This may explain Gov. Mark Sanford's bizarre disappearance for a few days - including Sunday, Father's Day - it turns out that this past Sunday was what is known as Naked Hiking Day, when hiking and outdoors enthusiasts strip off all their clothes and walk through nature in the buff.
It turns out that on the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, which this year occurred on Father's Day, hikers up and down the Appalachian Trail walk around in the nude. A number of news organizations picked up on the story this year, including USA Today and the Associated Press:
Hikers who prefer clothes are not happy.
Rangers and police warn that people caught outdoors in the altogether could be charged with indecent exposure. Managers of the Appalachian Trail, where the tradition is sometimes observed by those trekking from Georgia to Maine, also discourage nudity.
"It's just rude," said Brian King, spokesman for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. "People are out there hiking with their kids and families, and there are Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts."
I wonder if this will get picked up on - can you imagine the reaction of the GOP electorate to Sanford if it's determined that he did indeed potentially expose himself to Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts?
Ranger Tammy McCorkle, of the state-managed South Mountain Recreation Area in western Maryland, said she hadn't heard of Naked Hiking Day until last year, when visitors reported seeing a group of naked men on the Appalachian Trail. By the time an officer caught up with them, all 10 were clothed; eight received warnings for disorderly conduct after acknowledging they had been nude.
"We're aware it happens on the summer solstice day," McCorkle said. "With through-hikers — people who hike the trail all in one season — it's kind of like an unofficial tradition for them."
On the other hand, what if he was hiking with a group of similarly-naked men? What would they say then?
And I guess it explains why he wasn't answering his cell phone - he had no pockets or belts to speak of. And as to why his wife said he was writing when he was out hiking? Obviously he didn't want to tell his wife that he was going to go hike naked.