Date: 2004-06-21
From: Route 311 near Catawba, VA

To: Backdraft Bong Ramen
Miles today: 10.2

On this sunny morning, Dave, the owner of the bed & breakfast, gave me a ride to the road crossing where I had last hiked on the Appalachian Trail. I had enjoyed the hospitality of him and his wife, and we had conversed on many topics during my stay. When he had told me that he attended a Methodist Church, I related to him the story about the Methodist preacher and his congregation who had provided refreshments to hikers as a church outreach.The trail led me to McAfee Knob, a spectacular viewpoint. There I ate lunch and conversed with some day hikers who were also enjoying the scenery. After that, I began hiking a wooded ridge toward a second viewpoint called Tinker Cliffs. At the beginning of this ridge, I noticed a shelter off to the right and walked toward it. A thru hiker in his twenties was sitting on a wooded porch in front of it. He was reading what appeared to be a newspaper. We exchanged greetings.He told me that his trail name was Backdraft, and that it was evolving to the new name, "Backdraft Bong Ramen." He explained that the name Backdraft was given to him on the trail because he farts a lot.The new part of his name, Bong Ramen, came about on the previous evening back at the three door garage hostel. Some hikers had been using a beer bong to drink beer.In simple terms, a beer bong resembles a long funnel used for adding transmission fluid to a car, but it is plastic and does not have a filter. It has a wide plastic scoop on top and a long funnel. I had seen some hikers using this device two days ago during my visit to the same hostel. A person inserts the nozzle of the funnel into his mouth, and then pours a can of beer into the scoop, or has another person pour it for him. The beer races down the funnel and enters the mouth. According to Backdraft Bong Ramen, the gravity feed enables a person to swallow a cans worth of beer in two or three seconds. Backdraft told me that he poured a mix of Ramen soup down the bong, to the delight of other hikers watching him. Since then, he has added the "Bong Ramen" to his trail name.I told him that I liked the long version of his name. The last word, Ramen, is not pronounced with a "ray," it is pronounced with a "raaah," as in Backdraft Bong Raaamen. The full name has an almost aristocratic ring to it, reminding me of Prussian aristocracy, like "Von Hindenburg," but out on the trail, the Von is a Bong.There was something else unusual about this hiker besides his trail name. Backdraft Bong Ramen was naked.Actually, he was not entirely unclothed. On his head, he was wearing a wide brimmed hat. On his feet, he wore boots and socks. The rest of his clothes were packed away in his backpack."Ah! You're one of them!" I said to him with a smile." I understood why he was not wearing his clothes.There is a tradition on the Appalachian Trail that during the summer solstice on June 21st, hikers, well, some hikers, cast off their clothing and hike nude; it is called "Hike Naked Day."I asked BBR if I could take his photo for my journal, and he said okay. Before reaching for the camera, I walked over and used the outhouse. While inside the outhouse, I contemplated how I would compose the photo.Surprise! I emerged from the outhouse wearing nothing except my footwear; I too was naked. Backdraft Bong Ramen smiled with approval. It did not seem fair that I take his photo and not participate in this crazy tradition. I told him that I would take his photo on the actual trail rather than at the shelter.I felt awkward as we shouldered our backpacks and approached the trail. To my embarrassment, a middle aged man with his two college age nieces approached. How did I know their relationships? Because the hiker was Dave, the Methodist who owned the bed and breakfast where I had stayed. What a nightmare."Hi Dave," I said, tucking my bandana under the hip belt of my backpack and hiding my privates. Under the circumstances, I could not think of anything else to say at first. Earlier at the bed & breakfast, I had mentioned this "Hike Naked Day" custom to him. And he is familiar with hikers because they frequent his establishment. I think that he and his nieces were surprised to see me naked, but not troubled. Rather, they seemed amused by the spectacle.Dave slowed down to allow myself and BBR to hike ahead of them. I immediately stopped walking and told Dave that it would be preferable if he and his nieces walked in front. There was no bandana covering my backside.Dave and the girls moved ahead, and then BBR and I hit the trail. I like Dave, but was relieved that he and his relatives were walking ahead of us and disappearing from view. "Oh no! Switchbacks!" I thought to myself a short ways up the trail. Dave and the girls re-appeared as we all zigged and zagged down the switch backed section of trail.When we were alone, I posed BBR with a leaf covering his private parts. He took my photo with a bandana covering me up. I hiked four miles in this natural condition, with BBR in front and myself bringing up the rear. (Is there a pun here?)While we hiked, we discussed the topic, "the paradox of vagueness," which he studied in college. There I was, discussing a complicated subject, while hiking in my birthday suit behind the behind of a naked hiker with a penchant for flatulence. Can it get any weirder than that on this journey to Maine?After hiking four miles, it briefly rained. When that happened, I put my clothes back on. BBR remained naked, but kept the leaf over his private parts. I told him that he should mail the leaf home and place it in his souvenir scrapbook.Fortunately, we did not encounter other hikers besides the owner of the B&B and his nieces.We stopped hiking at Lamberts Meadow Shelter. Hikers Shivers and Dig Dog showed up and told us that they too had hiked naked.I strung up my tarp about 1/4 mile away from the shelter where the forest was less cluttered with ground vegetation. There, Messy Garage, who I had not seen for a while, was encamped with his nephew, Robert.There was an entry in the shelter register which reminded hikers that on this particular year, the summer solstice occurs one day earlier, on June 20, and that is the day on which people should hike naked.Were Backdraft Bong Ramen, Shivers, Dig Dog, and myself the only hikers on the Appalachian Trail who walked naked on the wrong day?