Hiking The Big Parks
By: Luis Cortes  

A few days ago I read in a naturist magazine a small article concerning the mass boom the US is experiencing in the Naturist travelling sector, where a mass exodus by would be naturist holiday makers is apparently under progress, destination from the land of the free is lil' o Europe, where in countries relatively unknown for naturist vacations such as in Spain, have in the past year alone experienced a growth of no less than 100% in all facets concerning naturism, where less than one year ago there were only a handful of naturists associations, today sees the number more than doubled, where on the Internet one could find less than a handful of sites, today there are more than one could have imagined, but I'm not here to tell you how great things are in Spain or the rest of Europe, I'm here to tell the world about the the place the Spaniards named America. and in particular one American.
   

The great northern continent of North America, mainly shared by the USA & Canada is blessed with some of the most outstanding scenery and natural wonders in the world, where mother nature, which we the naturists are so fond off, has blessed us with this gift for all mankind to see & enjoy.  Nowhere is this gift of nature more evident than in areas which are termed by man as National Parks, this term is slightly political as it employs ownership of property, while all nationals should be proud of their "National Parks" the proper term for these places would be more appropriately named "Nature Reserve Parks" without any appendixes to national references, this applies to any such park where ever in the world where geographically it may be, after all this gift from nature is for all mankind!

Nude hiking in America has in the last few years gained much popularity, this mostly is caused by those people which find themselves rejected from clubs and resorts due to their unfavourable singles policies, it may be said that this is not the primary reason but certainly the most often named. Many people rejoice in the freedom that hiking brings, when this is done in the nude, the pleasure and sensation of freedom is unmeasureable. While I myself have taken short hikes in the Spanish mountains and thoroughly enjoyed it, I did not consider myself expert enough to write an article about hiking, my experience as a hiker is practically null, compared to this man I met while on my last hike. Walking along the crest of a precipice leading all the way 600 meters to the sea, along a small narrow path, I see a figure in the distance approaching. I am, miles away from anywhere and did not expect to meet anyone, I decided not to let it bother me and carry on along the path without covering up, as we get closer, I notice the figure to be that of a man ( to be expected!), but unsuspected, is that fact that he is also completely nude, carrying a rucksack, just as I am, on his back. We meet exchange greetings but do not pass each other by like two ships in the night, as would textiles, we stop and chat and enjoy a cool refreshing drink of water from my thermos.

I learn he is not a compatriot but an American with spanish roots vacationing in Spain, I casually asked if he normally goes nude hiking, Yes! he replies with a smile on his face, all the time and practically anywhere and everywhere, I love it!
Where have you hiked?  I casually asked.
Back in the US, I have hiked practically in all the big national parks, says he.
Oh yeah? unsure of whether to believe him or not, tell me about it?
Well I hiked in Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, ....
He went on with a list of places I had never heard of, and far too long to remember.
But I asked, these places are very popular places, surely not in the nude well?
Oh yes! He said, completely nude!  

But surely there must be thousands of tourists roaming around all over the place, how can you avoid them?
Its easy, I avoid the tourist atractions  and also I avoid the high holiday season, I normally take my vacations here in Europe, mostly in Spain, sometimes in France.
Why is that, I asked?
Spain & France have so much more space than any other country in Europe, the scenery and weather to go with it, I have hiked in Los Picos de Europa, (northern Spain) The Ordesa Valley, Parque de Doñana, (Huelva) Cabo de Gata (Almeria) and several other places I can't remember, in France I have hiked nude in the Camargue region, nice but very flat and boring, the Gorge de Ardeche, around the Fountain de Vaucluse, Cirque de Gavarnie, Mont Blanc.
Mont Blanc! recognizing this one and abruptly cutting him off , you must have frozen to death?
No, not really, as long as the wind does not blow and the sun is out, one can hike nude anywhere, anytime.  

Tell me more about hiking in the states, what is it like?
   

Pretty much the same as anywhere else, the only thing that changes is the scenery, a slight pause,.. and the fauna and flora I guess. He finished off with a smile. What about the people you may meet on route, surely they can't all be indifferent to nude hikers? You are dam right, they are not, I always avoid walking past big groups, family groups, or men only groups, specially if on my own, single hikers or couples don't seem to react so violently to nudity. Violently, I ask? Yeap! more than once I had to run for my life from such despicable examples for humans. One lives and learns, now I always take thongs along on a hike, if the need arises one slips them on before they get to close to distinguish you are naked and all you get is laughter and mutterings of ridicule, sometimes some offensive insults, I can live with that though.  A smile again passes his lips.

What do you carry in your rack sack Asked?
I guess pretty much the same as you, he replied. Water, something to eat, sun oil, a small towel, a compass, a knife and my trusty zippo.
Where are your clothes, I asked?
I always leave them behind, unless I don't plan to return to the point of departure, then I take some light shorts and t-shirt with me also.
Is the knife for protection?
Ha Ha! he laughs, no, its just a precautionary measure same as the lighter, if I get lost I can always use them for emergency survival measures. nice to have a fire and a blade to cut wood with, its happened to me before, so I never leave them behind now, plus I take a compass with me now so I won't have to use them!.
I understand why you have some sun oil with you, which factor do you use?
If I am out all day long, it's factor 25, I slap it on every hour or so in the heat of the midday sun, the sweat simply washes it away, one can never be too careful, my baseball cap and sunglasses are part of that team.
You look very tanned for one that uses factor 25?
Just think what I would look like without it! he exclaimed
The boots you are wearing seem awfully uncomfortable for this weather, are your feet not boiling hot inside them?
Absolutely not! best hiking boots you can find, strong, light and well ventilated, your trainers are provably causing you more discomfort than my boots. He said with a satisfactory smile on his lips.
   

Do you always hike alone? Oh No!, back home my wife nearly always accompanies me, we go together or with a group of friends, on one hike there were twelve of us, I am alone today because this is only a scouting walk while my wife visits some family, tomorrow we will provably do it together.  A simile of satisfaction crosses his face once again.

When did you begin to hike nude them?
I was about 18 years old, I was already fond of hiking, but I used to do it with all the clobber on, one day I met a man accompanied by a completely gorgeous female, both nude and just walking the hills as I was.
As I was walking slighter faster than them, I soon caught up and passed them, not wanting to stare or be rood, I mumbled a quick hello and passed them. The woman in a kind off teasing voice said to me Hey are you not hot with all that gear on? that made stop dead in my tracks turn around, my idea at the time was to get a full frontal view of this lovely woman this man had with her, I stood there staring at these two completely tanned and healthy looking people and just said, yes!, well join us she said, I, I, I, ... I still remember how I stuttered to get the words out, finally the man said, hey man, its cool, I have no problem if you get an erection staring at my wife, once it goes down you ain' t ever gone have that problem again, Linda, he said do you have a problem with it? Ah leave him alone she said, don't embarrassed him like that, he's provably shy. I am not shy I said. Well join us then she repeated, walk with us and enjoy hiking as one should do.
They were extremely friendly people, and they did ended in the end convince me to strip, all the fantasies that were running around my head did not come true, but next the time I went hiking, I had to do it nude,  never heard of anything about the nudism movement before that and I never looked back since, but suddenly, I was meeting more people nude than I ever had done in my life, that's the reason I never cover up, when I see lonely figures or couples. You never know? we may just convert somebody else to it. More Smiles!!
   

Wow! interesting story
Which type of terrain do you prefer to hike in?
Like I said, I, or rather, we prefer the big parks, not only because they are massive where one can sometimes hike all day long without ever meeting a soul, but because they offer such a variety of scenery, well at least most do!
Don't you ever get bored, while hiking the trials?
Absolutely not! nature is fine grand thing, it has shown me things ultimately more interesting that any channel on the box can, I have learned to love and respect it and it has changed my outlook on life considerably, I think its also partly to do with nudism, I am positively more in touch with nature when nude than when living a city life always with clobber on.
I think we are becoming (me and my wife that is!) environmental freaks, you know, the type that the mainstream texts have labelled such, We don't see it as a bad thing and although we ourselves can't have children, we are sure that what we are doing, will benefit other peoples children in the future, even if they are the children of the ones who have the least regard for the environment. After all, all children are innocent and are not born with their parents sins, are they?
   

After such a profound statement, I asked if I could publish his name and a few photos, sadly he declined, Why? I asked, I would be out of a job tomorrow if my employers were to find out about my secret lifestyle, that is why we don't visits clubs, resorts or belong to any nudist organization.
Who do you work for then?
The government.
Is there any point asking what you do then?
NO!
Perhaps when I retire I would be able to come out of the closet, heck we don't even have a nude photograph of ourselves.
If you need to be so secretive about yourself and your freetime activity why are you talking to me? I could be an agent of your government checking you out?
HA! He said in a loud roar, If you were, you would be wearing a black suit, (Squirm and grin) and besides you can't be in disguise as a nudist because you have no tan lines, (more laughing), and if you were working for the government to spy on me, why would they send a nudist to spy on a fellow nudist? there would be no point would there? and besides my job is not that secretive or important to warrant such an investigation, din't you know that the Bush years are over!
Bush years? I asked, what are you talking about?
Something which has absolutely nothing to do with nudism, he replied abruptly!
Right! Do you come across any hazards that may be dangerous to the hiker? I asked changing the subject back to the more appropriate theme.
Sure! one finds all kind of obstacles, manmade and natural, common-sense and foresight are the key words, one must always remember that one is on a hike, not on a climbing expedition, or a bravery, see how macho I am, ego trip, respect yourself and your enviroment and you can't go wrong.
What about dangerous animals? Respect them also, show respect by not trespassing in their territory, and they will in turn, leave you alone if they see you are no threat to them.
Sounds like good advice I thought.
   

Have you come across any wildlife?
Plenty!, off all kinds, from inoffensive rabbits to rattle snakes!
Any big ones? Well I haven't come across any elephants yet! If I should see one today I will put down to one of Hannibal´s rear guard.
We break down in laughter, after a few minutes our composure returns and he adds.
The biggest I reckon, has to the Bison, not very big, but by god there were a hell of a lot of them, that was in Yellowstone I believe, let me tell you we felt very insignificant and most vulnerable, we done the sensible thing and done an U turn after a few minutes of contemplation, should the herd be alarmed in any way, it could of course have caused an stampede, that can be fatal if you are caught in the middle of it, you stand no chance of outrunning it, they move fast those things, no doubt about it!  

Can you tell me more about hiking in the US?
Sure, but let's do it while we walk, we have been sitting here almost two hours and my arse is getting sore. More laughter... I agreed and we started to walk they way I came, back to base.
Well let me see, he started reciting that long list of names, of which I recognized only but a few.
Do you mind if when I we get back you can scribble them down for me, or I won't be able to remember?
Tell you what my friend, we'll do better then that, why don't you join us for dinner and will go over all the details then?
I really didn't want to impose myself more on him, but he was so glad to be able to tell somebody about his secret lifestyle, something that back home he could only share with his closest friends, (Apparently all met while hiking!) that he was not going to let me go so easily, so it din't take too long before I agreed.  

 We walked while talking some more, this time it was my turn to tell him my life story, something he was most impressed with and gave me a sense of pride hearing all the compliments coming from him.
This man had nothing but love in his heart, although I sensed a little jealously at me that I could lead my naturist life out in the open, while he had to live his life in secret, he did not begrudge me it, but was glad he had met me.
 
   

The Evening progressed lightning fast, this couple were so interesting, warm & friendly I felt i knew them intimately all my life, here were three human beings interacting with each other, in an open and respectful way, here I saw the naturist philosophy in action. Love & Naturism What a potent combination!

The evening transpired with the telling of stories about them and some of their friends, about trips to other countries and to all parts of the states. They felt somewhat peeved they could not show me their photograph collection, they promised they would send a sample through the post to me. Today almost one year later, I received them, 1 complete CD full of outstanding images from some of the parks they have hiked nude in. Although he is forever on-guard about his secret lifestyle, he would not exchange addresses, but his promise was kept, If you are reading this I say thank you both, not just for sending the pics, but for being what we all should be!  

• True Humans! 

Along with the photographic material, an enormous amount of information was sent about the parks, much more than I could possibly fit here on this page. This information will be made available in the near future.

There is certainly much more to this wonderful nude lifestyle than beaches or clubs/resorts hot springs, there is the whole of the grand outdoors to enjoy, savour and live.
These are not just places one visits for a nude ramble, these vast and beautiful expanses of mother natures work, are where one can learn to be in tune with nature, eat some humble pie and harmonize one self with it, here you will also learn to respect it as it is crying out, that we should!
Take a virtual tour with us now and plan your future life, you have much to gain and much more to loose if you turn your back to it, as most textiles unfortunately take the option to do!
 
   

Nude hiking is a freedom to be experienced, get there and do it.
 

Luis Cortes. 

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