Sorry, Dad: Sunday Is Nude Hiking Day

Some hikers will ditch their clothes to celebrate the Summer Solstice this weekend

If you're planning to celebrate Father's day on Sunday with a mellow hike, you might see some unexpected skin: Sunday is also Nude Hiking Day, when backpackers-in-the-buff celebrate the Summer Solstice nationwide by taking to the trails en masse, sans clothes.

While this isn't a mainstream movement, we can't just blame it on the Euros, who totally dig hiking up the alps in nothing but Scarpas. The tradition has gained traction in some areas, especially on long trails like the Appalachian. Fanatics say there's no better way to feel at one with nature than by busting up switchbacks butt-nekkid.

"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."

I'll say. Of course, most locals and law enforcement officials are less than stoked, worrying that the impressionable eyes of hiking Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts could be singed forever by the arresting, universal beauty of the naked human form slogging along in a pair of Chacos.

Nude hiking advocates say they go out of their way to avoid those repressed by the tyranny of waterproof-breathable fibers, knowing their arcane ways could shock and awe the locals into a spontaneous orgy. But they do note that beyond a primal connection to the natural world, nude hiking does have practical advantages:

Wood ticks on the skin are easier to spot.

Okay, nudies, you almost had me until you had to bring up the ticks. Happy Father's Day.

Do you like hiking in the nude? What will you do to celebrate Nude Hiking Day? Overshare in the comments section below.

—Ted Alvarez

Nude hiking buffs ready to shed as solstice draws near (AP)