My first naturist experience beyond nude day hikes and alpine lake swims while backpacking with close friends was...

...Over a long weekend, a close buddy and I drove down a dirt road to a private beach in Lake Tahoe via a locked gate, the owner of which had given us a key to camp out for a few days. This was in the 70s, and the "official" nude beach on the Nevada shore of Lake Tahoe had not yet been established. Regardless, I had no idea that anything had changed since I'd been to this "textile" beach many times by boat as a kid with my parents.

So my buddy and I spent the night in our sleeping bags and the next day we woke, started a campfire and cooked breakfast. We were on a fairly long and private beach that was abutted by heavy rock formations and a public state forest that also encompassed the neighboring beach. After breakfast, we set out in our bathing suits and swam to and climbed the rocks to a fabulous vantage point above the beach. As we hung out over the granite boulders overlooking Lake Tahoe, boats began to arrive and dot along the beach. Although we had a firmly established campground in our private beach area, none of the boats full of people acknowledged our "space." At first, this really upset us, as we felt we had "marked" our territory.

Pretty soon it became obvious that none of the people arriving by boat could care less that we had "officially" arrived by car via a private entrance to private land that abutted public forest land. These people got out of their boats and immediately stripped. There were boats full of couples, groups and families with children, all arriving as if it was choreographed. Within half an hour, my buddy and I were at a nude beach. What was uncanny is that suddenly we felt extremely uncomfortable and conspicuous because we were clothed, and no one else had a stitch on.

So, we doffed our bathing suits. It was a revelation. Suddenly, we were spiritually connected with all the others. We waved and smiled to people all day long, and occasionally ran into men, women and familes who we spoke with in a truly genuine and honest manner. Nobody was looking at naked bodies; everyone was looking at kindred souls.

What was most interesting was this: the "Nude Beach Club" was not an elite and snooty country club with a long waiting list requiring credentials and dues to pay to join. No. You didn't need an expensive tuxedo or Donatella Versace dress for admittance. All you had to do to be accepted as a member of this elite club was to do the opposite: take off your clothes and toss them aside. How cool is that?

I remember this experience like it was yesterday. It was my introduction to nudism, and to this day, it is a highlight of my life.