An interesting choice for winter clothing

[peakbagger]

None

After a great Carter Dome and Mt Hight day hike on Saturday I was hiking out around 4:00 PM with some folks. We were about 15 minutes from the parking lot and encountered a couple. I was watching my footing but noticed the man was hiking with no shirt but didn't pay a lot of attention. The person I was hiking with stopped soon after they passed and looked at me and asked me if I saw what he saw, I looked back and noticed that the guy also was not wearing any pants or any other article of clothing (his female partner was fully clothed). He did have what looked like an overnight pack and given the time of day I expect he was heading to Carter Notch. There was an AMC NH chapter hike 15 minutes behind us. We asked them if they had seen any unusual sites and 3 of the ladies started laughing and confirmed that the only thing he had on was his pack. It was 38 degrees on my car thermometer and the sun was going down, so I am curious how far he went.

First time in the winter for me

 

[KPMMBM]

my astute wife commented after I read her the story that he must have had boots on, right?

 

[peakbagger]

Hate to say but I didn't notice them when I looked back and saw a full moon arising.

 

[summitseeker]

Wow.

I am all in favor of individual freedom, but I wouldn't be happy to have that gentlemen surprise a child out for an innocent hike. Even with "significant shrinkage", as George Costanza coined it, it is disturbing at best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DoARSlv-HU
1:30 in is where things get funny

In reality, I don't find a lot of humor in the idea of exposing oneself with such a brazen disregard for others.


Not to be Johnny Judgmental...

Z

 

[nartreb]

Possibly off-topic, but why is it that Americans imagine that the sight of the human body is harmful to children? I went to school here but I must have missed that lesson.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Possibly off-topic, but why is it that Americans imagine that the sight of the human body is harmful to children? I went to school here but I must have missed that lesson.

I won't preach any sermons, but it is illegal in NH for starters.

 

[BISCUT]

I laugh at much of it but it is in bade taste. UNLESS this dude was planning on a dip in Carter Lake. If that was his plan he gets a pass!

 

[Raven]

I won't preach any sermons, but it is illegal in NH for starters.

Maybe he was going to pick up the AT and was on his way to Vermont.

 

[sierra]

Sometime long ago, I was traversing the Mahoosic Range. I was coming up to the first shelter next to the pond and to my surprise there were to beautifull woman nude sunbathing on the rocks. I did my best to be loud and they got up and got dressed. I guess I was luckier then Peakbagger.

 

[marnof]

The only nudity I've witnessed on the trail was purely accidental. A young woman didn't account for trail runners catching up to her nature break three feet off the trail.

I went to Moonstone knowing full well it was a nude beach. Traveling the back woods and meeting or being followed by a naked person might be disconcerting to some people. I once was asked to escort a couple of women back to their cars because they had seen a naked man peering down at them above the trail.

 

[Hillwalker]

I spent one summer hiking and mountain biking around the Whistler/Blackcomb area in British Columbia. Lots of nude hiking/biking/swimming out there. Of course Vancouver, BC is one hell of a fun city. Has it's own nude beach.

 

[skiguy]

I won't preach any sermons, but it is illegal in NH for starters.

Can't imagine what the discussion would be here if this dude needed to be rescued. Would his choice of clothing been considered reckless or negligent. Hope he was at least wearing snowshoes. If not all that body heat he was giving off was probably making a mess of the trail.

 

[DougPaul]

Can't imagine what the discussion would be here if this dude needed to be rescued. Would his choice of clothing been considered reckless or negligent. Hope he was at least wearing snowshoes. If not all that body heat he was giving off was probably making a mess of the trail.

Maybe he sweats a lot when hiking and was keeping his clothing dry.

Doug

 

[skiguy]

Maybe he sweats a lot when hiking and was keeping his clothing dry.

Doug

Tell that to the Judge. Anyhow must have been interesting at Carter Notch Hut when he showed up.

 

[Raven]

Maybe he sweats a lot when hiking and was keeping his clothing dry.

Doug

Funny, that thought occurred to me too. A dry layer of clothing to put on at the summit.

Of course, if they had both been hiking topless, only one of them would have been breaking the law.

 

[TJsName]

I laugh at much of it but it is in bade taste. UNLESS this dude was planning on a dip in Carter Lake. If that was his plan he gets a pass!

The Winter Solstice is probably a better time for 'Naked Hiking Day' than the current Summer Solstice date. Black flies are probably a pretty good deterrent. This kind of becomes a game of who'd you rather [hike with]... the naked person in winter, or the stinky person in summer? I can think of a few characters that are probably less desirable, but those are generally found without using my eyes!

As for the kid-friendly piece of it... it seems like a tough line to walk between teaching kids an understanding the human body and to not be ashamed of theirs, and proper etiquette in public and the reasons behind those rules (even if the reasons are arbitrary/asinine, as rules in general sometimes are). It's an interesting topic. Something I'm sure my niece would ask me about if we came across such a person on the trail.

 

[BooZiggy]

Maybe he lost a bet and is just a man of his sword. I mean word.

 

[Tom Rankin]

There was a guy years ago trying to do the NEHH Naked. I met him at a summit, coming the other way. At first, it just looked like a shirtless man, then I saw the rest. He said, "pardon my attire", and I said, "Or the lack thereof!"

Maybe this same guy is out for the Winter Rocker, but where would he put it!

 

[Brambor]

I'm totally ok with people being naked but I just think that in this country, affected by puritan culture, when some try to do it it always seems so forced and ridiculous. I mean the hike naked idea, besides being and attention seeker, is just impractical and ridiculous in just about any season I could think of.

 

[Raven]

I'm totally ok with people being naked but I just think that in this country, affected by puritan culture, when some try to do it it always seems so forced and ridiculous. I mean the hike naked idea, besides being and attention seeker, is just impractical and ridiculous in just about any season I could think of.

It may be that this individual would like to change that law. Puritan influence is not what it used to be. Historically speaking, to change laws, it is often necessary to break them through the process of civil disobedience ala MLK, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Thoreau, Ed Abbey, and now...Naked Hiking Guy.

Personally, speaking, I don't care either way. I find many legal things far more offensive than illegal nudity. As I've said before though, all my dogs are busy in other fights right now.

What this guy needs is a very rich, very powerful lobby group to actually write the new nakedness bills for the politicians and then hand them over for passage into law. Of course, the law will be such that it is so complex, no one will be able to understand it nor will they read it ahead of time, so we will all just have to wait and see.

Modern laws are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get until...

I propose a new "HikeClothed" card for $25/year. If at any time, you come across a nude hiker, you can call in F and G who will bring up some skivvies for said streaker.

We had a good thread on this awhile ago, although it's usually a summer topic. Pretty sure a non-hiking nudist got a profile here and added quite a few comments before disappearing.

Good stuff folks. "A man of his sword". HA!

As long as he doesn't fall down and posthole the trail, I'm good.