Area man at one with nature as he strolls area hiking trails
Posted By COLIN MCKIM
Posted 1 year ago
"What the hell is that?"
Those were the first words to leap out when Guy Aubin was cycling on the Uhthoff Trail and saw a naked man with a coppery, full-body tan approaching on foot.
"There was this big orange thing coming toward us with a little white thing dangling," Aubin recalled.
It was around mid-day on a remote stretch of the recreational trail that runs along an abandoned rail bed between Orillia and Coldwater.
Getting closer, Aubin saw the man, who was missing his right arm, had a white cloth pouch cupping his genitals.
The scantily clad hiker walked past Aubin and two other cyclists as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"He was like anybody else," Aubin said. "He just gave us a nod. If he had clothes on, you wouldn't think he was weird or nothing."
The semi-naked man, dubbed Sock Man because of his minimal apparel, is a "naturist" who has been strolling along the less-travelled sections of the Uhthoff Trail and trails in Muskoka for years.
The man, in his late 50s, identifies himself as a "free hiker" and says walking in a natural setting with the sun warming his entire body is exhilarating.
"It's a feeling of total freedom," he said. "And no tan lines." Unlike nudists who prefer to be naked all the time, naturists simply like to enjoy the outdoors in a state of nature themselves.
He is not seeking attention or trying to disturb other trail users, he says.
"People think I'm nuts, but I'm just a regular guy who likes the outdoors," he said.
The fewer people he sees, the better, choosing the most remote stretches of the trail where he can be at one with nature and enjoy the solitude.
Most of the time, he has the trail to himself. When he does encounter cyclists or hikers, he exchanges pleasantries as anyone else would and carries on his way.
The Orillia OPP are well aware of the bare-skinned hiker, and, over the years, have received dozens of calls from concerned citizens.
He has been charged with public nudity and committing and indecent act, but has never been convicted.
In November 2006, Severn Township sent him a letter prohibiting him from using the trail if he was not properly clothed. But the letter had no legal weight, and he ignored it.
"He's been doing it for years," Severn Township Mayor Phil Sled said. "We asked him not to do it anymore, but he thinks he's within his rights. We passed the matter on to the police, but they couldn't do anything.
"It's just one of those things. It is kind of humorous." Orillia OPP Sgt. Robin Moore said the hiker is not committing an indecent act if he covers his genitals, however skimpily.
"He's not indecent if nothing's hanging out."
After losing his arm in a motorcycle accident when he was 16, he became very self conscious about his physical appearance. But after first stripping off his clothes among other naturists many years ago, he found, ironically, that his self-consciousness about the stump on his right shoulder vanished.
And the walking is great exercise, he adds, saying he's never been in better shape.
