19 Comments
User's avatar
Kevin O's avatar

Thank you for sharing this wonderful photo essay. What a lovely and inspiring experience. Regarding the amusing comment about being a bootist, I am a fellow bootist and when I’m at home I am a sockist. I’ll take comfort and practicality over being a purist any day. Shout out to all the “booties” out there 😊

Expand full comment
Thomas McCroskey's avatar

Thank you for the story. I enjoyed reading it. However, it reminded me of an old question I have frequently had: "Are you really a nudist if you wear shoes (or in this case boots)?" I have joked before about calling myself a "shoeist" because I often still wear shoes when I wear nothing else. My feet need the protection. Thus, should we change the name of the group to "The Bootist Community" (or "The Bootism Community")?

Expand full comment
Au Naturel's avatar

One of the earliest pieces of clothing humans created was footwear. Sandals and moccasins long predated any sense of shame about nudity.

Some people like to go barefoot and build up callouses on their feet.. Those callouses are useless against nails and broken glass. The process of building up enough callous is slow. When I was a boy I'd go barefoot all summer long. Never got to the point where sharp sticks, Legos, hot sand, and sand burrs didn't hurt to step on.

If 3 months as a young boy who weighed half as much and exercised twice as much wasn't enough to ruggedize my feet, as an old fart I'm not going to start now.

Expand full comment
Crimson's avatar

Wow!! Idk why I'm surprised since you hike so often it's only natural to know so much wildlife xD it looks so fun! Glad to see you all didn't have any trouble but too bad it was kind of cold

Expand full comment
Abhijit's avatar

One more beautiful hiking experience with lovely images of flowers, animals & scenic nature. The only difference which I noticed this time was that you were not alone but with your few more naturist friends, which may have added delight to your hiking experience.

Expand full comment
Tom Roark's avatar

Lots of beautiful landscape pictures.

Expand full comment
Ken Carlisle's avatar

Please add a summary of this freehike at Naked VIPs: https://mewe.com/join/nakedvips

Everyone who wants to discover naturist places/activities in your area, or find naturist places and people as you travel, can join of course.

Expand full comment
sassycoupleok's avatar

Another wonderful adventure fully supported by beautiful photos. It's nice that all are willing to openly share their nudity here as well.

Expand full comment
Au Naturel's avatar

Always try to get at least a verbal permission at the time pictures were taken.

Expand full comment
sassycoupleok's avatar

Absolutely and I'm sure those in your group were quite open to that. What a wonderful setting for it.

Expand full comment
Emika Oka's avatar

I'm curious about the puffball mushroom

Expand full comment
Au Naturel's avatar

When I was a kid I ate them. They have to be young. The flesh is slightly spongy. I don't recommend anyone eat any mushroom without personal instruction from someone who knows the topic and has eaten them before. Picking mushrooms was quite popular where I grew up.

Expand full comment
Emika Oka's avatar

I love mushroom but it's from the supermarket. Do you still pick them?

I remember reading the news about a woman that poisoned her family with wild mushroom

Expand full comment
Au Naturel's avatar

Not in a long time. I don't see a lot of mushrooms out here I recognize. I won't eat a mushroom just because I saw it in a book. I learned from my adopted father who spent 30 years in the woods picking them. If they were poisonous he'd have been dead before the Great Depression. Also don't pick anything that is easily confused with a similar species. I am definitely not a mycologist.

The most common we ate was the morel. They need to be cooked.

One time my cousin brought a puffball to school that was huge. I remember it being as big as a basketball, but I was very young and might have exaggerated the size. On our way home from school we snacked on it raw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHTrjrrIu60

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv2hqGhYuYU

Expand full comment
Emika Oka's avatar

I saw a friend that got a huge monkey head mushroom in Oregon. My limited knowledge of mushroom is if it's colorful like The Smurf type would be poisonous. Another is that some mushroom must be fully cooked, learn about it in anime...LOL. Not sure which type though. So I tend to overcooked all the mushrooms

Expand full comment
Au Naturel's avatar

Morels need to be cooked or you could have GI tract issues. Or not. I've eaten them raw with no ill effect but they taste much better cooked with something.

Many poisonous mushrooms give you really bad symptoms similar to food poisoning. The poisonous members of the Amanita family kill you by destroying your liver. Not all Amanitas are poisonous but I treat anything that I don't know well as poisonous regardless.

Amanita muscaria (aka fly agaric) is a hallucinogenic mushroom. Probably won't kill an adult but it is enough to kill children. Not to be confused by Psylocibin, which is the popular hallucinogenic "magic mushroom" or "Spanish fly" which is a purported aphrodisiac made from a blister beetle.

Expand full comment
Emika Oka's avatar

You are sure well versed in this

Expand full comment