Barefoot hiking?

[Phil Hart]

Danjo:As another recovering

Danjo:

As another recovering hillbilly (I'll never really fully heal, I guess), a love for the mountains gets in your blood. And the sheer density and intensity and closeness of life in all the water and greenness around you in the Appalachians is a unique feeling. The Bavarian/Tirolean Alps in Southern Germany and Austria are pretty close, as are parts of the Black Forest, but for America, the Appalachians are unique. Like Nate said, it's comparing two different species to compare young, sharp-rock mountains and ancient, eroded mountains that have so much more fertile soil for the proliferation of life. Both are great, but they're totally different. I love them both myself.

I just hiked about 5 miles last weekend at the Southern end of the Appalachian Trail with the family in VFFs (my feet aren't solid enough bare yet to handle as much mileage as I'd like), which is what prompted me to comment.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Those sound like some great

Those sound like some great places to hike, Phil.

 

[nature runner]

   Hiked 6 miles barefoot

Hiked 6 miles barefoot today on the A.T. loved the temp changes and the way they feel under my bare feet, it's a rush and at the same time relaxing!

 

[evadenyaw]

I've been hiking barefoot for

I've been hiking barefoot for a few years. Around my area (Northern New Mexico) I find it somewhat easier to find fun places to hike barefoot than it is to find fun places to run barefoot (...if you don't like running on gravel, that is). Nearly every trail I've been on recently has significant barefoot-able stretches, if the whole trail cannot be trod unshod.

 

[sloutre]

I would really want to try. I

I would really want to try. I should plan a little hiking trip for the family.

 

[nature runner]

evadenyaw, I am satisfied

evadenyaw,



I am satisfied with gravel, dirt, and the trail life, I don't even look for anywhere else to run, I love it in pure nature,hence my screen name and my gravel trail I run on in my avatar, and it's pure enjoyment and piece of mind.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

You are so fortunate, NR, to

You are so fortunate, NR, to be running in a place like you describe. I wish we had good trails near me. I have to drive in order to get to any trails. :-(

 

[nature runner]

Barefoot TJ wrote:You are so

You are so fortunate, NR, to be running in a place like you describe. I wish we had good trails near me. I have to drive in order to get to any trails. :-(

The best part is that it's only 5 min away from my house! I could run there and have before.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Okay, now you're just making

Okay, now you're just making me :sick: with jealousy. You stop that!

 

[nature runner]

Barefoot TJ wrote:Okay, now

Okay, now you're just making me :sick: with jealousy. You stop that!

Sorry T.J. lol

It's all about the love and sharing lol!

 

[evadenyaw]

Hi Nature Runner!nature

Hi Nature Runner!

evadenyaw, I am satisfied with gravel, dirt, and the trail life, I don't even look for anywhere else to run, I love it in pure nature,hence my screen name and my gravel trail I run on in my avatar, and it's pure enjoyment and piece of mind.

...did not mean my comment as a put-down or anything remotely like that. Like you, i enjoy all the different surfaces to be found while hiking barefoot. However, I am a work-in-progress & when it comes to going barefoot on gravel... it still hurts. But... like i said... i'm working on it! Best wishes to you on all your adventures.

 

[nature runner]

evadenyaw wrote:Hi Nature

Hi Nature Runner!

evadenyaw, I am satisfied with gravel, dirt, and the trail life, I don't even look for anywhere else to run, I love it in pure nature,hence my screen name and my gravel trail I run on in my avatar, and it's pure enjoyment and piece of mind.

...did not mean my comment as a put-down or anything remotely like that. Like you, i enjoy all the different surfaces to be found while hiking barefoot. However, I am a work-in-progress & when it comes to going barefoot on gravel... it still hurts. But... like i said... i'm working on it! Best wishes to you on all your adventures.

I didn't take it as such, I am sorry if it sounded that way, I was just saying that it was fun and I love it. Sorry lol.

 

[nature runner]

I liked this small article!

I liked this small article! http://hikingboots.com/blog/barefoot-hiking-in-pictures/

 

[sloutre]

Great articles and pictures.

Great articles and pictures. It makes me envious.

 

[miker]

Nature,Thanks for posting

Nature,

Thanks for posting that link. That looks wonderful!! (and did you notice all the smiling people in the pictures?).

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I especially liked the

I especially liked the picture with all the muddy feet. I wonder if the U.S. has anything like that.

 

[nature runner]

  Yea those people looked

Yea those people looked very happy! T.J. I am not sure if they are any in the U.S. I sure wish they were, The U.S. is so anti-barefoot I would say probably not?

 

[Mike]

U.S. = Podophobic.

U.S. = Podophobic. :stare:

 

[NakedSoleNate]

 every trail here in the US

every trail here in the US is a barefoot trail!!!! :-D

 

[nature runner]

NakedSoleNate wrote: every

every trail here in the US is a barefoot trail!!!! :-D

I agree Nate, I go barefoot on all my trails, shoes are for wimps and for people who hate sensory feed back by the thousands in their bare feet!