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A Long Story About a Long Walk.
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A Long Story About a Long Walk. Since I knew I was going to have to leave Seattle for a few , I decided to make best advantage of the time I have left in the Northwest. One goal I've had for a while is to go from Sand Point on the east side of Seattle to Golden Gardens on the west. That's 11 miles by the Burke-Gilman Trail, and of course I want to do it in My Favorite Clothes. pretty sure not going to be able to do it in one shot, so filling in the few parts of the trail I haven't been naked on, and that includes the Missing Link: a mile and a half of city streets, some quite busy, with no bike trail. One mile of that runs primarily along Shilshole Avenue, which gets several hundred cars per hour. No way was I going to walk along this road on the right side: for safety's sake, I would walk facing oncoming traffic. I parked down by the drydock and started to strip, but there were quite a few people staying put there and I really don't want people to notice which car I get out of. Walking around naked attracts attention and makes it pretty clear that there's some way to get into your car (where could I have hidden that key?). So I moved up to Shilshole Avenue and found a back-in parking spot. Perfect! I can strip without being noticed and by the time under way no one will know whence I came. It's funny – once I've gotten started perfectly comfortable, but I can still be a bit nervous at the beginning – so I sat in my car for several minutes until there was a gap in the traffic, then got out, locked the car, and headed across the road with about an hour of daylight left. The sidewalk is hidden behind lots of parked cars, so I could probably make the next 3/4 mile nearly unnoticed. I'd walked barely a quarter mile when I crossed a street to a small parking lot, two men and a woman were walking toward the place I was headed for. At our closest approach passed she said, “What's this! Is this guy naked?” One of the men said, “welcome to Fremont... Ballard.” “Is that allowed,” she asked me. I stopped and turned to answer. “Yep.” “Could I do it?” “Sure.” I explained that nudity by itself is not unlawful, and the kinds of acts that would be illegal. She was fascinated. One of the men asked, “how much do you do this?” “When this walk is done I should be just over sixty miles." "Sixty miles today?" "Sixty miles total of many shorter walks over the course of several .” "Many walks over several ," he repeated. He seemed quite amazed. There was a little more talk with all of them before they continued where they were going. We spent about 2-3 minutes standing on that street corner away from parked cars, having a fine conversation. After that I continued on my way. One block later, the sidewalk and parked cars ran out and I was left to walk on the shoulder. One mile into my adventure, when I reached the Burke Gilman trail where it heads away from the road, a woman walking the other way said to me, “You're early for Solstice.” “I can't make it this year. I won't be there.” “Way to keep the spirit!” There were many, smaller exchanges, from the usual “what's up” to “Fremont!” People here love being here and someone walking or riding naked reminds them why. I enjoy being such an instrument of happiness. Nearing my turn-around point at Gas Works Park a little over 3 miles distant the trail gave me a choice and I chose the sidewalk along 34th street across from the bars. There were many cheers. The crossing light where 34th meets Stone changed just as I arrived and the half dozen people waiting to cross did so as I did. I arrived at Gas Works just as it was getting dark. The cool grass felt good on my feet which were a little sore from three miles walking barefoot on various rough, paved surfaces, and the lights of Seattle over Lake Union were beautiful as always. I stayed on the side of Kite Hill for a while, then headed back. It was a Tuesday night, so I didn't expect a lot of people even as I wound my way through the streets of Fremont before returning to the trail. I enjoyed walking nearly alone, seeing only a few dozen people along the way. On the trail again, I encountered several people and had pleasant, momentary interactions. Reaching Shilshole again I heard calls from across the road. “What are you doing?” “ just out for a walk.” “Great! My father told me being naked isn't illegal in Seattle.” “He's right. It isn't.” I continued the remaining half mile to my car and, passing it, went down to the dock. It was good to walk nude out on to the dock for the first time. I looked across the shipyard at the Wizard (of Deadliest Catch fame) and after some time headed back up the dock and up the road that leads to it. More than 50 yards ahead of me, someone on a bicycle shouted, “naked man! Hey, naked man!” Turns out it was the woman who had told me what her father had told her, and she and her boyfriend wanted to talk. So we walked back up to the road, and crossing it stood in front of a little studio called “Push/Pull” for about 20 minutes talking about public nudity, the law, and why I couldn't go anywhere with them naked if that place served alcohol. There were many cheers and shouts from passing cars, and a few happily surprised comments from people who walked by. She asked for a photo and I agreed. When our talking was done I returned to my car and drove to Gas Works. Arriving there I wasted no time in hopping out of the car and walking the 100 yards to the loo, which by this time I rather needed. I thought I'd walk around the park a bit before returning to my car but the wind was cold so I walked back to my car and was on my way. Funny thing about dark parking lots: there are often quite a few lights aimed horizontally right at you. I couldn't see who all was on the other side of them, but I sure started a few conversations! I passed by the Fremont Troll and found no parking available, but maybe 50-60 people in that little park. College from Seattle Pacific, I think. They were having a somewhat rowdy good time so I parked my car about two blocks away and walked up the steep hill that is Troll Avenue amid the many people coming and going. Arriving at the top of the hill I simply walked by the edge of the crowd to climb the troll. I didn't get far before a cheer arose. I climbed up, sat on the troll's shoulder and they challenged me to slide down. As I slid, many cameras rolled and many questions were asked and answered. You'd think a bunch of college had never seen a naked person before! I posed for a few shots on the troll and climbed down to talk to people. One of them asked her friend to get a photo of her with me. We stood side by side, arm around each other's waist, and the picture was taken. I know there were several others but I'll never know how many. I was offered a beer, which I refused because “ driving.” After a few minutes I walked back to my car and drove home. Six and a half miles. Two hours and ten minutes, plus 20 minutes standing around talking on a busy street corner and four blocks to party with the Troll. I love Seattle, especially Fremont and Ballard. |
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