Ocala Forest 2000
Five days of nude hiking (barepacking) in the Ocala National Forest
INTRODUCTION
Back in 1980, I hiked the southern half of the Ocala Trail (from Highway 40 to the southern end of the forest at Highway 42), intending to hike the northern half at a later time.
This hike turned out to be significant for me in two ways:
It was my first solo hike of any significant length (I took a week to do it);
and it was the first time I ever hiked nude.
I had heard of nude hiking before (from one of Colin Fletcher's books), but I was too timid to try it out myself. On this hike, I met another hiker going the opposite direction with just a day pack - and nothing else but shoes. The hiker was looking at the ground and apparently didn't see me. I stepped off the trail to allow him to pass by without seeing me, but apparently he heard me. When he passed, he had a pair of shorts on. I was impressed that he had had the guts to hike nude like that, but the fact that I had just met someone on the trail was enough to discourage me from trying it myself.
The next day on the trail, it started raining while I was hiking, and in no time at all I was soaked. My heavy, soaking wet bluejeans soon began chafing my inner thighs as I walked. I doubted I would meet anyone in the rain, so I removed the jeans and hiked nude. (I had learned years before in Florida not to wear underwear in the woods, because chiggers just love to find tight clothing like elastic waistbands and crotches to burrow under into the skin.)
When the rain quit, I just kept hiking nude. It dawned on me that the day before had been Labor day and I had only seen one hiker after leaving the road. The odds of meeting someone the next several days were minimal. I just decided I would do without the clothes for the rest of the week, which I did. I only dressed when I got within sight of the road.
Ever since then, I have been hooked on nude hiking
A month or so ago, while planning a week long wilderness trip, it dawned on me I had never "finished" that 1980 hike by hiking the northern half of the Ocala Trail. I decided 20 years was long enough to have put it off, so this would be the trip.
May 2000
(I apologize in advance for the poor map images in this report. Maps are hot-linked throughout the text rather than taking up too much space with them.)
I had a friend drop me off at Forest Road 77 (FR77) with my truck. This is at the extreme North end of the forest. The plan was to pick me up at State Road 40 by the entrance to Juniper Springs (roughly the middle of the forest). Bruce has provided transport and even gone himself on a few of my wilderness outings. He is rather devoutly textile himself, but is not bothered by the idea of nudism/naturism.
He was a bit perplexed when I stripped off my T-shirt and shorts and put them in the back of the truck before putting on the pack. I explained I had a towel to cover up if needed, but when I explained I wouldn't be wearing any clothes all week, and why should I bother with the extra weight to carry any, he still shook his head and said something to the effect of "how boring my life would be without people like you in it". (I guess that's a polite way to call someone crazy.)
