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Date: 2004-08-18 08:44:00.0
Difficulty:
Number of People Encountered: 0-10 ppl
Recommendation: Highly
This represents note only a useful and informative posting of a rewarding hiking experience of mine, but also a question regarding the legality of a certain aspect of this experience:
I have been hiking on the Cumberland Trail between Signal Point and Edwards Point for several years now and have recently extended some of my daily and weekend hikes to include sections beyond Edwards Point to the North such as Mushroom Rock, North Suck Creek & Suck Creek proper and the Prentice Cooper State Park area on Suck Creek Mountain. I have always been one to enjoy a good skinny-dipping session in a cool, clean mountain creek to cool myself off after having hiked anywhere from 2 to 12 miles in the heat of the summer (who hasn't ever thought of doing that before?). Just this summer during one particularly "hot" hike past Edwards Point, I decided that it was just too hot for even the swim shorts and T-shirt that I was wearing so I took them off, tied my shirt to my day-pack and began to hike nude for the first time in my life. I held my shorts conveniently in one hand for the duration of my 8 or so mile hike down to North Suck Creek just in case I encountered anyone else along the way. Needless to say, I was not confronted by anyone for the rest of my hike that day. The experience was nerve-wracking and exilerating at the same time, but the feeling of hiking through the beautiful mountain woods wearing only my boots and a grin from ear to ear (and my back pack, of course) was one that escapes description - "liberating" might serve as an almost adequate word to describe the overall feeling! Once I arrived at North Suck and swam around a bit to wash of any trail grime from my body, I hiked the entire way back to Signal Point in the nude and did not spot a single soul on the trail.
My question is this. What legal ramifications might there be for someone like myself (a 38 yr old white male) hiking alone, completely (and harmlessly) nude on Tennessee State public property along the Cumberland Trail? Say, for instance, someone was hiking down the trail in the opposite direction and, seeing me in my state of total undress, was in some way offended by my appearance or perhaps felt threatened, for whatever reasons, and calls the police to report the incident. Is there a crime that has been committed in this theoretical situation? Could I be arrested or ticketed in this example under any existing Tennessee state law?
Please let me know if this constitutes a crime of any sort, since I intend to continue nude-hiking on this trail as well as any others where it seems appropriate, but would really rather avoid any legal hassles along the way.
Please email me at the yahoo.com address posted if you have any input on this subject at all - good, bad or indifferent...
Thanks and happy hiking to all,
RealHeavyD
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East Tennessee Region - There are over 30 State Parks and Historical Monuments, the Cherokee National Forest and he Great Smoky Mountains National Park to visit in this travel region. All recreational activities are within a days drive of Knoxville.
Tennessee State Parks - Tennessee offers over 50 State Parks located throughout the state. These parks provide opportunity for a wide variety of recreational activities from visiting historical sites to whitewater rafting.
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