Hi Everyone,
I just got back from a long weekend in the Adirondacks and wanted to share a barefoot experience with you all. For those of you who don't know my background, I've just gotten into barefoot walking in the past two months or so, and have been taking the transition very slow. I've had serious bouts with ITB syndrome in the past. Although, I've been using VFF's for errands and daily activity for about a year.
We were on a 13 mile canoing/kayaking trip just north of Saranac Lake, and I was in a solo Kayak and had decided to wear my VFFs. There were 6 planned portages ranging from .25 - .5 miles each. As I was getting out of my Kayak on the 2nd portage, I set foot in what I'll call "mud mulch" and went in all the way up to my calf! Needless to say, after I pulled my foot out, my VFFs were chock full of mulch and mud. I tried to wash them in the lake, but to no avail.
So, what the heck, I pulled the VFFs off and put them in my canoe...
The rest of the trip, I was completely barefoot (my trip mates thought I was nuts. 45 degrees and raining) - I hauled my kayak across all the portages, and even doubled back (jogging/running too!) on each portage to help my tripmates carry miscellaneous stuff from their canoes. It was zen-like! Feeling the pine needles, algae, mud, sand, roots, and rock beneath my bare feet was totally amazing, and I didn't have the slightest hint of ITB pain. I also felt more nimble than I ever had in the woods. Doing that much work in hiking boots surley would have set off my ITB in the past, but not so barefoot!
So, cheers to barefoot hiking... and walking and running!
-Brandon
I just got back from a long weekend in the Adirondacks and wanted to share a barefoot experience with you all. For those of you who don't know my background, I've just gotten into barefoot walking in the past two months or so, and have been taking the transition very slow. I've had serious bouts with ITB syndrome in the past. Although, I've been using VFF's for errands and daily activity for about a year.
We were on a 13 mile canoing/kayaking trip just north of Saranac Lake, and I was in a solo Kayak and had decided to wear my VFFs. There were 6 planned portages ranging from .25 - .5 miles each. As I was getting out of my Kayak on the 2nd portage, I set foot in what I'll call "mud mulch" and went in all the way up to my calf! Needless to say, after I pulled my foot out, my VFFs were chock full of mulch and mud. I tried to wash them in the lake, but to no avail.
So, what the heck, I pulled the VFFs off and put them in my canoe...
The rest of the trip, I was completely barefoot (my trip mates thought I was nuts. 45 degrees and raining) - I hauled my kayak across all the portages, and even doubled back (jogging/running too!) on each portage to help my tripmates carry miscellaneous stuff from their canoes. It was zen-like! Feeling the pine needles, algae, mud, sand, roots, and rock beneath my bare feet was totally amazing, and I didn't have the slightest hint of ITB pain. I also felt more nimble than I ever had in the woods. Doing that much work in hiking boots surley would have set off my ITB in the past, but not so barefoot!
So, cheers to barefoot hiking... and walking and running!
-Brandon
