One day during the summer (2000) I was out at the place in the country where I often go to sun and hike nude and what should happen but I get totally surprised out of my skin by two other people! Why in the world would anybody else be way out there so far off the beaten path? Fortunately for me, they proved to be kindred spirits and we are now great friends, but there for awhile I was so ready to run like a rabbit and not look back! I’m glad I didn’t. Here’s what happened.

It was a hot, sunny early afternoon. The place was the pasture in the country that I had discovered as being a secluded enough area that I could sun and hike in the most comfortable, natural way - nude. I’ve written a lot about this place before, so I won’t bore you with all those details again.

It was a windy day and it felt absolutely wonderful being nude outdoors in the sun with the wind blowing over me. I wandered around for a little bit not really feeling much like hiking, but I soon got bored with that and decided to just sit in the sun so I spread my clothes out on the grass and sat down on them. I was in a small area where the grass was short and the trees surrounded me on three sides – sort of a U-shaped little clearing kind of like an alcove. I felt safe, comfortable, and content here. I leaned back feeling the soft grass with my hands and I sat there with my knees bent and my feet also in the grass. I couldn’t really lie down – running shorts and a sports bra don’t make for much of a blanket. I was facing into the wind and the sun and was just enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing over me and through my hair. It felt so peaceful in this tranquil setting. For the moment at least, I didn’t have a care in the world. A feeling of drowsiness came over me and I just relaxed into it and let my mind wander and daydream whatever it wanted.

I have no idea how much time may have passed while I was in this state of bliss, but suddenly I was traumatically jolted back into reality when I heard a woman’s voice rather softly yet strongly enough to know she was talking to me say, "Excuse me?"

What an emotional and physical shock of fear and adrenaline I felt exploding within my body and flooding my senses! I was instantly on my feet and somehow at the same time I grabbed my clothes in one hand and my shoes in the other. I bolted across the short distance to the other side of the small clearing before I ever turned around to see where the voice had come from. My heart was pounding so hard and so fast that I was afraid my chest would explode. There at the far edge of the trees I paused to look back in the direction of the voice, but I was tensed and ready to sprint on into the trees like a rabbit at the slightest provocation if need be.

When I looked back, I saw a woman standing by the trees at the other edge of the clearing. She was standing as though she had been there for a little while. She had that sort of wincing, apologetic look on her face like you have when you know you’ve accidentally startled someone.

"I’m so sorry," she said. "I didn’t mean to scare you. I was afraid I would, but I didn’t mean to. I bet you’re just frightened half to death, but please don’t be scared. Nobody’s going to hurt you. I promise."

She continued on like that apologetically trying to calm me down, but I interrupted her abruptly and rather rudely, I’m afraid by blurting out, "Who are you?! What are you doing here?!"

"Oh. I’m Ann," she said taking a few hesitant, cautious steps into the clearing. I remained where I was at the opposite side still ready to blast out of there in an instant. Now that I could see her completely, I could see that she was older than I was and taller with dark hair. She was dressed in a sleeveless top and jean shorts and hiking shoes. She looked like a hiker.

She continued by saying, "We - my husband and I – we used to come out here all the time back when we were dating and when I still lived with my parents back over the hill there (she pointed). We haven’t been out here since we were married. We just decided to come back out to see how much it had changed. When we saw you, we thought about trying to just go around you without disturbing you, but we were afraid we would just run into you somewhere else out here later. So we decided that I should just go ahead and talk to you now. I’m so sorry to have scared you so. Oh my, look how fast you’re breathing! My husband is waiting back over there (she pointed back the way she had come). We were afraid that if both of us tried to talk to you, that you would really be scared to death. And since you’re nude and all, we didn’t know how you’d feel about my husband seeing you."

She paused waiting for me to say something, but I was too busy trying to evaluate her and what she had said and just the whole situation in general. She wasn’t acting in a threatening manner. She seemed completely genuine and sincere. She was staying right where she was without trying to get closer. But I still didn’t know exactly where her husband was nor did I even know for sure that it really was just the two of them. I remained silent and continued to stare at her. I have no idea what kept me from dashing off into the trees. I was scared – I was nude – I felt so vulnerable!

Finally, she said earnestly, "Look, I can imagine what you’re thinking and feeling right now. But please understand that you’re in no danger. I know that we’ve stumbled into your space and we’ll leave you alone. I promise – if you want us to, I’ll turn right around and we’ll leave the way we came in."

Then she added in an almost pleading tone, "But please give me just a minute to talk to you. I’ll stay right here. But please let me tell you some things. We’re a lot alike – I mean, what you’re doing and all. I just want you to know."

"Know what?" I asked cautiously still frozen in place. It came out more like a statement – a command.

"Jim – my husband – and I – when we were kids, we used to spend lots of time out here like you are. Nude, I mean. Because – well – we’re nudists. I mean, I don’t know if that’s what you consider yourself to be or not – maybe you don’t even know what that means. I’m just trying to say that I understand what you’re doing because I do it, too. We do it now and we did it then, because like I said, we’re nudists. We always have been – all our lives."

She paused a moment waiting for me to comment, but I didn’t.

Then she went on. "Oh, I’m doing such terrible of job of explaining all this. Look, I don’t know your story – and it’s none of my business – but I just want you to know that you’re not alone in what you’re doing - if that matters to you. I – we – my husband and our kids – we do this, too – a lot. We always have. We love it. And we know a lot more people like us, too. It’s totally normal and healthy. Anyway, I just wanted to explain – so that you’d know - in case you feel like maybe you want some help or maybe just a friend who’s been there. That’s all I’m trying to say."

I was still evaluating. She seemed very sincere. Her tone of voice was calm. Her demeanor was relaxed and self-assured yet totally non-threatening. I understood what she was saying and I felt like she genuinely cared about me and was reaching out to me though she didn’t even know me. That involved a certain amount of trust on her part. I came to the conclusion that I could trust her – at least a little bit to see how it would go.

I began to speak with reservation and caution by saying, "Sometimes I stop off here when I’m running out this way. I sometimes sunbathe nude. Sometimes I go hiking - around the pasture here - nude. I’ve never run into anybody out here before - unexpectedly. I thought I was pretty safe."

"Oh, don’t worry – you’re safe. We used to do just what you’re doing. Even right in this very spot, I think," she said looking around.

"For real?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said now speaking a little faster. "We’re nudists, too – always have been. What you’re doing is perfectly normal to us. We used to come out here all the time when we were kids. We’d get rid of our clothes as soon as we were out of sight of the neighbors and then spend hours out here just like you are. Except it would be the two of us."

I still didn’t know quite how to take this woman. She was very open and friendly toward me, but I was still very fearful and far from being at ease. Yet I was very interested to hear what she had to say. I had always guessed that there might be a few genuine nudists somewhere in the area where I live, but I had never thought about how I might go about finding them and I certainly never dreamed they might find me! I wanted to know more.

She went on. "The only reason we’re not nude now is that we haven’t been out here for about ten years and so we didn’t know what we’d find or how safe it would be. We sure didn’t expect to find you. You’re very pretty, by the way. But anyway, you obviously think it’s safe to be nude here. Right?"

"Well, yes," I answered still with caution. "This is the second summer I’ve been going nude out here. I’ve gradually gotten to the point that I hike to the far end of the pasture and across those hills up there (I pointed with my clothes still in hand). I haven’t gone any farther, though. I usually get undressed as soon as I’m out of sight of the road back there. Then I hide my clothes and hike and explore for as long as I want."

"How neat!" she said enthusiastically as she took a couple of steps toward me. There wasn’t anything threatening about this move, but for whatever reason it spooked me and I tensed up and backed away a few steps.

"Oh, I’m sorry," she said apologetically stepping backward to where she had started. "I honestly don’t mean to keep scaring you. I only wanted to talk some more."

"I don’t know you at all," I said. "I’m still really scared."

"I know – I know – and I don’t blame you," she replied. "But I really am on your side. And I’m going to find some way to prove it and to show you that you can trust me. From what you’ve told me, it sounds like it’s pretty safe out here to me – at least for as far as you’ve gone. So, (she paused as she reached down and untied her shoes and loosened the laces) I’m going to join you." After she had finished untying her shoes and loosening the laces, she kicked them off. Then she peeled off her socks and dropped them on the ground by her shoes.

"It’s been two or three weeks since we’ve been able to be nude outdoors," she said as she pulled her tee shirt off over her head and dropped it. She then immediately grabbed her sports bra in the front and pulled it out and up over her head in one movement and dropped it, too.

"And – as you probably well know - that’s simply too long to go in the summer without having some nude time outdoors," she said as she unbuttoned and unzipped her jean shorts. She then slipped her hands inside the shorts and under the waistband of her panties on each side and then slid them both all the way down at the same time.

"There," she said stepping out of the clump of clothing and leaving it where it lay. "You’ve got the right idea - this is so much nicer."

Now nude, she stepped away from her clothes and out into the pasture for maybe twenty feet or so. She had done all this so deliberately and with such obvious confidence. The process appeared to be so familiar to her and she seemed so carefree as she had just dropped each piece of clothing – like she was tossing it aside as something completely unnecessary – as though she was never going to touch it again. I was becoming more and more convinced, but I still hadn’t moved.

Then she went on to say, "I just wanted to show you that I practice what I preach. Hopefully by now you can see that we mean you no harm. Fact is, we’d like to be your friends - whenever you feel comfortable enough about us, that is. Even if it’s not today."

I could see now by her actions that she truly was sincere and I was almost certain that I had nothing to fear. We continued talking. Gradually we found ourselves moving closer together until we were talking face to face just a few feet apart. Somewhere along the way, I had laid my clothes down, too, and left them behind. It wasn’t just the fact that she was nude like me that made me trust her. There was something more to it than that, but at the time, I couldn’t figure out what it was.

After talking for awhile longer, she asked, "Would you be OK with meeting my husband?"

I answered, "Yeah, I guess so, but…"

Ann sensed my uncertainty and said, "Oh, you’re wondering whether you should be nude or not. That’s completely up to you – whatever makes you the most comfortable is perfectly fine with both of us. Do you mind if he is nude? I’m sure that’s probably what he’ll want to do…unless you’d rather he didn’t."

"No, no, that’s fine. Whatever he wants. Not a problem," I said. "I guess I’ll just stay like this," I added hoping I could be as confident as I hoped I sounded. I still felt unsure of what was going on here.

"OK, let me go get him," she said as she turned around to go. "His name’s Jim. Did I tell you that already? Anyway, he’s a sweetheart. You’ll like him. Be right back." And with that she disappeared around the edge of the trees leaving her clothes where they lay. I took that as another sign that I could trust her. For that matter, it was also a sign that she trusted me.

But as I waited, I found myself beginning to second-guess myself. I began to be increasingly concerned about the fact that I was trusting a complete stranger. On the other hand, she seemed so sincere which made me think that I would be fine from a safety standpoint. At any rate, I still had my clothes near by so I was ready to make a quick getaway down into the woods along the creek if I felt the least bit threatened.

I was expecting Ann to be right back, so when she didn’t return after a couple of minutes I began to wonder what was taking so long. I decided to investigate. I walked across the clearing and then slowly and cautiously around the edge of the trees hoping to see where she had gone. There were a series of these small clearings like the one I had been in and I located them in the second one down from mine. They were both nude. It looked like her husband had just gotten undressed and was putting his clothes into a daypack. I wondered if Ann had suggested that he be nude before they came back in order to make me feel more at ease. I stopped as soon as I saw them.

"Hi," I said from a distance. They both looked up.

"Oh, hi again," said Ann motioning me to come over. "This is my husband, Jim. But I forgot to ask you your name."

"I’m Sunny," I said. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Jim said. "Heard we gave you quite a scare. Sorry about that." He was tall and had a fairly low, soft-spoken voice. He stood where he was without offering to shake hands or show any other gesture of greeting – probably wanting to avoid doing anything that might unnerve me.

"It’s OK," I replied.

"We’re so sorry to have scared you so," Ann said. "Jim decided to go ahead and get undressed, too. We thought it might put you more at ease. Hope so. And anyway, this is a lot nicer. Jim and I were just saying how being out here again brings back so many memories."

"That’s right," Jim said. "Sunny, Ann says that you’ve been as far as the other side of the pasture, but that you haven’t gone any farther. Is that right?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Is there still a gate near that corner of the pasture?" Jim asked as he pointed in that direction.

"Yes," I answered. "A metal gate."

Then Ann said, "One of the things we used to do out here was climb over that gate and go back into the woods just up and beyond the big hill. Once you worked your way up the side of the hill to the top, there was a pretty clearing with a single tree in the middle. This was just over the top of the hill. We used to end up there about every time we came out here. It was a special place – a very special place to us – very beautiful, peaceful, quiet, and remote. We used to spend so much time there. That’s where we’re going to today – just to see what it looks like now. Hope it’s still as pretty as it was then."

"Sounds nice," I said. "I’ve just never gone beyond the fence on the other side of this pasture. The idea of getting scratched by that rusty old barbed wire is not too appealing."

"Jim, why don’t we ask Sunny if she’d like to come with us?" Ann said.

"Sure, would you like to come along?" Jim asked me. "I don’t know if it will be any fun for you, but you’re welcome to join us. It’s up to you."

"Yeah, come on along," said Ann. "That way we can get to know each other better. You seem like such a nice girl and all."

"Well, if you’re sure you don’t mind," I said. I was feeling a lot more secure by now and the idea of hiking with someone else rather than alone would be a nice change.

"Good. I think this will be fun," Ann said. "Since we don’t know for sure what to expect, we thought we’d go ahead and carry our clothes with us just to be on the safe side. If you want, you can put your stuff in Jim’s pack with ours. There’s plenty of room and you don’t have much."

"OK," I replied.

We then walked back to the other clearing where Ann and I had left our things. As Jim put our clothes in the pack, he said, "I think we’d better wear our shoes, though. It looks like there are quite a few sticker bushes around – a lot more than there used to be."

"Yes, there are lots of sticker bushes," I said as I started putting on my shoes. "I have to keep my eyes open for them. I usually wear my shoes when I’m doing some serious hiking."

When Ann and I had finished lacing up and tying our shoes, we all three started out across the pasture, enjoying the sunshine and the outdoors so much more by being nude. Jim remarked that the pasture had a lot more brush than it used to and that it appeared that it was being neglected. He said it looked like it was being over-grazed.

As we walked, Ann told me all kinds of things about them. She said that she and Jim had been married ten years this summer and that they have two small children. She said that she and Jim had known each other growing up and also that they had both been nudists all their lives. Their parents were nudists and she and Jim used to play together at the nudist club that both families belonged to. She and Jim now belong to that same club, also. It’s about a two-hour drive from here. I told her that I didn’t know there was a nudist club anywhere around.

She said that when they were little, she and Jim would only see each other a few times each summer when both families happened to be at the club at the same time. Her family lived here in this town and Jim’s family lived in a town not too far from here, but far enough that they went to different schools, so they didn’t see each other except for those few times in the summer. She said they played together constantly at those times. There were other kids there, too and they all played together, but she and Jim were the best of friends even back then.

Then as they got a little older, she said that she and Jim would try to arrange the timing of their families’ trips so that they could be there at the same time. This worked out so that they got to be together at the club more often. Sometimes both families would be there. Other times, one family or the other would take both kids along. Either way, they always had a great time together.

She told me all about the club. She said that as kids they were free to wander the entire grounds of the club all day long. The club covered a lot of land and there were lots of grassy areas, forests, and trails for hiking and playing. There was also a pool for cooling off on those hot summer days.

These trips to the club continued to be about the only times that they were together up until the time that they were old enough to drive. Then they began to make more and more frequent trips to each other’s houses and started dating. For a while, they both dated other people off and on, but by the time they were seniors in high school, they were dating each other exclusively and had no interest in anyone else.

They first began coming out here to the pasture when Jim started driving over to see her. As she had said earlier, her family used to live very near here. She said they would hide their clothes as soon as they were out of sight of the neighboring houses and then wander the great outdoors together for hours. She said they walked and talked and explored the whole area back here as carefree as you can imagine. She went on to explain that most nudist kids go through a time when they become self-conscience about their bodies and don’t want to be nude with others – especially others of the opposite sex their own age – and double especially with a boyfriend or girlfriend. But because she and Jim had grown up together as nudists, they didn’t go through these kinds of apprehensive feelings with each other. They just accepted each other at each stage of development (physical and emotional) and were totally trusting and comfortable and open with each other – nothing to hide. She thinks that’s why they have such a strong marriage today. That makes sense to me.

When they graduated from high school, they both attended the same college (the same one I now attend), and then they got married when they were 20 and now, ten years later, they’re still "living happily ever after".

By now we had reached the other side of the pasture and were looking beyond the fence into the next pasture. The gate that they used to climb over had been replaced with one that was topped by barbed wire, so Jim decided we should just crawl through the fence next to it. We teamed up on this so that two people held the middle wires apart while the other person bent down and carefully stepped through the not-very-wide opening. I went last. I did not like the idea of having so much of my tender skin so close to two strands of rusty old barbed wire. But we all made it through without a scratch.

We were now in all new territory for me, so I followed their lead as we headed into the trees and started up the side of a hill. Sometimes we were able to walk side by side, but most of the time we had to walk single file because of the brush. Jim and Ann both remarked how the area had gotten a lot more overgrown with brush than it used to be, but they both seemed eager to get to where we were going. Being in all this cover and being at an even greater distance from any houses and roads, we felt that we were completely safe from running into anyone else. They told me that they had always felt completely safe when they were out this far – like they were the only two people in the world.

We eventually arrived at the clearing. Or I should say we arrived at what used to be the clearing. They both were disappointed to see how small trees and brush had grown up in the clearing such that you couldn’t really call it a clearing any more. And the big tree that used to be in the middle had fallen down apparently a long time ago and was now just a big dead tree trunk lying on the ground. Sensing that we were going to spend some time here, I took off my shoes so that I could enjoy some completely nude time. Jim and Ann must have thought it was a good idea, too, because they did the same thing.

Jim put down the daypack and we all walked around exploring a bit. It was still a pretty setting and to me it seemed very peaceful and removed from the rest of the world. It must have really been a special place for Jim and Ann. They talked about things they used to do and pointed to where they thought this or that used to be. I noticed they went from holding hands to putting an arm around each other as they talked. They are a beautiful couple.

I felt like I should leave them alone for awhile, so I made myself scarce by doing a little exploring off on my own. I told them I’d be back in a little while and walked to the opposite edge of the clearing from where we had entered. I wandered through the trees and on down the other side of the hill until I came to a small creek. I walked along this creek for some distance just enjoying the feel of the grass under my feet and the breeze on my skin. I loved the peace and quiet and serenity. After a time, I turned to go up the hill and re-enter the clearing from another side, but then it occurred to me that I might surprise Jim and Ann if I did that. There had already been enough surprises for one day, so I turned around and re-traced my steps slowly back the way I came and then gradually made my way back up into the clearing and rejoined my new friends.

We stood around talking awhile longer and then Ann said, "I guess I’ve seen enough. I’ll just keep my memories of how wonderful it used to be." Then as an after thought she added, "Hey, let’s go back to the pasture and Sunny can show us around back there since she’s now the resident expert!"

Jim and I agreed, so we walked back over to the tree trunk where we had left our shoes, put them back on, and then headed back the same way we came. The walk back to "my" pasture was uneventful except that I still felt just as vulnerable squeezing through that barbed wire again as I had the first time.

I then proceeded to walk Jim and Ann through the pasture along the route I usually hike. They of course had covered all of this territory before and remarked on how things had changed – some for the better and some for the worse. I won’t go into all the details about what we did and saw – I’ve written about this place before. I’ll just say that we climbed all the hills, crossed all the ditches, climbed up and down the creek banks, etc. But, all in all, we had a great time walking and talking and getting to know each other better. It’s funny how in a period of just a couple of hours, I had gone from sheer terror at our first meeting to a feeling of trust and friendship. They were truly genuine and I liked them. They seemed to be very accepting of me as well.

When we decided it was time to go, I showed them my way to get back to the road under cover of the trees. We walked past the place where we had first met (the fright zone), but we didn’t bother getting dressed until we came near the road. Then Jim took all of our clothes out of the daypack and we all got dressed - all the while complaining about how awful it felt to have clothes on again. Once we were dressed, we walked to the gate, climbed over, and walked on down the road to their car. They offered me a ride home and I accepted, not because I was particularly tired, but rather so that I could spend as much time with them as possible. One of my goals was to make new nudist friends and I didn’t want to let these two get away. On the way back in the car, we exchanged phone numbers. As they dropped me off, Ann promised that we would get together again soon while the weather was still nice. I told them that would be wonderful.

What a day of surprises and discoveries that was. I’m not sure I can survive many scares like that. However, it’s worth it if it results in new friends. I actually have gotten together with Jim and Ann and their kids again since then, but I’m so far behind on my write-ups that I’m just now getting this first one done. I’ll write about our other get-togethers later. However, there is one conversation that Ann and I had about our first meeting that I’ll go ahead and share now since it pertains to this story. Here it is.

I said to Ann, "There’s something I’ve been wondering about. When you stumbled on to me that first time out in the pasture, you just assumed that I was a nudist, didn’t you."

"Pretty much…yeah," she answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I just wondered what it was that made you think that," I pressed on. "I mean, just because I had my clothes off doesn’t automatically make me a nudist, do you think?"

"No," she answered. "You’re right. There is more to it than that. But how to explain it. (pause) I know…let me ask you a question. When I took my clothes off, what happened?"

"You left them and walked away," I answered. "You walked out into the open – I guess so that you would be on the same level as me. So that we would be equal and so that maybe I wouldn’t be so afraid?"

She pressed on by asking, "Yes, but what did you see? Just a naked woman?"

"No," I answered thoughtfully. "I think I’m starting to see where you’re going with this. You were not just a naked woman. You were…confident. You had a sort of an aura about you – a certain attitude. And as we were talking, you were totally at ease. Totally…determined. Totally complete…as a person. I’m not sure exactly how to describe it, but you looked like – like you were the way you were supposed to be. And like that was the way you wanted to be…and intended to be. You were…Ann. You were the real you. And clothes – on or off - don’t play any part in that."

"Bingo," Ann said. "You’re getting it. And that’s a lot of what I felt about you when I first saw you. Even though you were sitting there with your back to us, we were pretty sure you were a nudist – or at least had a nudist attitude. Otherwise, we probably would have just avoided you. And then right after you jumped up, I was even more sure of it. Oh yeah, you were scared, but even then it was obvious to me you weren’t just naked – you know, caught with your clothes off. You had your clothes, but you didn’t try to cover up. You were OK with being nude even though you weren’t sure about the stranger that had just scared the wits out of you. Well anyway, those are the thoughts I had - that’s how I knew. Think about it and you’ll probably begin to recognize it in others, too."

Ann is a very wise woman – someone I admire and look up to - and I’ve learned so much from her. I am so fortunate that our paths crossed. She is not only a great friend, but I think of her as a mentor, as well. She readily shares her experience and knowledge with me and always answers my many questions with patience and understanding. I can talk to her about anything. She’s so cool!

I’ve now started paying attention to people that appear to be self-confident and comfortable with who they are. I haven’t approached any of them yet about nudism – I think I’ll watch and study for awhile longer before I try that. But now another question comes to mind: are self-confident people likely to be more open to nudism or does nudism play a role in making people more self-confident? Questions, questions, questions.