Meeting Someone While Freehiking

“I went on my fifth nude hike and for the first time, encountered textiled people. On my previous four hikes, since the family is still asleep, I've been fortunate in that I could arise, pack, load the car, drive two hours to the trail head, park in a convenient copse of trees, hike for several hours and then drive back home, all the while nude. My hiking companion, a beagle, always remained nude, too.

On my fifth hike, road construction prevented me from reaching my chosen trail, so I had to make quick alternate plans. [From] The new trail head . . . We hiked about four more miles and gained almost 2,500 feet in elevation before we ran into a man and woman, after rounding a switchback.

There was no time to take evasive action and the man immediately turned uphill and said something to the woman. I was definitely on their radar. As I got closer, I smiled and said, ‘Boy! The trail didn't look this steep on the map!’ The man seemed to relax a bit and simply uttered, ‘Yeah...’ The woman was leading her dog and since the trail was on the steep side of a mountain, I stepped uphill to let her pass. As the dogs exchanged the prerequisite greeting, I asked how she was. In an un-naturally high voice, tainted with a bit of forced nonchalance, she said she was fine and asked how I was. . .

The trail continued to steepen . . . We slowly worked our way up to the 10,000 foot plateau . . . The sun was beating on us, trying to burn a hole in my neck and shoulders, and for some reason, the vegetation surrounding the trail refused to provide much shade. Three hours later, when we completed our descent . . . I got into my car . . . and thoroughly enjoyed the air conditioner playing across my entire body on the trip home. . . nude hiking, even on the worst of days, is better than clothed hiking on the best of them.” – Au Naturel