Just to avoid getting into a rut by doing the same old things over and over again, I like to look for new places and opportunities for expanding my territory by taking little forays into places I’ve not been before. It seems I’m always on the look out for places that have the potential to be nude hiking or running venues. So this summer (2001), I found and conquered (so to speak) a number of those places. Some of them were planned – some were spontaneous. Some were a little risky – some were pretty tame.

What prompted me to do so many of these kinds of things this summer? Maybe it was because I wasn’t going to summer school and had a little more time on my hands than usual. Who knows? At any rate, the opportunities presented themselves and you know me - I took action.

So here they are:

The New Pond

The first of these little conquests that I made this summer was to a pond out in the pasture next to the one that I usually do my nude hiking in. I had seen it last fall (early November, I think) and had wanted to go over to it just to say I’d been there, but there was no way to get there without being visible from the busy road just beyond. I knew that if I could get to the pond, I’d probably be OK, but there was just no way to get to it without being seen. Of course, I could always go over there dressed and then go nude, but where’s the sport in that!? So I gave up on the idea...for the time being.

But then this summer, I was spending some nude time out in the pasture on a hot, sunny afternoon in June. I was leisurely hiking through a grassy meadow within sight of that pond when the thought struck me that now that the trees were fully leafed out, maybe I could get over there without being seen. It was worth investigating so I went back and put on my shoes. I always wear shoes when I’m hiking into an area I’ve not been before since I don’t know exactly what I’ll be getting into. I walked back across the meadow taking care to keep the hill between me and the road, then walked across a draw, and along the backside of the next hill circling around until I came to the fence between the two pastures. There was a metal gate in the fence that would have been so easy to climb over, but it was right on the very top of the hill in full view of the road, so that was not an option. Instead, I was fortunate to find a place in the fence where a couple of the strands of the barb wire were loose from the fence posts making it easier for me to move them apart and very carefully slip through with no damage to my tender skin.

Now that I was in the other pasture, I could check out the lay of the land and see if it would be possible for me to get to the pond unseen. I was still on the backside of the hill with the top of it between me and the road. I worked my way to the top so that I could just barely see over into the valley on the other side. There was hope. If I went a little farther into the pasture along the side of the hill, I could line up with a couple of trees growing out in the open towards the bottom of the hill and use them to hide me from the view of any cars on the road. I went to that position and checked again. I was in luck. These trees would do the job. I could walk down the other side of this steep hill and once at the bottom I could then walk up a draw and come up behind the pond dam – all without being seen from the road (I hoped).

Time to take action. I walked up over the top of the hill and began my descent. The hill was steep and the width of the area I could walk in without being seen was not very wide. As I neared the bottom of the hill the grass became taller and was nearly as high as my waist as I started up the draw. So far the plan was working. I came to the pond dam and walked over to the place where it connected with the hill thinking that would be the best location to climb up to the pond. I started up. As I neared the top, I could see the road, which meant that someone in a car there might be able to see me. Or could they? The distance I needed to cross to be out of sight again wasn’t very far and the grass was still pretty tall. I decided that if I kept low, the risk was minimal. I was so close. I decided to go for it. I crouched low and moved out. It only took a few seconds and then there I was next to the water with the pond dam between me and the road. I made it. I dusted off some grass and weed seeds that were sticking to my sweaty legs.

Now that I was here, I decided to just stop and enjoy the view and see what I could see. The pond was pretty good sized for a farm pond. There were cattails growing in various places around the edge, but no trees. There were a few red-winged black birds chirping and flying in and out of the cattails. As I began walking along the edge of the water, frogs splashed into the water and then surfaced a few feet out to watch me go by. The pond was surrounded by hills except for the side with the dam.

I took my time walking along the inside of the dam. Once I got to the other end of it, the ground was flatter between the pond and the surrounding hills. I continued walking on around the pond to the far side and looked back to where I had been. I picked up a dirt clod and gave it a good throw out over the water to see if I could hit the other side, but it fell short splashing into the water. I tried a few more until I finally (just barely) landed one on the other side. I guess this was my way of claiming this new territory as mine. Too bad there were no flat rocks – I would have tried skipping them across.

Did I skinny-dip? No way. If you had ever seen the farm ponds in these pastures, you’d understand why. They are very muddy and mossy – not at all appealing. I don’t know how the cattle can stand to drink out of them. If the water had been half-way clean, a swim would have been nice – I was covered with sweat although that’s not so bad when you aren’t burdened with damp clothes clinging to you.

I continued on with my walking tour of the pond. As I neared the place where I started, I saw what looked like might be a better way to get back down the pond dam without being seen. I took one more look out over the pond at my "conquered territory" and then started down the new route away from the pond. As it turned out, the new route wasn’t much better the old one, but I was vulnerable for only a few seconds. Then I was back to returning along the same route I had arrived on.

Climbing back up that steep hill turned into some work. By the time I got back to the top, I had tons of sweat running down and dripping off of me. Fortunately there was plenty of breeze up high there, so I walked along the back side of the hill just below the top in order to let the breeze evaporate the sweat so that my body could cool off with maximum efficiency the way it was meant to happen.

After that, I crossed back into "my" pasture and enjoyed the rest of the time there hiking through the grass and trees and knowing that I had branched out a little into some new territory.

The Hayfield

The second of these forays occurred near the new housing development where I used to run nude prior to the encroachment of civilization (streetlights and occupied houses). Adjacent to the new housing development on the two sides farthest away is a couple of hayfields. I noticed that they had both been mowed and baled recently and I decided I needed to do some early morning (pre-dawn) nude hiking there before the grass (hay) grew tall again. This nude hiking expedition had to be done under cover of darkness because both hayfields were in view of houses in the housing development as wall as in view of a number of houses along the far side of the hayfield. Hayfields by nature are flat, open spaces so anyone hiking out there could be seen from a long way off. I had also been noticing in the evenings that we were coming up on a full moon, so I decided that hiking one or both of those fields nude under a full moon was going to be my next objective.

I got up early (4:30) only to discover that the sky was totally overcast. Not one star could be seen, but now I was already up so I went anyway. I ran from my place all the way out to the end of the street at the far side of the housing development, walked through some not-too-tall grass and weeds to a metal gate that was the entrance to the hayfield. I climbed over the gate and walked into the hayfield several yards. It was so quiet. The hayfield sloped slightly down to a small lake in the distance and I could hear the frogs croaking and the sounds of the night insects. So peaceful. I peeled everything off and began my hike heading in the direction of the lake, walking past the large round hay bales as I went. Parallel to me was a row of trees that I thought was the edge of the hayfield, but as I neared the lake I saw that there was an open gate in the trees that led to another hayfield.

After looking out over the lake for a minute, I headed through the opening into the next hayfield. This one was not nearly as large as the first, but it was out of sight of the housing development although still in sight of the houses on the other side of the lake. I began hiking the perimeter of this hayfield enjoying the feel of the cool night air on my skin. Suddenly I was surprised by another sensation – rain drops. A very light rain began to fall gently showering my skin with cool, but not cold raindrops. What an awesome feeling! I just kept hiking and the rain ended within just a few minutes. Fortunately, the same thing happened again two or three more times during my hike.

I finished hiking the perimeter of this hayfield and headed back into the main one again. I hiked along the lake as far as it went and then continued on clear across the width of the hayfield. Then I headed back toward the housing development side and then back to the gate I had first climbed over. I had hiked about thirty minutes and decided to call it quits for today so I got dressed again and ran back home.

But I was bound and determined to hike in the light of the full moon, so I got up early the next day to try it again. The sky was clear overhead, but the moon had already crossed the sky and gone down behind a cloudbank in the west. My timing was totally off! Oh well, I was already up, so I went again - same routine as before. As I began my nude hiking again out here away from all the streetlights, I enjoyed the bright stars in the open sky. There were still a few lightning bugs out providing a show of slow blinking lights here and there around the hayfield. I walked pretty much the same pattern as the day before. The dew was heavier today and it wasn’t long before my shoes were damp. I could make out some shapes in the pasture just beyond the hayfield and I soon realized that these were cattle – some lying down and some standing. I stayed far enough away from them so that I didn’t scare them.

When I had made the rounds of both hayfields and had returned to the gate, I got dressed and started to run home. But then another idea came into my head: what about that hayfield on the other side of the housing development? This was as good a day as any to check it out. I knew where the other street dead-ended that lead to this hayfield, but I didn’t know if it would be possible to get into it because of weeds and brush.

When I got there, I started picking my way through the weeds at the end of the street. It wasn’t too bad and I didn’t have to go very many feet before I was standing in the other hayfield. The dawn sky was beginning to erase the darkness, but I thought I would be OK for at least a little while longer. Off came my running gear again and hiking into the hayfield along the far tree line I went. This hayfield was much smaller than the others and it didn’t take me long to get to the other side. I immediately turned around and headed back to where I started. The dew was heavier now and my shoes and socks were soaked through. I dressed again, worked my back to the street, and ran home. I had hiked nude around and across three hayfields in one day – all before dawn. Not too bad, but I still wanted to hike nude in the moonlight. Maybe on another morning.

But not the next morning – that was the Fourth of July and I knew I would be up late. And not the morning after that, because I had been up late. But on the third morning I got up early and I was in luck. The moon was totally full and was still fairly high in the sky. This was it! I was on my way.

I arrived in the hayfield now for the third time, but it was like I was seeing it for the first time. The full moon cast a bright, pale glow on everything – the grass, the hay bales, the lake, me – everything. I was so mesmerized by it that I don’t even remember taking off my clothes. I walked down toward the lake and heard the sound of some ducks or geese making noises out on the water somewhere. I could hear lots of frogs chirping along with the occasional low groan of a bullfrog. I headed into the adjoining hayfield feeling the cool early morning breeze blowing over my entire body. With the illumination of everything by the bright moonlight and all of the night sounds, the whole experience seemed totally magical – almost unreal – sort of dream-like. The hay bales cast their shadows on the ground and as I walked by each one, I could smell the pungent smell of fresh hay. As I reached the far corner of this hayfield and turned in another direction, the moon was at my back and I noticed my moon shadow silently accompanying me on my hike. She was with me every step of the way, but she didn’t say much.

So now I was back in the big field and I walked its perimeter. I arrived back at the gate, but there was no way I was going to call it quits yet. I just continued to hike toward the adjoining hay field again. This was all too good to let it end. I hiked the perimeter of the adjoining hay field again. The dawn was beginning to light the eastern sky and diminish the effect of the moon, but I decided to go around this hayfield one more time. The risk of being seen was minimal and even if someone happened to notice that I was there (very unlikely), there was no way they’d know I was nude. So I took one more lap around the hay field - my victory lap - savoring all of the sights, sounds, and feelings.

Then I went back through the gate between the two hayfields and stayed close to the row of trees in order to minimize the chances of being seen as I walked back up toward the other gate. When I got there, I took one more look around for remembrances, then dressed, and ran home. It had taken a few days to accomplish this one, but I had finally fulfilled my objective.

The State Park

Two of my girl friends and I had a day off during the week and decided that we would spend it outdoors by going to a state park that was about an hour away from where we live. None of us had ever been there before. These were non-nudist friends and not the most "outdoorsy" types you’d ever meet. The plan was to get to the park in the morning and do some hiking right away before it got too hot. Then we would have a picnic and just hang out in the shade talking and playing games and whatever for the rest of the day.

So we get to the park as planned, but the hiking trails aren’t what my friends were expecting. They were expecting paved, smooth, easy-to-hike trails. What we found was just the opposite. The trails were unpaved, narrow, rough ground or grass covered. They weren’t too clearly marked and there were a lot of trees and brush closing in. This was not due to neglect – the park was intended to be rustic and natural. This all suited me just fine, but my friends wanted nothing to do with those trails. So we hiked the paved roads around the park and through the camping areas instead. And that was OK – we had a lot of fun talking and goofing around as we hiked.

This was not a large park so it was easy for us to hike from one end to the other and through all of the camping and picnic areas. Situated in the middle of the park was a small lake (or large pond, depending on how you want to look at it).

By the time we had hiked all the roads, the sun was high, bright, and hot. We were parched by the time we got back to the car in the parking lot. We quickly scoped out the picnic area and chose a shady table at the back. The camping area was over at one end of the park and the picnic area where we were was at the other. There were very few campers and no picnickers. We had the place pretty much to ourselves. I guess this was because it was mid-week and because it was so hot.

The area where we were having lunch was shaded by huge trees that left lots of open space underneath for us to throw a Frisbee around and play a silly ring-toss game that someone had brought. We goofed around for a while, had lunch, and then alternated between playing games and just sitting around talking.

It was during one of these "sitting around talking" periods that my mind wandered to thoughts of hiking those trails. I simply couldn’t resist the call any longer. I told my friends that I just had to go check out the trails since we were here. I asked if anyone wanted to join me, but as I expected, they said no. As I got up to go I said I’d be back within an hour. They said that was too long and wanted to make it a half-hour. I reluctantly agreed and took off.

I had to cross the grassy lake dam to get to the nearest trailhead. (I had looked at a trail map posted in the parking lot earlier.) As I hiked across the dam, there was absolutely no one in sight. The reason was obvious – it was so hot. I was sweating immediately. Upon reaching the trailhead in the trees across the lake, I took the trail that went in the direction away from everything.

The trail was easy to follow even though there ware lots of trees and brush closing in. I hiked quickly, watching out for tree roots and rocks so that I didn’t trip. I soon came upon a creek that had a low-water cement crossing and I stopped in the middle of this to look at the water flowing by. There was absolutely no breeze here deep within the trees and I was dripping. Of course during all this, the nudist in me was crying out to be free. The urge was strong and this place seemed so perfect, but I was still unsure of the area and of what my chances of running into anybody out here would be. I bent down and put my hands in the water just to feel some coolness even for just a few seconds. Then I stood and went on my way.

I soon started up a steep incline in the trail that looked like it would switch back and forth on the way to the top of a tree-covered hill. There were some long steps to take because of the erosion in the trail. I reached the first switch back and continued in the direction that it took me. I hadn’t gone far when I stopped to look down and see where I had been. I could see a little bit of the trail below me, but not much. And the silence was beautiful – only the occasional sounds of birds singing.

I couldn’t stand it any longer. The urge to be nude was just too strong. There was no one in sight nor could I hear anyone anywhere. I was far from the few campers in the park. It was the middle of the week. And it was so hot, someone would have to be crazy to be out here hiking right now (hey wait, what does that say about me?). The odds of encountering anyone out here seemed very, very slim. I took another quick look around and decided to go for it. I grabbed my sweaty sports bra with both hands and pulled it off over my head with one move and laid it down. Another quick look around as I slipped my hands under the waistband of my running shorts. Then I slipped them down, stepped out of them and dropped them with my bra. Another quick look around and then I peeled off my sweat-soaked panties and awkwardly slipped them off over my shoes. I immediately folded everything so that I could I carry it with me and be able to re-dress quickly if need be.

Now I was on the move again walking on up the hillside through the trees on the rough trail. It felt so good to be walking through nature as nature intended - free of sweaty, clingy clothes - allowing my body to be cooled by the evaporation of perspiration over my entire body. I felt totally re-energized as I picked up the pace of my hiking. I wanted to hike as far as I could in the very limited time available. Also, I knew that by walking fast, the chances of someone coming up behind me on the trail was virtually none, which would allow me to focus my attention on what might be ahead of me.

Soon the next switch back appeared. Before rounding it, I cautiously stopped again to listen and look all around. All clear. On the move again. I hadn’t gone far after rounding the switch back before I was at the top of the hill. Here the trail split. The sign pointing to the right indicated that this route was a short-cut that in effect cut the length of the trail in half. That meant the left branch was the long version of the trail. From the looks of the trails, it appeared that most hikers had been taking the shorter trail. The other branch was grassier and obviously much less used. The choice was clear to me – I would go with the least used trail.

Taking off down the trail, some lines from the Robert Frost poem, The Road Less Traveled came to mind:

"Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference"

OK, I know that’s way too philosophical for what I was doing, but hey, that’s just the way I think sometimes.

It was nice to be hiking on fairly flat ground again. There were fewer trees up here and I was walking through alternating patches of shade and full sunshine. I found myself often getting into seemingly invisible spider webs across the trail. On one hand, this was such a nuisance to feel those sticky little threads on my body and in my hair, but then on the other, it was reassuring to know that it meant there hadn’t been anyone down the trail for quite a while – probably not at all that day.

The trail meandered along like that and eventually I noticed through the trees that there was a field of corn or some kind of crop like that near by. That meant I was at the edge of the park and before long I was hiking along parallel to that big open field. Still not a soul in sight. So far so good! The trail then turned away from the field and back into the trees. I followed it just a little way farther before deciding that it was about time to turn around and head back. I was just going by feel on the time because my watch was in the pocket of my shorts, which were folded up.

Before turning back, I paused in the trail for a brief time just to enjoy the quiet and solitude of the moment. So calm. So peaceful. So relaxing. I was thinking that I could use a lot more of this a lot more often.

Now I was on the move again retracing my steps and all the while looking ahead and through the trees as best I could to avoid any surprises. The return was as uneventful in that regard as on the way out. When I reached the place where I had gotten undressed, I paused and then decided it was probably safe to continue on a little farther. It’s never any fun to get dressed and I wanted to put it off as long as possible. I continued on down the hill and didn’t stop until right before reaching the bottom. Better not press my luck any further. I got back into my sweaty clothes. What a yucky feeling!

I never saw a soul on the trail the rest of the way back. I re-joined my friends with a little time to spare. They asked me how I enjoyed my little hike and I just said that it was nice to get back to nature. They didn’t have a clue how close to nature I really was.

The City Park

Some time after my state park hike, I heard that a new trail was being built in one of our city parks. This particular park is actually outside of town a little ways and I had always found there to be very few people whenever I’d been there before. The existing trail was paved, but not very long. I would occasionally go there to run, mainly because of the quiet and absence of traffic.

So on one hot mid-afternoon after work during the week, I decided to drive out there to run and see if the new trail had been built yet. The park was within running distance of my apartment (barely), but I decided to drive because of the heat and humidity that day. Although I had never done it there before, I was hoping that there might be some way I could do at least a little of my running nude.

When I drove into the park, there wasn’t a car or a person in sight. The place looked to be all mine. I parked under a shady tree, took one last gulp out of my water bottle, and took off running down the paved trail. The trail started out in an open meadow area in the full sun. After a distance, it entered the trees and the sun was blocked out, but so was any breeze that there might have been before, also.

Running through some mostly invisible spider webs across the trail told me that no one had been through here for awhile, and then a short distance later when I scared up two wild turkeys in the middle of the trail, I knew for sure I was the only one around. (Actually, they scared me as much as I scared them!)

I’d been looking for some sign of the new trail and suddenly I came upon it – sort of. It appeared that construction had just barely begun and then had been rained out a few days before. The trees and brush had been pushed out where the trail was to be, but that was all that had been done. I left the paved trail and walked down the rough trail for a little ways until it tee’d in two directions. The existing trail was now completely out of sight hidden by the thick brush and trees. I stopped and listened for a minute. Not a sound. Perfect! I peeled off my clothes, folded them for easy carrying so that I could quickly jump back into them if I needed to, and took off hiking down the trail.

The trail (although you could barely call it that) was extremely rough. A machine had gone through pushing out all the trees and brush leaving behind an open trail of rough, loose dirt and lots of scraggily tree roots sticking out. It was still pretty muddy in some of the low spots due to the recent rain. Needless to say, I was hiking – not running – this trail.

I walked until I came to where the trail ended and opened out on to the meadow area again. I didn’t go out beyond the trees there because that would have put me in clear view of the paved trail I had run in on, but there was a little breeze blowing, so I stood there and enjoyed it for a couple of minutes before turning back. I re-traced my steps and before long had returned to my nude starting point, but I kept going.

I came across a couple of places where the trail split. It looked like there were long and short options to it. I always chose what looked to be the longer ones. There were a number of steep, but not very tall hills to climb or descend. Eventually I came to a small creek where the machine had not continued on the other side. There was an old footbridge across the creek there and an old path, both of which looked like they had been there for a long time. I crossed over and continued on. The old path was smoother than the trail, but with the brush encroaching on it I had to worry about my bare legs getting scratched. A bit farther on, another footbridge appeared. I crossed it and was now back on the new trail climbing a steep hill. At the top, I came to an opening out onto the meadow area again – this time on the other side of the paved trail.

I wanted to continue on but wasn’t sure how risky it would be to do it nude so I re-dressed and then continued into the meadow but stayed along the tree line. Now I was far from the other trail and the parking area. As I hiked, I continuously checked out where I was in relation to the areas back where there might be people. I didn’t figure anyone would notice me at that distance and if they did they wouldn’t be able to distinguish how I was (or wasn’t) dressed, but I stayed dressed. After going down into a small valley and then up over the next hill, I came to a pond. It was at the edge of the meadow with trees on all the other sides. I explored this area for a few minutes and after observing that I was out of site of everything and everyone, off came the clothes again. I temporarily left them hidden in some tall grass as I leisurely explored the area right around there.

When it came time to head back, I retrieved my clothes but decided not to get dressed just yet. I was re-tracing my steps along the tree line and just couldn’t convince myself to put my sweaty clothes back on. The risk of being surprised was low, so I continued on back in comfort mode. Once back on the rough trail, I hiked some of the new trail cut-off’s that I had bypassed before. Eventually, it was time to go, so when I reached my original place of undressing, I re-dressed, ran back to my car, and went home.

I had been pretty lucky on my timing for this outing. Finding and exploring this new trail before it was finished and before many other people knew about it allowed me to give it the proper initiation.

The New Street

In the new housing development where I have been doing my early morning nude running for the last three years, a new street was being built. The streets where I had run nude before were always the new ones at the far edge of the development where they were expanding the development farther out, but this particular street was near the front of the development. I guess it was sort of a fill-in phase.

Conquering this street was going to be a little trickier than the others for several reasons. It was near the main street entering the development, which meant there was a lot more traffic near by. It was also near one of the development’s pool and tennis courts, which meant there was more and brighter lighting in the vicinity although there were not yet any streetlights on the new street, itself.

The street was already built and paved when one early evening I was running through there and I noticed that construction equipment had been used to block off the entrance to the new street. The new street was only about two blocks long with no other entrance than that. I decided right then and there that early the next morning would be the perfect time to break-in this street.

So way early the next morning, I ran to the new street. The construction equipment was still in the same place as it was the night before. Perfect. I walked around the machines, past the brightly-lit pool and tennis courts, and continued on down the new street into the dark. I walked all the way to the end of the street to check it out for obstacles and any other unexpected things. There were sections of large pipe along the edges of the street waiting to be put in a ditch or something, but that was all that I would have to watch out for. In the fairly large turnaround at the end of the street, I got out of my gear and began to run.

The early morning temperature was warm, but not hot and the wind was blowing more than normal for as early as it was. Those conditions combined with the fact that there was nothing between me and "those conditions" were the making for ideal running.

As I came closer to the bright lighting, I had to determine where my turnaround point should be in order to avoid any chance of being seen. I knew from coming in at what point I was no longer able to see the black, asphalt street, but I wasn’t so sure at what point there would be enough light to make me visible from the main street beyond. I always start out thinking that if I can see me, then everybody can, but I know that’s not true. So with that in mind, I went as far as I dared, then turned around and began running back into the darkness.

I suppose the length of my running was about a block and a half each way. Running back and forth and back forth like that gets pretty boring before too long. Whenever a car would pass by out on the main street, I kept wondering if they could see anything, but there was never any indication that they noticed anything out of the ordinary so I kept going. I ran like this for about twenty or thirty minutes and then I got dressed and ran home. I could now add one more new street to my list of properly initiated streets in this housing development. Hey, maybe someday they’ll name one of them after me! Sunny Day Street. Hmmm…

The Outer Road

Another of the challenges that I decided to take on during the summer was to run nude a section of road outside of town a ways that parallels a busy highway. The newest streets in the new housing development where I’ve been running for the last couple of seasons have all been lighted and have occupied houses along them now so in the absence of any new street construction, I was looking for another place to run freely. Of course, this would have to be done in the early morning hours in darkness, but I was looking forward to the challenge.

The last section of this outer road was one mile long and it was my goal to run this length out and back nude. The road was straight, but went up and down two very big hills and one small one at the far end. The four-lane highway ran parallel to this road, but it had been cut through the hills when it was built so that it was straight and almost perfectly flat. There were parts of the road that were much higher than the highway and parts of it that were much lower. I’m guessing that the outer road was the only road at one time.

I had often run out here during the day, but had never ventured out this far in the dark. There were plenty of times that I had run the last mile out and back in the daytime and had never seen a car going either direction. My thinking was that if there was so little activity during the day, then there was probably no activity at all in the early morning hours. I think the reason for the low usage was because the road didn’t go anywhere. By that I mean it led from one remote intersection to another remote intersection - both being very near the highway. There were no homes or businesses along this section of the road so there was no real reason for anybody to travel it. It would simply be faster to get on the highway at the first intersection and get going since that’s what you’d have to do after driving slowly up and down the hills to the other end anyway. At least those were my suppositions going in.

I had planned to run this route in normal mode a couple of times just to get a feel for the road in the darkness and to see if there actually was any activity in the early morning hours that I would be there. On that first time out, I ran the full length out without seeing anyone, but on the way back I couldn’t resist the urge to try part of it nude. I was running down into the valley between the two big hills when I stopped and peeled everything off. I felt that there was enough distance between me and the top of either hill that I would have time to get dressed if a car came along. I had been running only a minute or two when I began to notice lights growing brighter from the other side of the hill in front of me, but due to the close proximity of the road to the highway, I couldn’t tell which one the car might be on. I kept an eye on the growing brightness and decided I’d better get dressed just to be on the safe side. About that time, the car crested the hill and it was on my road! There was enough distance that I had time to dress (hurriedly, but without panicking) before it got close enough to see me. I had resumed running as though nothing was out of the ordinary by the time the car met me. Whew! Not only was it a problem knowing where the car lights were coming from, but it was also impossible to tell where the sound of a car was coming from. This was going to be one of the riskiest of my nude running escapades.

The next time out, I started earlier. I could see some lightning way off in the distance, which told me a storm was coming, but I thought I would have time to run and get back home well before it got here. When I topped the first hill on the way down into the valley, I decided to go into nude mode again. About the time I reached the bottom of the valley it began to rain – just sprinkles at first but increasing steadily. I love being nude in the rain, but the lightning was growing a little closer and now I was beginning to hear the thunder in the distance, as well. Since I didn’t want to take any chances with lightning, I got dressed, cut my run short, and headed back home. The good news was that I didn’t see any cars this time!

By the next time I headed out there, I felt familiar enough with the situation to go for it. I started out again at the earlier time. When I reached the first intersection, I looked around as I ran through it and across a small bridge just on the other side. When I reached the other side of the bridge, I stopped. Even though I was still fairly close to the lighted intersection, I felt that the railing of the bridge and the warning markers there would break up any view of me that might exist. I quickly undressed and took off up the first hill. I felt a lot more secure once I topped the hill and had it between me and the other lighted part of the road.

Running felt great this morning. The air was warm and slightly humid, but not too hot. As I began running up hill again out of the valley, I noticed the beauty of the silhouettes of the trees against the night sky filled with stars. It sure is hard to get up that early, but it’s worth it once you get out there. I topped the second hill, ran down the other side and was climbing the last smaller hill before reaching the far intersection. I felt particularly vulnerable approaching this intersection because it too was close to the highway and the trees and brush would keep me from seeing a car until it was almost upon me. I continued on in this heightened state of anxious awareness. This intersection too had light spilling into it from the lights near the highway. Just to mark my personal accomplishment of how far I’d come, I decided to tag the stop sign pole there at the edge of the intersection. This would put me in the light and might make me viewable from the highway, but only for a very brief time. I looked and listened for cars on the highway and when the coast seemed clear, I went for it dashing to the stop sign, slapping the pole with my hand, and then dashing right back into the darkness.

Whew! Half way. So far so good. Keep going.

The run back was going smoothly and pleasantly. This would be such a great place to run in my favorite way if only I didn’t have to worry about cars, but that worry was always on my mind as the sounds and lights from cars on the highway constantly fed my senses.

I was now nearing the top of the last hill and thinking that maybe - just maybe - I was going to make it all the way back to the bridge. As I reached the top of the hill to where I could see all the way down and beyond the bridge to the other part of the road, I saw a single car. It wasn’t going fast and I was hoping, hoping, hoping it would turn at the intersection and go out on to the highway. There was no turn signal, but lots of people never signal. It was going slow as it reached the stop sign, but it didn’t stop. And it didn’t turn! As it rolled across the bridge and began climbing the hill toward me, I thought, ‘NO! I’ve come this far and I’m so close to meeting my goal that I can’t let this stop me!’.

All along the road on both sides was tall grass and brush and small trees. Just ahead of me I saw a small tree several feet off the road that I thought would hide me well enough. I sprinted forward and then stepped high through the grass and crouched down low behind the cover of the tree. I could feel the grass against my skin as I hid there anxiously waiting for the car to get there and pass by. As it came closer the lights seemed so bright and I began to panic as I wondered if I was truly hidden well enough. I figured that as long as I remained perfectly still and if the driver wasn’t actually looking for somebody where I was, then I should be OK although I knew that if they stopped and shined a flashlight or something I would be plainly visible.

I waited. The car came closer – and closer – and closer. In the instant that it was right beside me, I felt that I must surely be as exposed as if it were noon. It was so close! I could see that it was a red pick-up and I was thinking that it was the same vehicle I had seen the first time out here. It kept going – not fast – just steady. There was no sign that I had been seen. As the taillights disappeared over the hill I sprang out of hiding and back onto the road and ran fast down to the bridge. I touched the bridge railing with my hand as a sign that the mission had been accomplished and then quickly got dressed and headed home. Whew! That was close. But I did it! This mile of road was mine!

Not content to leave well enough alone, several days later I decided to try it again in hopes that I could run the whole thing without having to dodge any cars. I’m not sure why. I guess I was looking for it to be a pure nude running experience. So everything started off the same, but as I reached a point a little more than halfway down the first hill, I glanced back over my shoulder only to see light growing brighter and brighter on the other side of the hill. As I was looking around me for an escape route, the car crested the top of the hill and was on its way down toward me. This one was coming fast! I jumped into the grass and stepped quickly down into the ditch behind some brush. Almost immediately the car came speeding by. I waited until it had climbed the other hill and disappeared from sight before I came back out on the road and continued my run. What were people doing up this early and what were they doing out here?!

The rest of the way out to the far intersection and most of the way back was uneventful, but as I was starting to climb the last hill before the finish point I began to see lights on the other side of the hill again and they appeared to be growing brighter. Quick - I needed another escape route. By now I was getting too much experience with cars and I knew well before it crested the hill that it was on my road. Without panicking, I stepped into the grass and away from the road toward a pasture fence. There wasn’t much cover for hiding so I was counting on the distance away from the road to keep me hidden from the car. I crouched down low and waited. Unlike the first car, this one wasn’t going very fast. As it came by, it appeared to be the same red pick-up that I had seen the other day. It continued on without any indication that I had been seen. This time I didn’t even wait until it was out of sight before I stepped back out onto the road and resumed my run. I reached the bridge without further incident, dressed, and ran home.

Some time I later, I decided to give it one more shot. The last time had been worse than the first time regarding unexpected cars on my nude running course. Who do they think they are anyway?! So now I was going to get going earlier in hopes of missing them all. I reached the bridge. Look around…sports bra off…look around…shorts off…GO! Up the first hill. Down the first hill. Running up the second hill, I’m thinking about how hot and humid it feels this morning as I try to keep the sweat out of my eyes. All of a sudden I hear the sound of movement just ahead and to the side. It was first in the grass and then crashed through brush away from me. I never saw anything, but it must have been a deer. Whatever it was, it sounded pretty big and fast. I’m not sure which of us was more scared, but I can tell you for sure that it really startled me – my heart was pounding.

I continued on out to the intersection. Knowing it was earlier than usual must have given me an extra boost of boldness, because I spontaneously decided to run through the intersection and onto the road farther on. The intersection received a certain amount of light from the lights on the highway so after looking and not seeing any activity on the highway, I went for it. I sprinted through the intersection and on down the road that would dead end not too far ahead. I hadn’t gone very many feet before I realized how vulnerable I was out here. There was no cover of any kind on either side of the road and the highway itself was in full view although I didn’t think any of the car lights would pick me up, but I wasn’t sure. I turned around, sprinted through the intersection again after watching the highway, and began my one-mile return.

The return was uneventful. I was expecting the deer to scare me again, but it was not to be seen or heard. As I topped the last hill and saw the bridge at the bottom, I was anxious to complete my mission. There had been no cars and I wanted to get this done before any showed up. I found myself picking up the pace in anticipation. Then I was at the bridge. Done! It was clear in all directions so I stood there for just a minute to revel in my accomplishment. All the way out and all the way back - no cars - no hiding. Two miles plus of nude running on a public road. Whew! I was glad that I had accomplished what I had set out to do, but sad that this wasn’t working out as a good place for nude running. There was just too much anxiety involved in constantly watching ahead and behind for cars. It took too much of the freedom and joy out of it. Oh well, it’s fun to keep looking.