Autumn, 2018

The seasonal change from Summer into Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere isn’t as obvious or pronounced as it appears in the above image. Overnight, the grasses didn’t suddenly fade as they did in the picture but like it or not, the seasons have started to transition from one into the other. Before the passage of many more days, we’ll all begin to notice the thinning of the foliage and the dropping of the outdoor temperatures. The reality is that the days for outside nudity are seriously numbered.

Soon, the leaves will change colors and then fall from the trees. irrefutable proof that the season of Autumn and a drop in the outdoor temperatures have finally arrived. Our days of being bare and free outside are declining. Before we make the transition into the restricted confines inside, it’s best to plan to at least one decent outing to experience the pleasure of natural nakedness that will last us until next Springtime.

Aaron and I have already begun planning for our Autumn hike this year. We usually host several other couples on a parkland trail walk the first weekend in October. The weather is generally conducive to a walk through nature as long as it isn’t too early in the day. Otherwise, it’s just too chilly to comfortably hike without shivering. In the above picture, Aaron photographed my backside leading our hiking route. Neither one of us can recall the year this photo was taken (it does show an older backpack).

We’re trying to think of ways to make our hike different this year. We’ve followed the same format for the past several years and even though no one has complained, we don’t want it to become too boring that friends don’t want to participate. At least the threat of a meteorological disaster for this year’s activity has diminished now that Hurricane Florence has left our general area. That definitely would have made this an event to remember! Naked men flying through the skies! 

That wouldn’t be such an awful sight to behold, unless of course, it was one of us being hurled through the sky not knowing where (or if) we’ll ever land again! Seriously, I am not making light of the recent series of tornadoes that appeared within the Commonwealth of Virginia two weeks ago. However, before I veer too far off my topic…Author’s Note: A friend of mine once made the following observation after reading a blog post: “One may cover a naked man, but one can never cover-up a gay one.”

Now, back to my original thought process…

Over this past week, we spent quite a bit of time brainstorming different ideas to add to our usual Autumn hike. It isn’t as though we sat around and did nothing but consider activities the entire five days. We were by no means idle and discussed our considerations while driving to and from our errands, appointments and socializing. The first weekend in October is fast approaching so the time to procrastinate has passed!

After several text messages and emails exchanged with my identical twin brother, Alex, Aaron and I are both favoring the idea of adding a “scavenger hunt” contest to our bare hike this year. Each couple will need to compete individually and no one is permitted to leave the trail to collect (scavenge) the required items. These are the only two guidelines that we’ve developed thus far. But there’s still time to include others should more be necessary.

We’ve got two weeks to create and put the final finishes to our plan. This allows us some time to email the plans to those we’ve invited and ask for their thoughts. It’s an informal process and all of us are bare buddies and friends. It’s not like we’re awarding cash prizes; it’s just a bare afternoon hike in the wilds of Northern Virginia!

This past Saturday, the last official day of Summer, to celebrate having resolved our dilemma, Aaron and I took a road trip down to Richmond, Virginia, the capitol city of our Commonwealth. Saturday was the date of their annual GLBTQ Pride Celebration. For some reason, Richmond always observes its Pride event in September (the last Saturday of Summer) instead of June. Whatever! No one bothered to consult me or solicit my advice. Anyway, we drove the 100 miles to the festivity (we were both shirtless in the car for the commute). Aaron had received some form of alert that the highway law enforcement were strictly enforcing the speed limits on the roadways this weekend. So we had to abandon our preferred driving attire, completely bare, and opt for the half-nude costume variation.

A small detail, I admit but we wanted to err on the side of caution rather than risk. As my spouse was driving us and knowing his habit of disregarding speed limits, it seemed a prudent move on our part. Unfortunately we had to wear clothing for Pride! We did pick up a walking tour map at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources booth and were able to enjoy an hour long walking tour of the central city to see almost a dozen sights in the area that feature prominently in the City’s GLBTQ cultural legacy – an extra bonus for our day trip!

Naked hugs!

Roger/ReNude Pride