Naked Hike Day?
Just out of interest and to ensure I'm in town on this day, what day is naked hike day on the AT next year?
"He was a wise man who invented beer." Plato
Summer soltice
enemy of unnecessary but innovative trail invention gadgetry
Correct, but Real hikers celebrate it on winter solstice!Originally Posted by Malto
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Solstices: Summer - June 21 2017 04:24 GMT, Winter - December 21 2017 16:28 GMT
"Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." Louis L’Amour
We should be somewhere between Monson and Stratton, headed south...hopefully with plenty of sunscreen. :-)
“He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.” –Socrates
...and liberally applied bug repellant.
"Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." Louis L’Amour
We saw no one hiking naked on summer solstice this year.
Maybe 'cause they don't want to end up on the sex offender registry, or something.
I'm as conservative as anyone anyone on this forum, probably exceedingly more so but, please tell me, what elements of the federal or state sex offender statute does hiking nude violate?
Give up?
None.
Certainly, there might be a violation of public decency statutes but, sex offender? .... No sir.
On the other hand, if you are already on the sex offender registry for a previous sex-related conviction(s) and are currently under state or federal supervision and THEN get busted for public indecency, then you will more than likely be returned to prison, but not necessarily for the specific conduct of hiking nude, but because you engaged in new criminal conduct, thereby, violating the terms and conditions of your supervision, as directed by the Court, under the sex offender statutes.
There you go.
OkeefenokeeJoe
True. But an over-zealous or unethical prosecutor might still use the "sex offender" threat to coerce a plea bargain out of an innocent nudist.
To me, people who equate simple nudism with sex offense are the perverts, with minds in the gutter.
[I]ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: ... Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit....[/I]. Numbers 35
[url]www.MeetUp.com/NashvilleBackpacker[/url]
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Well said! This "sex offender" topic sure comes up a lot on here, anything from the Solstice hike-nude thing to the mooning of the train...
As far as I know, the nudity laws vary from state to state, some states allowing full public nudity, others showing a butt cheek is a felony, IIRC. Might be nice to know such things....
I know the 2 issues - being nude in public and public urination - are not the same thing. But I recall an article a few years back on reasons by state you could be made to register as a sex offender. Something like 12 states had this law for public urination. At least 4 were states the AT ran through (Ga, Vt, NH, Ma). The source cited was the Human Rights Watch, Washington College of Law. Does not seem to be a long leap of logic to think that if public urination can get you on the list, public nudity could too. Not a lawyer, and I would guess regardless of the offensive, if you have a good lawyer and sufficient enough gold to cross his/her palms with any of these offenses are can be over-come.
"Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." Louis L’Amour
Equating nude hiking with a sex offense (for someone with no prior record) seems unjustified. At the same time hikers should make an effort to comply with the norms of society where they are hiking. It is probably a lot more acceptable to hike nude or sunbathe nude at some remote lake in the High Sierra than to walk out of the woods in Damascus nude and stroll through town. People should use common sense and good judgment.
+1 to People should use common sense and good judgement. Emphasis added on the word should.
"Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." Louis L’Amour
but with respect to public nudity, can someone define "common sense" and especially "good judgement" ? I think most of us kinda agree, I sure don't want to "bare my soul", and no one (except my wife...) wants me to, and if I were hiking with my kids along the AT and a bunch of nudes folks were coming the other way, being the slight prude that I am, I'd have my kids look away, but I sure wouldn't think that if they didn't look away, seeing a bunch of nude folks would in any way harm them. But, of course, not all would agree.
A lot of the rest of the world laughs at the overwhelming prudishness of the USA. It really is kinda ridiculous, a leftover of our earlier puritanical and religious history, I would guess.
Even the Supreme Court has difficulty with this question ("I'll know it when I see it"): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobellis_v._Ohio
That's not a very satisfactory criteria but with social norms it probably can't be more precise. IMO what is socially acceptable in some places is not in others. I'm reminded of Deep Creek hot springs on the PCT. Nude people everywhere, and not just on "hike nude" day. This is in liberal southern California. It wouldn't be accepted in Georgia, North Carolina, or Virginia.
A lot depends on the State and/or Jurisdiction. Most public decency laws that can either be a ticket or a criminal charge hinge on intent. For example, if one is changing into a bathing suit by the side of the road under a towel and the towel is blown off by a gust of wind, that would be unintentional and likely not actionable. If that same person opted to change on the beach without a towel, that would fall into the indecent exposure category, which is deliberate exposure in public and actionable in most states at various levels. Since the AT is a public place by definition, one plays a bit of roulette with the law if they opt to be au natural.
Hiking naked on a trail is deliberate and can carry a serious penalty if a complaint is filed. A lot of States if not most, include indecent exposure as an offense requiring registration, which follows you the rest of your life unfortunately.
Let' put this in perspective. Clothing is usually worn for protection as well as for social norms. When you start to expose parts of the body that normally are not exposed to the sun there can be some real problems. Ever notice the way desert people dress? If you do this too many times you will be visiting the dermatologist for a spray of liquid nitrogen or worse. This can even cause premature ageing as well. Sunscreen can slide off after a while and spf clothing is the best bet. Any comments?
http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal...-exposure.html
"Indecent exposure laws in most states make it a crime to purposefully display one's genitals in public, causing others to be alarmed or offended. "
".... in some states any indecent exposure conviction subjects you to a lifetime duty to register as a register as a sex offender. "
I am not an attorney, so this is not any sort of legal advice. But for me personally, I would not partake in "naked hiking day" due to this risk. (I am in no way a prude, nor has anyone ever accused me of being the least bit conservative. Many of these laws are stupid. Etc.)
Last edited by bigcranky; 09-18-2016 at 13:38.
Sure, I'll comment... No argument whatsoever. Yeah, us pure whitie's have no business running around nekked in the sun, zero argument there. Ouch! Then there's the "bouncing around" thing. Ouch again! And really, who wants to look at nearly any one of us nekked?
There really is zero reason I can see for "streaking". Butt: I did in college, it was a blast. So there. It was the 70's. A different era. RIP, oh best decade there ever was!
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