Nude hikers set to celebrate Naked Hiking Day tomorrow

New York, June 20 (ANI): Nature lovers in America are excited to celebrate Naked Hiking Day-the annual ritual in which people venture out into the woods without their clothes on.

The Naked Hiking Day is typically observed on the first day of summer, and this year it is coinciding with Father's Day (June 21).

"There's no way to explain it until you experience it. It's not about being lewd and crude and all that. It's just enjoyment," The New York Daily News quoted Andrew Williams, 28, a machinist from Warren, Pa, and eager participant in Naked Hiking Day, as saying.

However, nude participants should not only be careful about insects, scrapes and thorns, but they also have to be aware of rangers and police.

Rangers and police have warned that people caught outdoors in the altogether could be charged with indecent exposure.

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

But those who are in support of the naked hiking have claimed that 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 hikes in Mississippi's Homochitto national forest.

Managers of the Appalachian Trail, where people who trek from Georgia to Maine often observe the tradition, have also discouraged nudity.

Law enforcement authorities have said that 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.

Experienced naked hikers have said that they wear shoes or boots and a hat if conditions warrant.

Although, they have recommended that hikers should use sunscreen and insect repellents. (ANI)