Lake Castaic Nude Hiking

It looks like everyone has forgotten about this group. I have been as guilty as everyone else in not posting anything.
I live in the San Fernando Valley But work in Valencia.
Many years ago I found a fire service road near Lake Castaic that is good for nude hiking
The trail head, and only access to this location, is located off of Lake Hughes Road. There is room for two cars to park off the road and unlimited parking along the side of the road. Even though I normally go hiking on the weekend, it is rare to see anyone else there. Over the years I have gotten into the habit that as long as there are no other cars there I will start my hike nude. If there are any cars there I will start out in shorts until passing the other hikers then continue on nude. There is always the possibility that someone could be coming down the trail as you are hiking out, but most times you can see them in advance and cover up before you pass them.
This has always been the case for me up until a few weeks ago. I was returning to the car to get some items I had forgotten when around a corner ahead of me there was a man walking three dogs off leash. The dogs seemed to be excited to be out for a walk and though normally I would slip on my shorts in a situation like this it seemed best that I not make any sudden moves so just stood there with my hands at my sides as he walked past. He was so focused on keeping the dogs under control that
I did not have much of an opportunity to talk to him. After picking up the items I had forgotten in the car I returned to the trail. Since I knew someone was on the trail and even though he had already seen me nude I felt it would be better to have my shorts on so I could explain why I had been nude.
We met about the same spot on the trail as before except going in opposite directions. this time the dogs were tired so
I had an opportunity to talk to him as be both paused on our hikes. I explained that I am a nudist and prefer to hike nude but did not want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. He replied "no worries". We talked for a couple more minutes and I again asked to make sure he had no problems if I was nude. As he turned to leave I stepped out of my shorts and continued on my nude hike.
A week later found me again hiking nude. This time I had been out for a couple of hours and was just starting back when in the distance I saw a couple just entering the trail head. From my location to the trail head was about a 25 minute hike. In the past I have always put on my shorts whenever I know there is someone on the trail. This time though I wanted to see first if I had the nerve to stay naked and secondly how they would react to my nudity. Feeling a little nervous I continued with my hike and about 15 minutes later the couple came into view. Again they were far enough away that I could have covered up but I had made
up my mind that this time I was going to stay nude. As we passed I said I had not expected anyone else on the trail and hoped they were not bothered by my nudity. they replied that it was no big deal and that they did not see anything wrong with it. I also told them that I was not finished with my hike and that we would probably pass each other again and if they wanted I would put on my shorts. Again they said I could be nude if I wanted to be. We did pass each other about 30 minutes later and this time stopped for a longer chat about the weather and how low the water level was in the lake.
Yesterday (8/31/14) I had to go into work for a short time and since it is close to Lake Castaic I was able to go for another hike. When I arrived there, their were already two other cars parked in the lot. As in the past, whenever there are cars already there, I started my hike in shorts and then planned that after passing everyone I would continue on nude. This time however I
was about one hundred yards into the hike when I suddenly decided that this was the day I would hike nude even though I knew there were several people on the trail. Removing my shorts I tucked them into the strap of my cooler and continued on my way.
About 15 minutes into my hike I see a single hiker coming towards me. He is obviously uncomfortable seeing me nude because he stops well before I get near him and goes to the far side of the trail. I take my shorts and in one hand hold them in
front of me. I tell him that with the heat (it was in the low 90's) hiking nude is more comfortable and that I hoped he was not offended. His only response was a shake of his head. I then asked him if there were others with him and how they might feel about me being nude. He said there were two others with him and he did not know how they would feel. It was only a couple of minutes later that the other two came into sight. I still had my shorts in my hand so decided to again hold them in front of me as we passed each other. This time the reaction was a little more positive with both returning my greeting as we passed.
Only about a minute later I see a group of 4 men further up the trail coming towards me. Since I still had the shorts in my hand I again held them in front of me as we passed. Apparently they had all climbed down to the lake and were returning after a day of fishing. The response was mixed with the lead guy virtually ignoring me, the next two nodding there heads in acknowledgment and the last man saying he had no problem with seeing me nude.
Since there were two cars in the lot and this was the second group that I passed I felt comfortable putting the shorts away in my cooler. I continued my hike heading down to a fork in the trail that overlooks the lake. To my surprise there is a man standing there looking towards the lake. He was not aware of my approach. This time I decided not to cover up at all to see how he would react. As I got closer I made a noise to attract his attention. Turning he was obviously surprised to see a nude hiker but responds positively to my greeting. As I walked past him the other two he was waiting for came up the trail. Since they were carrying fishing equipment, obviously they were part of the group of four I had passed earlier. The lead guy kept his head turned away but the guy coming up behind smiled so I asked him how the fishing was and he responded with a laugh and said it was very good.
Over the years I have been nude in many locations and been seen by thousands of people. Almost all of thoselocations however were recognized clothing optional areas. One major exception is the World Naked Bike Ride through Downtown Los Angeles.
But in those rides I am one of several hundred nude people so it is really no big deal. I believe that these Lake Castaic encounters, even though the area is not known as a clothing optional area, show that as long as you act normally most people can at least except seeing someone nude without going into hysterics.

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