Hippie Hollow Clothing Optional Nudist: News

Bummer Summer for San Onofre's Nude Sunbathers

Naturist attorney Allen Baylis loses latest round in court but vows to press on.
As last summer was winding down, the Naturist Action Committee scored a legal victory in their fight to retain the right for nude sunbathers to go au natural on San Onofre State Beach's traditionally clothing-optional Trail 6 strand.

As this summer heats up, the committee and local nudists are reeling from a legal defeat that could force them to cover up on the same 1,000-foot stretch of sand.

Cindy Carcamo reports over at the Orange County Register site that the 4th District Court of Appeal upheld a new policy implemented by Arnold Schwarzenegger's state Department of Parks and Recreation to outlaw the decades-long practice of going in the buff on the secluded beach that abuts Camp Pendleton land.

Allen Baylis, the Huntington Beach nudist, onetime city council candidate and attorney who previously laid out the Naturist Action Committee case for the Weekly, tells Carcamo he will appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Fell ruled in August 2008 that the parks department's nudity ban, which was to be enforced beginning that Labor Day weekend, violated a policy to look the other way--unless their was a formal complaint by a member of the public--that had extended back to Jerry Brown's reign as governor in the mid-1970s.

But appellate justices bought the argument of the department's current regime, which had complained that policy was enacted with little debate.

It remains unclear when park rangers will start citing nekkid beachgoers.

OC Weekly

Sun Jun 28, 2009

Naked man explains Ashland escapades

Ashland's self-proclaimed naked man said he didn't mean to enter a school zone when children were present last month, but he isn't sorry he strolled around in the buff in other parts of the city.

Tony Cooper, who is 66 — not in his 70s as police previously said — left Ashland about three weeks ago, after spending about the same amount of time visiting the city, he said.

Cooper, a retired computer programmer, was not breaking any laws by wearing only tennis shoes, police said. However, his actions upset many locals, leading some to call for a ban on public nudity in the city.

Oregon does not have any laws restricting nudity, but the city requires people to cover their genitals in the downtown area and in public parks.

Some parents and other community members were especially concerned after Cooper was spotted near Walker Elementary School on May 29 as children were walking home from school.

Cooper said he didn't realize he was near a school and didn't intend for the kids there to see him.

"That was my mistake," he said. "I messed up completely."

Still, Cooper thinks locals overreacted when they found out some children had seen him naked, because he's "not a pervert," he said.

"People in Ashland seem to be very paranoid about kids," he said. "I think they should all send their kids to a nudist resort or have naked day in Ashland where everyone is naked. Then all of those hang-ups would disappear."

Cooper, who used to travel to project sites as a computer programmer, has continued wandering the country since he retired last year, and will probably return to Ashland, he said on the phone from a hotel room in Laughlin, Nev., where he was staying to watch horseracing.

Cooper has been a nudist for decades and has lived at nudist resorts in California and Arizona, he said. Prior to coming to Ashland, he was staying in the Bay Area in order to participate in San Francisco's Bay to Breakers 12K race — in which he ran naked, he said.

"To be able to walk down a street naked, it's exhilarating and I enjoy the freedom," he said. "Plus it's thoroughly amusing to get people's reactions."

In order to ease parents' concerns, if Cooper comes back to Ashland, he will consider limiting his naked escapades to after 10 p.m., when few children will be out, he said.

The nudist would like to return to the city to try to find someone special to walk around town naked with, he said.

"I think if I did it again, I would have a sign saying 'Wife Wanted,'" he said. "I'm looking for wife number four. If I get a new wife out of being naked in Ashland, that's probably a wife that's going to work out."

Ashland Daily Tidings

Former mayor in Georgia arrested for nudity

A former Gainesville mayor was arrested last weekend on a charge of public indecency.

Mark Musselwhite, who left the Gainesville City Council in 2006 for an unsuccessful bid for the state Senate, was arrested Saturday night at a National Forest campground in Rabun County, according to Robin Hill, spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources.

The Warwoman Area Manager for the forest arrested Musselwhite for allegedly being naked at a campsite. Musselwhite was taken to the Rabun County Detention Center and charged with public indecency.

Reached Thursday night, Musselwhite told The Times that he and his attorney would release a statement in the coming days, but refused to say whether he planned to fight the charges.

"We really don’t need to make any comments at this time," Musselwhite said. "...We’ll be coming out with a statement that will be clear and have an opportunity to clarify the situation."

Musselwhite served on the Gainesville City Council from 2000 to 2006. In 2008, he told The Times that he had considered running against Tom Oliver for Hall County Commission chairman, but decided against it.

The 2006 state Senate race, which Musselwhite lost to Sen. Lee Hawkins, was the most expensive race involving two Hall County candidates.

Gainesville Times

Tue Jun 23, 2009

Nude North America: Skinny dippers dash for a world record

VANCOUVER - It's happening across the continent, but if you're in Metro Vancouver and don't haven't anything planned for July 11, why not surrey on down to Surrey, get naked and take a plunge.

Don't fret, you'll be with a batch of other unclothed folks featuring their naughty bits and the only finger pointing will be at the prude fool who insists on wearing a bathing suit.

And if you see some Englishman downing a dark brew and counting, well, whatever you count at such events, he could well be the man from Guinness, judging whether you and your barebummed ilk are worth of making it in his record book.

The whole shebang is given the official handle "The AANR Largest Skinny-dip Across North America" says a press release from nudist central. (Actually it's from a list of nudist organizations too long to mention.)

But they're serious about stripping down: "In conformance with the stated rules of The Guinness World RecordsTM Organization, all participants to be counted must be completely nude during the skinnydip." So don't be hasty with that pasty, or you risk being counted out. One imagines the scandal: "Hey, you with the jockstrap! Get outta the water!"

The press release recognizes some folks might be shy parading their parts: "Efforts will be made to accommodate first-time skinnydippers …."

Hey, let me help you with that clasp...

The exhortation to bare all concludes with a sly reference to someone dipping into the Viagara before the chilly swim: "As with all Guinness World RecordsTM events, all record attempts will be witnessed by a designated 'member in standing' of the local community."

Who's in charge here? Oh, it's the guy over there with the...

So saddle on down to Crescent Rock Beach in South Surrey on the Saturday in question and you could be part of a world record.

To get the skinny on this continent-wide abnegation of garments, go to the American Association for Nude Recreation website, or for a more local take, try the Skinnydipper Recreation Club website.

Sorry I can't be there. I wear a wetsuit in the shower.

Vancouver Sun

Sun Jun 21, 2009

Nude hiking buffs ready to shed as solstice nears

HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Every year on the first day of summer, a few outdoor enthusiasts nationwide expose virtually all of themselves to insects, scrapes and thorns for the pleasure of bonding with nature au naturel.

They call it Naked Hiking Day.

"There's no way to explain it until you experience it," said Andrew Williams, 28, a machinist from Warren, Pa., who first hiked naked six or seven years ago. "It's not about being lewd and crude and all that. It's just enjoyment."

This year, the summer solstice falls on a weekend , this Sunday. Father's Day.

Hikers who prefer clothes are not happy.

Rangers and police warn that people caught outdoors in the altogether could be charged with indecent exposure. Managers of the Appalachian Trail, where the tradition is sometimes observed by those trekking from Georgia to Maine, also discourage nudity.

"It's just rude," said Brian King, spokesman for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. "People are out there hiking with their kids and families, and there are Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts."

Law enforcement authorities say they see so few nude hikers, even on Naked Hiking Day, that they don't consider it a big problem.

"It's rare, probably because we have a lot of remote territory out there where one would not be detected," said Capt. Woody Lipps of Virginia's George Washington and Jefferson national forests, which contain parts of the Appalachian Trail.

Ranger Tammy McCorkle, of the state-managed South Mountain Recreation Area in western Maryland, said she hadn't heard of Naked Hiking Day until last year, when visitors reported seeing a group of naked men on the Appalachian Trail. By the time an officer caught up with them, all 10 were clothed; eight received warnings for disorderly conduct after acknowledging they had been nude.

"We're aware it happens on the summer solstice day," McCorkle said. "With through-hikers , people who hike the trail all in one season , it's kind of like an unofficial tradition for them."

Nude hiking is a European tradition, too, not that it's any more welcome there. Voters in Appenzell, Switzerland, passed legislation in April banning naked hiking after dozens of mostly German tourists started ambling through their region wearing only hiking boots and socks.

Nude-hiking advocates say they aren't out to startle people.

"I go out of my way to avoid being seen," said Shane Steinkamp, 40, a New Orleans software engineer who blogs about his naked hikes in Mississippi's Homochitto and De Soto national forests on his Web site, theplacewithnoname.com.

"I value the freedom to be able to walk in freedom, but I also accept the responsibility that I should not surprise folks who may take my enjoyment of nature in the wrong way," Steinkamp wrote in an e-mail.

He cited as inspiration passages from Henry David Thoreau, naturalist John Muir and backpacking guru Colin Fletcher that suggest nudity enhances one's appreciation of nature. Steinkamp said he started hiking naked as a boy after skinny dipping on a hot summer day.

"I soon discovered the joys of being a natural animal in my natural habitat," he wrote.

For Williams, the path to nakedness in the woods started at home in rural northwestern Pennsylvania.

"I would walk around the house like that, and walking inside the house turned into walking outside the house, and then short little adventures through the woods. So the next thing I know, I've got a backpack strapped on and I'm walking down the trail," he said.

Williams said he mainly hikes the North Country National Scenic Trail, which stretches from New York to North Dakota.

Both men said they don shoes or boots and a hat if conditions warrant. Sunscreen and insect repellant are also recommended, although Jonathan Jones, a 33-year-old dental hygienist from Waynesboro, Va., said there's an advantage to hiking naked in a buggy area: wood ticks on the skin are easier to spot.

On the Net:

Hiking Naked: http://www.hikingnaked.com

Appalachian Trail Conservancy: http://www.appalachiantrail.org

Philly Online

Mon Jun 29, 2009