Hike with boat anchor wearing husband

[Agnesd]

I went hiking with my non-minimalist husband yesterday for the first time since I've gone barefoot/minimalist. I wore my Invisible Shoes and to my surprise he didn't make any comments like "Aren't you going to wear some real shoes?" (perhaps due to the fact that we had that conversation recently about me golfing in same Invisible Shoes). He of course wore his Vasque boat anchors, I mean hiking shoes.

The hike was short and steep, only 4 miles total, with approx 1500ft climb. I'm happy to report that I left in him in the dust on the uphill, lightly and happily either hiking or running. And then was on his heels on the downhill, again lightly traipsing downhill. It's the first time I've done such a steep hike in my Huaraches. He used to always leave me behind, taking our two dogs with him, so it felt great to keep up with him for a change. But I was also sad to watch him turn his ankle and stumble here in there is his boat anchors. Maybe this is just another chink in his belief in traditional shoes.

 

[PatrickGSR94]

Next time try it BF. I love BF hiking, especially when it's wet/muddy.

 

[Agnesd]

I would have tried some of it barefoot if I didn't have the husband along. I have done some trail running barefoot, but I've found it difficult around here. I think due to our general mud problem for most of the year, there is A LOT of crushed rock/gravel filler where the mud gets bad on trails. I can get over it barefoot, but when there is so much of it, it's much less enjoyable to me. My feet can handle the road pretty well now, and I'd like to get out on trails. Do I just grin and bear it? Put my sandals on for the huge gravel pits? I don't want to spend the whole time taking off and putting on sandals when I really just want to go barefoot, so I'm tempted to just tough it out.

 

[NickW]

I like to hike barefoot too, but I understand not wanting to have to deal with the uncomfortableness of gravel. Since your husband does not want to do minimalism maybe you can at least get him to wear a flat shoe with some cushion. When I was in the military I rolled my ankles all the time due to the heel lift in shoes and boots we were required to wear. I found that the flatter the shoe the less problems I had with rolling my ankles. Now as barefoot/minimalist I have yet to roll an ankle despite hiking and running similar terrain occasionally.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

I feel sorry for your SO but very happy for you.
The hike sounds lovely, glad you enjoy it!

 

[paraganek]

There is A LOT of crushed rock/gravel filler where the mud gets bad on trails. I really just want to go barefoot, so I'm tempted to just tough it out.

Go for it. With enough persistence you can re-train your feet to run comfortable even on gravel (our natural skill we lose soon after spending a couple of years in shoes).

 

[rickwhitelaw]

Agnesd, glad you had a great hike. You will convert your husband someday. Especially if you are kicking his butt on the trail.

I like to comment on barefoot hiking posts because I still consider myself a better hiker then runner. Here is what I do: start every hike barefoot unless rough conditions exist right off the trailhead. Tough out the shorter, rough sections. Put sandals on if I am not having fun or I am falling behind by a large distance. Put sandals on if a time restriction needs to be met (like my wife being late to a bridal shower when I was trying to tough out a trail race). Often I find that I don't need to put on the sandals at all.

Thea Gavin (BRS member) wrote an excellent post on her blog: http://theagavin.wordpress.com/2012/08/25/barefoot-trail-running-how-i-handle-rough-terrain/

I am going to the Grand Canyon in 2 weeks and plan to hike across with my son. He just got heavy hiking boots from my in-laws store. He thought he needed more protection because of our Grand Canyon hike in the spring. An out and back from the north rim, he wore minshoes and ended up with sore feet. These boots have got to weigh at least 1.5 pounds each, he hasn't conditioned at all, so I am a little worried that he will hold me back. But in reality, it will be the opposite scenario. Darn kids and their endless energy supply.

 

[scedastic]

I would have tried some of it barefoot if I didn't have the husband along. I have done some trail running barefoot, but I've found it difficult around here. I think due to our general mud problem for most of the year, there is A LOT of crushed rock/gravel filler where the mud gets bad on trails. I can get over it barefoot, but when there is so much of it, it's much less enjoyable to me. My feet can handle the road pretty well now, and I'd like to get out on trails. Do I just grin and bear it? Put my sandals on for the huge gravel pits? I don't want to spend the whole time taking off and putting on sandals when I really just want to go barefoot, so I'm tempted to just tough it out.

I'm with you. Gravel is the enemy. Though it's more tolerable over dirt/mud than on top of pavement, it's not worth the slowdown for me either.
I love my huaraches for that. Toes are free, ground feel decent, but just a wee bit less ouchie from the gravel ouchie bits.

 

[scedastic]

I went hiking with my non-minimalist husband yesterday for the first time since I've gone barefoot/minimalist. I wore my Invisible Shoes and to my surprise he didn't make any comments like "Aren't you going to wear some real shoes?" (perhaps due to the fact that we had that conversation recently about me golfing in same Invisible Shoes). He of course wore his Vasque boat anchors, I mean hiking shoes.

The hike was short and steep, only 4 miles total, with approx 1500ft climb. I'm happy to report that I left in him in the dust on the uphill, lightly and happily either hiking or running. And then was on his heels on the downhill, again lightly traipsing downhill. It's the first time I've done such a steep hike in my Huaraches. He used to always leave me behind, taking our two dogs with him, so it felt great to keep up with him for a change. But I was also sad to watch him turn his ankle and stumble here in there is his boat anchors. Maybe this is just another chink in his belief in traditional shoes.

And didn't you just feel like a gazelle in comparison. HAH.
Did he say anything about it later?

 

[migangelo]

agnes, you are wearing the traditional shoes. he's wearing some new fangled thingys called "hiking shoes".

 

[Tristan]

I have some Vasque 'boot anchors' too...

I have to admit I really like em, err at least did, I've only been in the mountains once this year - tried minimal (carried these in my daypack) and to be honest I would have switch into these since my feet were getting really beat up, but the trail was wet and it was starting to rain and I didnt want to stop or put wet feet into dry boots.

But the Breeze models are much more athletic shoe type and light and flexible versus a heavy stiff mountaineering boot. I've tried some Asolo's before getting the Vasque and they might as well been steel plated work boots.

I hope to try minimalist hiking more, but I'll ease into it slowly. Depends on the trail too. Two main things I'm worried about... one is all the nasties I dont want getting on my feet. I mean things like chiggers. My buddy I went hiking with once had to get shots in his legs afterwards since he had so many bites and couldnt stand it anymore. I usually wear gaiters too for both muck and bugs. The other thing is trails that are rocky, I mean like boulder fields and such where you take a good chance of scuffing up your ankles for example. I know on my last trip in WV with the above Vasques I even got nailed by a sharp edge of a rock pretty good through the thin 'vent' openings in the side. And some of my hikes are pretty much bushwacks or unmaintained trails. I'm willing to try minimalist boots even in those situations, and want to try my huaraches but only on easier known terrain first. Maybe next year!

 

[Agnesd]

NickW: My husband has a pair of zero drop Altas, and they still have some cushioning, but not as much as his running shoes. He's been wearing them without problem for a few months, but now he's complaining of pain around the back of his foot (achilles? maybe) - but only after he bought a pair of Brooks high heels. He just can't make the connection. Hopefully he'll see how uninjured and happy I am and figure it out.

paraganek & rickwhitelaw: Thanks for the encouragement. I have a nearby trail that I like, but I have to endure about 1/2 mile of very scattered gravel on old road and very packed dirt to get there. I'd rather have solid gravel, I could tough that out better. I usually just wear my sandals until I get to the more varied trail then take them off there - perhaps I'll just try to tough it out from the beginning.

Good luck on your Grand Canyon hike Rick. I can no longer imagine wearing 1.5 lb boots, but kids probably wouldn't even notice, at least not at first.

scedastic: Gazelle! Exactly! It was painful to walk behind him and watch him step down on those big huge hiking boots. I just wonder if he admitted to himself that I was having fun being a gazelle, or if he just kept thinking, "She's crazy. I couldn't do that!" As far as my huaraches go, I think I've got the tying/fitting of them down to where the toe strap doesn't bother me anymore, but I'd still rather be without the straps if I could. If I could just glue to sole of my sandal to my foot, I think I might opt for that.

migangelo: I forgot about that point, but I don't think he'd believe me. He can just keep rolling his eyes at me, and keep his new fangled, 1.5 lb, high heeled boat anchors ... er, I mean hiking boots.

 

[Agnesd]

I hope to try minimalist hiking more, but I'll ease into it slowly. Depends on the trail too. Two main things I'm worried about... one is all the nasties I dont want getting on my feet. I mean things like chiggers. My buddy I went hiking with once had to get shots in his legs afterwards since he had so many bites and couldnt stand it anymore. I usually wear gaiters too for both muck and bugs. The other thing is trails that are rocky, I mean like boulder fields and such where you take a good chance of scuffing up your ankles for example. I know on my last trip in WV with the above Vasques I even got nailed by a sharp edge of a rock pretty good through the thin 'vent' openings in the side. And some of my hikes are pretty much bushwacks or unmaintained trails. I'm willing to try minimalist boots even in those situations, and want to try my huaraches but only on easier known terrain first. Maybe next year!

I certainly understand the not wanting to get nasty bugs. We don't have such a problem with that here, but where I used to live in California I got bit to death on my hikes, but it was so warm I couldn't stand covering up in pants, so I just took my chances. I wish I was minimalist/barefoot then, because I so often wanted to ditch the shoes.

As far as getting scuffed up, I have not hiked around many big rocks and boulders here, but there are tons of rocks and tree roots to get around. I feel like in my bare feet or my sandals I am more aware of the obstacles, and can maneuver around much better. On our hike Sunday there were tons of tree roots/rocks/holes to get up and get around, and if I was wearing my hiking boots, I would have been much more likely to slip and fall, get my foot stuck in a root, or turn my ankle - none of which I've done at all since going minimalist.

If I had to bushwack it? Hmm... I'm thinking combination of huaraches, gaiters, and duck tape.

 

[meiniles]

Agnesd, glad you had a great hike. You will convert your husband someday. Especially if you are kicking his butt on the trail.

I like to comment on barefoot hiking posts because I still consider myself a better hiker then runner. Here is what I do: start every hike barefoot unless rough conditions exist right off the trailhead. Tough out the shorter, rough sections. Put sandals on if I am not having fun or I am falling behind by a large distance. Put sandals on if a time restriction needs to be met (like my wife being late to a bridal shower when I was trying to tough out a trail race). Often I find that I don't need to put on the sandals at all.

Thea Gavin (BRS member) wrote an excellent post on her blog: http://theagavin.wordpress.com/2012/08/25/barefoot-trail-running-how-i-handle-rough-terrain/

I am going to the Grand Canyon in 2 weeks and plan to hike across with my son. He just got heavy hiking boots from my in-laws store. He thought he needed more protection because of our Grand Canyon hike in the spring. An out and back from the north rim, he wore minshoes and ended up with sore feet. These boots have got to weigh at least 1.5 pounds each, he hasn't conditioned at all, so I am a little worried that he will hold me back. But in reality, it will be the opposite scenario. Darn kids and their endless energy supply.

Rick - when is your Grand Canyon hike? I'll be there mid-month and hope to do the rim-to-rim. North to south, maybe.

 

[scedastic]

As far as my huaraches go, I think I've got the tying/fitting of them down to where the toe strap doesn't bother me anymore, but I'd still rather be without the straps if I could. If I could just glue to sole of my sandal to my foot, I think I might opt for that.

Keep at trying different lacing and laces, then, if you haven't found the just right. I took the advice of someone on this forum (?) and switched my laces to paracord (they sell it at army surplus, I think). I take out lots of the middle part, and burn the knot way down (again, who cares, I have like 100 yards of paracord if it wears out), so it is darn near flat.
Also, I experimented with a whole bunch of different ways of lacing, including just experimenting on my own. What I ended up with is a weird hybrid of a method i saw on the invisible shoe site, and wrapping stuff around by myself just so, including an extra knot halfway up the foot that hooks in to distribute the pressure. It ain't that pretty, but it's been working for like a month as a slip on style. I wear them for running in the am, then put them on with a skirt later for teaching. If I ever had to replace the laces, I'd have to start from square one just about, because I can't remember all that I did.

My point is don't quit trying different lacing methods/laces/tying; eventually you might find one that works and feels comfortable no matter what.

 

[Agnesd]

What I ended up with is a weird hybrid of a method i saw on the invisible shoe site, and wrapping stuff around by myself just so, including an extra knot halfway up the foot that hooks in to distribute the pressure. It ain't that pretty, but it's been working for like a month as a slip on style.

That's exactly what I ended up doing. I tied a knot that sits on top of my foot, then I run the lace through that when I come back to it, and I can moderate the pressure in between my toes and behind my heel better. So far it's working great for me. I keep playing around with it, but during that hike it worked great. Only toward the end of the downhill did I notice the string between my toes, and I think that was because my form was getting sloppy at the end.

 

[rickwhitelaw]

Rick - when is your Grand Canyon hike? I'll be there mid-month and hope to do the rim-to-rim. North to south, maybe.

Hey meiniles. Glad you are coming over this way. If you are doing a crossing of the Grand Canyon be sure to do the side hike to Ribbon Falls. It doesn't add much time and is well worth it. My target date is October 19th. Send me a message if you want more details.

Rick W.

 

[Thea Gavin]

Rick - when is your Grand Canyon hike? I'll be there mid-month and hope to do the rim-to-rim. North to south, maybe.

I'm headed North to South a week from today--trying to go as far as possible barefoot, but with sandals in my daypack just in case ...maybe we'll see each other's footprints along the trail

 

[rickwhitelaw]

Have a great hike Thea. I'll look for footprints, but they will probably be long gone from all the mules and boat anchors.