Hiking and Skinny Dipping in NC

So, I got to experience my first nude hike this past weekend. My wife and I drove west to the mountains of North Carolina. We didn't really have any specific plans other than checking out a cabin that we might want to rent in a few weeks. After taking a look at the cabin, we drove to a nearby trail in the Pisgah National Forest. The trail head was way back on a dirt road and was very remote.
We passed only a couple of cars on our way back and saw some people swimming in a creek, but we could tell there was no one interested in the trail that we were headed to. So we park and off come my clothes immediately. My wife laughed at my eagerness as this was my first real outdoor nudist experience.
Unfortunately, we ran into a couple of problems. 1) The trail, since it was so remote and not used much, was pretty grown up with vegetation. And 2) we had not bought insectrepellent, and the gnats were out in force. So that hike lasted all of about 15 minutes. But even with those problems, the feeling of being out under the sun in nature nude was really great. So...
I was determined to experience that again. We drove to nearby Hot Springs, NC and hiked about a mile on the Appalachian trail. We saw several people on the trail, most of which were there to swim in the French Broad river. Incidentally, we had on our swimsuits and had towels in the pack. As we made our way back I decided to take off my clothes and hike back nude. My wife walked (clothed) in front of me and I had a towel over my shoulder so that if we saw anyone, I could quickly wrap up and just look like I just finished a swim.
Later that evening we went for a short hike to swim in the nearby Big Laurel Creek. Since it was getting late in the evening, other swimmers started to leave. Once we were alone at our swimming hole, I took off my swimsuit and skinny dipped for a few minutes and then hiked all the way back to the car and drove back to Asheville nude.
At dinner, we overheard the couple behind me telling our waiter about a nearby place called "Skinny Dip Falls". SKINNY DIP FALLS? Must go! So, the next morning we got up and drove straight to Skinny Dip Falls (mile marker 417 on the Blue Ridge Parkway). My internet research prepared me that it was a popular swimming hole and skinny dipping was almost certainly not a possibility. When we got to the trail head, there were already several cars parked. Oh well, there would be no skinny dipping this time. Or would there? When we got to the falls, I was shocked to see NO ONE THERE! So I did get to skinny dip (my current profile pic is from Skinny Dip Falls). The water was pretty cold but who's complaining? Hiked back nude and covered with my towel when we saw someone coming. A little risky but it worked pretty well.
After that, we drove back to Hot Springs to hike along Big Laurel Creek. It was very crowded, so we were not able to hike nude or skinny dip (except for one brief moment when the coast was clear). But the hike was very pleasant and there are some really great places to swim.
That afternoon, we went into Hot Springs and paid for an hour in the hot tub at the Hot Springs Spa and Resort. Really, really great! Outdoors, nude, right on the French Broad river. It was a really great weekend.
Sorry for the long post. I considered breaking it up into different posts, but I know how much I enjoy reading other's first experiences, so...
For the record, I am not suggesting that anyone hike nude on crowded trails or skinny dip in popular swimming holes, but with the help of my wife and some good fortune, it worked for me.
If anyone has other suggestions for outdoor nude recreation in North Carolina, please share your experiences.

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