Not that I knew what it was at the time, back then there was no internet to bring us together, and the small town I grew up in was part of America's heartland.

Still, the fascination of being tied up still took hold, and was fueled by the easy access I had to that most common of bondage devices, handcuffs. My Dad was a cop, still is as a matter of fact, and I used to sneak his spare set of handcuffs away and use them on myself, imagining all kinds of bondage adventures.

One morning, in the middle of summer vacation, I woke up with an urge to do more than just sit in my room with my Dad's handcuffs on, and so began my first big self-bondage adventure. The town we lived in was right next to a national park, a wilderness area, and I grew up learning all the trails and roads through the park for miles around, so I decided to take my bondage outside, into the forest, and made plans to do so.

That afternoon found me heading out on foot, to the place in the woods where I planned on carrying out my idea. I have to say my heart was pounding, this was far beyond anything I had ever done before, and looking back at it later, I can only wonder what teenage hormones must have been pumping through me to make me even consider this crazy scheme.

At the time, my biggest concern was that I wouldn't be able to get out of town. Wearing only a light summer dress and some sneakers I was sure that everyone I passed could see that I was naked under the dress and have me arrested. As it was the only strange looks I got were directed at what I was carrying, a stiff sided suitcase. I made it out of town and started along the trails, picking my way carefully, graduating toward the lesser frequented paths, until I came to the stream, or stream bed I should say. Full of water in the spring, this stream was bone dry in the summer, and was fenced in on both side by closely packed trees.

Time for step one. I opened the case and took out a key on a string. This was the key to the suitcase. I hung it at about chest height from a tree branch, and closed the case, being careful not to lock it. I then started walking down the stream bed, until about half a mile further I came to a road. The road crossed the stream, a large culvert allowing the water to flow. Inside the culvert there was mud, it never dried in the darkness, my plan was to go over the road, which I did, hauling myself up the bank and running quickly across the road. This road was a semi major county highway, and traffic passed by every few minutes, it curved though at the crossing, and I could only see maybe a hundred feet either way before the trees swallowed it. I dropped back down to the stream bed on the other side and continued on for another half a mile, before deciding I had gone far enough.

Time for step two. I opened the case again, and, taking a quick look around, slipped of my dress and put it in the case. The warm sun felt very good on my skin, but it felt really strange standing there with nothing but shoes on, so i took those off too. The sandy bottom of the stream bed felt very good, it is one of my strongest memories of the day. Every time I go to the beach now, the felling of warm sand between my toes brings this all back to me. I had to keep going though. Out of the case I took the handcuffs, the key I made sure was in the case. I then took out a length of chain and a padlock, again making sure the padlock key was inside the case. Threading the chain through the suitcase handle and around a tree I used the padlock to connect the ends, preventing me from taking the case any where.

Then, my heart thumping like crazy, I closed and locked the case. Now I was stuck, even without the handcuffs I still had to walk a mile naked to get the key that would open the case and let me have my clothes back, but I had to finish. I took the cuffs and before I could change my mind I snapped them on my wrists, behind my back. I remember feeling so turned on, never in my young life had I ever felt like that. I wanted to stay and enjoy it, but I had to keep going. I started back toward the key. Up until that time I had not seen a soul, but now that I was nude and virtually helpless, it seemed tome that the forest was crowded. Every tree hid someone who could step out and see me, every time the wind blew I could swear I heard someone moving. There was no one there though, just the over active imagination of a teenager.

I made it to the culvert without incident, and found it a lot harder climbing up the bank without my hands than I thought it would be. When I got to the top I got a fright as a car suddenly appeared through the trees. I dropped down and it sped past, not seeing me. I got up and ran across the road, almost falling uncontrollably down the opposite bank. When my heart started again I continued on my way until finally reaching the tree where I had hung the key. For a moment I panicked, not seeing it, but then it appeared, hard to see against the brush. I grabbed it in my mouth and pulled it off the branch. Now to get back. I hurried back along the bed sure that my luck was about to run out, and I would be seen, but my luck turned a different way. When I got to the culvert I found that the banks were too steep for me to climb without my hands. Every time I tried I just slipped back down. My only other choice was to walk through the culvert. I had to bend over to get in, the culvert wasn't very tall, and it only took a few steps for me to regret trying.

The mud inside was thick and deep. In no time at all it was up to my shins and it smelled terrible. I had to stay ducked over, my head and arms occasionally rubbing the concrete roof, so my balance was terrible, and halfway through I stepped on something I couldn't see in the dark and fell forward into the muck. I remember biting my lip in an effort not to drop the key,for if I had done so I doubt I would have found it in the darkness. The mud felt terrible, cold and clammy, and I had to roll on my side to get some purchase so I could stand up. Not an easy task. It was deep enough that I was almost completely covered, and when I finally made it out the other side, I could see that there was very little of me that was still clean. I was not happy, and wanted out of my situation, but I had no choice but to keep going. I continued on, all the euphoria of the trip gone, until I arrived back at the suitcase, and spitting out the key, I thankfully unlocked it.

The first thing I grabbed was the handcuff key, and that was when I discovered how much trouble I was in. There was mud in the key holes, and I couldn't get the key in. I think I did cry a little then. I was scared and even covered in mud I had never felt so naked. But then I remembered that there was a small lake nearby where I went swimming sometimes, and that I could wash the mud off me and out of the keyholes, with some luck. Grabbing my dress, I started running. I bet I was a sight, a naked, mud covered girl with her hands bound behind her. Frightening.

It wasn't long before I reached the lake, but I couldn't go near it, there were some kids there. Being very careful I got off the trail and hid in the brush, I would have to wait them out, for I certainly wasn't going to go out there as I was. As I waited, I remember thinking how stupid i was to have done this, but as time went by I began to realize how turned on I was by everything that had happened, including the mud, which by then had begun to itch like crazy as it dried. Finally the kids left, and when I was sure I was alone I dropped my dress and the key and made a mad dash for the water. It felt so good, and swirled and moved around until most of the mud came off. Checking the keyholes they looked clear, so I ran back over to my dress and tried the key. I was so happy that it worked and after several hours of imprisonment, I was finally able to use my arms. I quickly went back into the water and washed myself down properly, making sure to get all the mud out of my hair, then I put on my dress and headed back grab the rest of my stuff. By the time I made it back to town,the sun had dried me and no one was the wiser. It was my first big bondage adventure, and I had survived. I did it three more times that summer.