A Nude Point of View

I'm quite addicted to Google Earth, as I said in my other blog, flying around above the trees, the houses, the lakes and rivers. And it's helped me greatly in discovering islands of privacy in the middle of a bustling city. My last blog I described going to Factory Shoals Park and being able to walk nude out in the more remote trails. It's such a neat feeling, the freedom of walking on this Earth with only my socks and shoes on (because come on, the shoes are necessary, and I can't stand wearing shoes with no socks), and a stout walking stick. Letting the sun wrap me up in moist heat like a blanket, where sweat runs off my brow, my arms glisten, my heart pumps, and my muscles stretch and contract in laborious joy, moving me through the warm summer air.So I wanted to try that again, but a little closer to home. So I was floating around on Google Earth, and I happened upon sets of roads that, at this time in history, are unique, and provide me with an opportunity to walk down man made roads, entire neighborhoods, completely nude, and no one would see me. The recent economic problems left, in 2008, developers of real estate with large tracts of land where they had made roads and utilities, but suddenly had no money to make the houses. Deserted neighborhoods all over the United States. There are, however, some issues that eliminate some from being playgrounds for nude hiking. Search on Google Earth for neighborhoods that have been paved, but completely abandoned. No houses at all. Also, the roads in question must have only one entrance, and that entrance must have a gate or something that keeps cars from driving into it. I prefer neighborhoods where they've left a majority of the trees, as it hides you from people on other roads. There are some I've found that would work, but they are devoid of trees and can easily be seen from backyards. Now, the tricky part. You can't just leave your car at the front of the neighborhood. It sends a sign to Police that "hey, someone's here that shouldn't be... tow my car and go investigate!," so you have to find a place to park away from the entrance. This is also tricky, because you can't use school parking lots, and church parking lots are discouraged, because you'd be the only one there (unless you walk on a Sunday morning, for instance), and that too would draw attention to the car. So you have to find a place where parking a car would be normal. A shopping center, a park, a business where there are tons of cars. I parked once in front of a junk car parts place, and that worked nicely. This eliminates some of the neighborhoods that are in the middle of nowhere, which is unfortunate. Use Google Earth's path distance feature to look at the distance between the entrance and the car. I try to keep it less than a mile. The walk back will be tiring, especially if there are no sidewalks along the main streets. And walking (clothed, of course) along with passing cars is annoying. I take a backpack with me and put bottled water, Deep Woods Off, and a space to put my clothes. After entering the neighborhood, I wait until I see what human activity has been around it (tons of empty beer bottles, water bottles, etc...), usually there isn't, and then I walk into the area until I'm past the entrance. Then, if I feel safe enough, I can take my shirt off and drop my shorts. Put the shirt in the backpack, but keep the shorts in your hand, so if for some reason you hear anyone, maybe you have time to slip them on before meeting them. The main thing you have to watch for, people wise, are hunters on deer stands. The issue here is that they usually have a gun. But logically, they won't be a problem, since they're not supposed to be there either. They're trespassing just like you are. So more than likely they'll just shutter and try to forget you're there. I also try and go when the kids are in school, to keep the likelihood of running into minors lessened As you see, there are risks, but I've done it three times without any problems whatsoever. I parked at a Walmart, the junk car place, and at a gas station. For gas stations, it's good to go in and buy something good in the establishment, so that you've paid them for keeping your car on their property for a little bit. They didn't mind at all. I found it interesting, and saddening, that the same economic problems that cause the deserted neighborhoods also cause people to break into the places and steal the manhole covers to be sold for scrap metal. Two of the three have been that way. The odd thing about hiking nude, as I've said in the last blog, is that it's not a sexual experience. I never got the need to jack off at all. It's more about the freedom of doing it than any hormonal response, and that's fine. I guess if I were younger, it would be different, but that's okay. So if anyone does read this, hopefully there are still neighborhoods that are deserted, and it will allow you an hour or so of walking, in public, on a street, completely nude. It's a fantastic feeling. You should try it.