel the effects of the sun, especially on those areas where I never get sun and decided I better get packed up and headed home. I rounded up my things and was all packed up by 5:00 p.m. I really hated the thought of having to put clothes on again after more than 24 hours of being nude. Finally I forced myself to put on a polo shirt and pair of shorts and not surprisingly it felt as bad as I expected.

By the end of my visit, I had encountered quite a few people some naked ones and some clothed and never once felt out of place or uncomfortable. It was a fabulous experience and such a relaxing and pleasant two days. I had finally felt the freedom and naturalness that I’ve read about. It was such a nice feeling walking about with nothing on but my tennis shoes, sunscreen and a towel around my shoulder. Overall, I’d say my first nudist experience was perfect and I was actually amazed at how quickly I felt comfortable in this new environment. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and plan to visit the resort again soon as well as a couple of others I’ve read about. It was the perfect low key introduction for me but next time I’ll go when the season is in full swing so there will be more guests to socialize with since this first experience has I think allowed me to get over the inevitable shyness as a newcomer.