View Full Version : Hiking Barefoot
Yesterday, I went on a long hike with a group. The group leaders were hiking barefoot, and the girl I rode with decided to hike barefoot, too. I'd never known anyone to do this before, but the trail was very soft in places, wasn't covered in pebbles, and mainly had tree roots as the foot-bruising thing to watch out for.
Toward the end of the trail, as we were coming to the waterfall that was our destination, the trail was a bit muddy and slippery, especially in the steep descent down to the little beach at the foot of the waterfall. The people hiking barefoot seemed to have much less trouble negotiating the slippery areas than those of us with shoes.
So on the way back, I decided to hike barefoot, too, at least for the slippery parts. I found it much easier to negotiate slippery rocks and steep portions of the trail without my shoes. I enjoyed it so much that I hiked the entire return distance (3.5 miles) barefoot.
So today the soles of my feet are a little tender, but overall my feet feel better than they usually do after a long hike. I'll definitely hike barefoot again, on trails where it makes sense to do so.
Anyone else hike barefoot? If so, do you mind posting trail suggestions? Preferably in the Southeast, but other areas are good, too, as I don't know where I'll end up after grad school.
I have never hiked barefoot. And I hike 8 miles every day.
I don't think I'd want to do that.
But the really crazy thing to me is those people who wear those toes running shoes and run in those. To me that seems as if they are begging for an injury...
ApatheticNoMore
6-17-12, 1:41pm
I think your thinking of the "vibram 5 fingers" shoe. I think that is safer than barefoot and I've seen people hike in it. I don't own it (though sometimes I wish I did). I do however take suburban walks barefoot. Ok it is a little tough on the feet (we're talking sidewalks and stuff ok) and I usually don't get as far as I do with shoes. And it's not even that I PLAN to go take a walk barefoot, it's just that I want to take a walk, I'm barefoot (usually am at home), and before I know it ... I also take short runs barefoot. I don't run for exercise at all really, I walk for exercise, but I do run to discharge energy. The trails here are mostly PRETTY ROCKY here, it's rocky and dry here, the dried plants are prickly, so I can't see hiking barefoot (plus snakes and so on). In suburbia though I was once walking barefoot, got tired of the concrete and so walked on the lawn. One lawn the earth was surprisingly sandy with very fine sand and what little grass there was there was soft too, it's just a treat how soft the grass and the earth was on that lawn. I found myself walking back and forth over it.
...and I think my 150 foot barefoot round trip (9 or 10 months a year) to get the morning paper is a big deal.
Check out Cody Lundin:
http://www.americaspodiatrist.com/2011/06/dual-survivor-cody-lundin-a-testament-to-barefoot-walking-2/
Check out Cody Lundin:
http://www.americaspodiatrist.com/2011/06/dual-survivor-cody-lundin-a-testament-to-barefoot-walking-2/
Thanks for the link, Bae. I imagine Cody Lundin's feet are almost as tough as nails after going barefoot for 20 years.
awakenedsoul
6-17-12, 3:33pm
I always walked around barefoot all summer when I was a kid. I've got straw mulch in my back orchard. Maybe I'll start going barefoot again. I like the Earth connection. I've never tried barefoot hiking. It sounds interesting...
Mighty Frugal
6-17-12, 4:17pm
I remember once reading about a habit of going out barefoot and putting your feet on the earth for a few minutes. Apparently some 'stuff' is supposed to be absorbed through your feet-healthy stuff....can't remember what but it was supposedly a healthy thing to do.
As a child I spent 2 months in central rural Italy-lived in a home built in the 17th century, no running water, outhouse, etc. We were barefoot the entire time. At first it hurt but by the time we flew home the soles of our feet were hard and we could walk across sharp rocks without flinching
Not sure I would walk around barefoot now-too worried about stepping on broken glass, rusty nails, dog poop, and people's spit (ick)
Foremost, being barefoot is our natural state. Shoes -- throughout the world and centuries -- were designed to protect our feet from the elements, not to enable us to have better mobility (running/walking), with the exception of the development of roman soldier's sandals which allowed soldiers to walk several kms further and faster than previous shoes that existed (it was the development of the heel on the sandal that created this outcome, and developed the heel-strike gait).
In many modern-traditional societies, people still do not wear shoes, or wear "minimal" shoes that would simply protect the foot from injury of stuff on the ground (rocks, etc). We need only look at "tribal" communities throughout the world who spend much of their lives walking/hiking, running, and dancing in bare feet or minimal shoes (huarachi style).
Our bodies create a natural, healthful gaits that protect our joints when we run, walk, and hike barefoot. We actually take in more visually at an unconscious level, avoiding risks (they have done studies of how barefoot verses shod people walk in the same environment, and barefoot people 'see' more and avoid problems such as animal waste, dangers such as rocks, glass, and similar, and better navigate the landscape, even though they don't "look down" any more than a shod person does. The eyes simply scan differently, and the body takes over and does the rest).
The gait also protects the joints in the long term -- as the heel-striking gait of the shod individual actually creates damage to the joints over time. And that heel-strike gait in running is particularly injurious.
Barefoot running (whether in minimalist shoes such as the vibram five-fingers or traditional mocs or huaraches) creates a mid-fore-foot gait that aligns the joints better, and creates a faster, sprint-like gait. It's more efficient over all, as soon as your body as re-adapted to it.
All of these claims can be backed up with a simple internet search into barefoot running or bare footing in general. I simply don't have enough time right now to look up the specific articles and pepper the post with them. :) I do apologize for making "unsupported" claims in this way, but the information *is* out there.
To speak of my own experience.
As a child, I grew up largely barefoot. Weekends and summers were usually completely barefoot most of the time, or in minimalist sandals (when we had to go indoors and such). Of course, for athletic stuff (softball) and school, shoes were required as an aspect of dress code under "health and safety" regulations. I often would remove my shoes when in the classroom and sit 'indian style' in my desk. I often got detention for it in high school, which I always refused to attend, because I didn't see the point of continuing to wear shoes while sitting. LOL I was always like this, guys, seriously. ;)
I never wore shoes at home.
In university, I really only wore shoes when I had to, otherwise I wore the most minimalist shoes that I could find. After law school, I became a yoga teacher. HOw do you think I spend *most* of my day? LOL
About a year and a half ago, my husband and I got vibram five fingers ("those toe shoes"). They are exceptionally comfortable, honestly, and my goodness do they make your feet healthy.
My husband was flat footed. Over the years -- through yoga, walking barefoot, and particular mindfulness, he was able to develop an arch. But he always ran in --what i called -- "bricks" or motion controlled shoes. ANd, he always had orthotics, which never did much for him, honestly. And he had strange callouses across his toes and foot that he often had to have removed at great effort on the part of a pedicurist.
Over the last year and a half, he was been barefoot or wearing vibrams almost exclusively. Every quarter when he would go to have his massive callouses trimmed, the lady would have to really work diligently. She has noticed over the last year that there's "much less work" to do, and the last time, she had only a tiny amount and taught him how to safely keep it himself. The callous is now so small, he has what looks like a normal toe and ball of the foot on both sides. He has a normal arch, and his toes are splayed out nicely -- just like a normal human foot (as opposed to one shaped like shoes).
He has been a runner for the last 27 years, and was a heel striker from day one. It has taken a *long time* relatively speaking for him to teach his body to adapt to the proper gait. He would run normally for a bit (usually about 5-7 minutes), then revert to heel striking, which was leading to pain in his heels and shin splints because the shoes do not have the cushion to mitigate the impact.
So, he changed his tactic, and would run for 5 minutes, and then each run, add 30 seconds of time to the run so that he could maintain the proper gait without falling into heel-striking. He is currently running about 25 minutes, but the distance that he can go now, vs heel striking, is much greater because he is moving more quickly with the proper gait.
For my own part, I started barefoot hiking about 10 years ago. What happened was this.
In 2000, I went to africa and before going, did a lot of hiking in my boots to break them in before going to africa to hike. My feet were torn up by those things, and I must have hiked about 8-12 miles at a go two or three times a week. At the last hike, which was supposed to be a 15 miler over the course of a day, my feet simply couldn't handle the damn boots. I took them off and walked barefoot for the rest of the walk (which was over 6 miles) -- and I felt great.
In africa, I decided to simply walk in my moccasins, which were very comfortable, minimalist shoes. Yes, I was even carrying a pack -- and I didn't have any of the foot issues that my friends had, nor any issues based on the boots or what have you. I just walked everywhere that I could, and enjoyed the process. It was really great. And, I went barefoot when I could (my concern more being about getting hook work or other parasites, more so than any risk to my feet from rocks, plants, etc).
When I returned home, I would hike in winter in "warmer" shoes -- which is to say my sneakers because they would more or less protect me from the wet. It was very comfortable, and ultimately, I got a pair of keen trail shoes which I quite liked -- and found comfortable because of their wide foot bed. So, I started to wear those as my "winter shoes" and otherwise was wearing minimalist shoes (i.e., minimalist sandals) or no shoes at all.
In the summer of 2002-4 or so, I hiked Katadan and much of the northern part of the App Trail in a combination of basic sneakers (rocky areas) and bare feet. It was just more comfortable. I also found that I was less tired and my feet less destroyed than my friends who were in boots.
So, I just kept on that path.
When I moved to NZ, I was psyched by the idea that so many people go barefoot. Except that they don't in the city (which I believe has to do with class issues). I bought vibrams to wear to more or less "fit in" as a shod person while down town, while also being 'basically' barefoot. They are great to wear every day, and I've worn through them. I don't mind, because they still look like shoes, but now it's about 1/4 barefoot (because of the hole! LOL).
I plan on buying 1-2 more pairs, one that will likely be used for hiking, as some of the walks that we want to do are quite rocky/long, and it would be good to have some basic protection for the feet for that. But, I also do a lot of local hiking barefooted -- as it's quite easy to get around through most of the local trails, which are soft earth, grasses, sand, and related. There are some that are gravel/rocky, and so it's nice to have the shoes then.
But if it is big rocks (boulders), then i like to do that barefoot because I feel more with my foot, and I feel that I have more stability while doing the walking.
On average, we currently hike about 6-8 kms on a weekends, and I tend to walk (across the harbor area and into the city) twice a day, which is about 3-4kms per day.
I love my vibrams. I probably do need to buy another pair or two.
topic that i'm passionate about, obviously. lol
Wow, thanks for all the info, Zoebird. I'd read somewhere before that shoes alter the natural gait. I always had problems with shoes as a kid. My Mom would try to buy orthopedic shoes for me because, as she would tell the shoe salespeople, "She walks funny".
I scoped out a local trail today, and I think I can manage most of it barefoot. I'll take my water shoes with me for the parts with small rocks. I have to wear closed-toe shoes for part of my job (lab and greenhouse), but other than that, I think I'll be using my sandals or flip-flops the rest of the summer.
for work, a lot of people use moccasins or the vibrams (if you don't need metal toed shoes for safety reasons).
i wear my vibrams with just about everything (today, a dress over my yoga clothes which are ankle-length yoga pants and tank top, then the dress over, and when i get to the office, i take them off (since it's a yoga studio and I can do that. :)
I have a pair of vibram five fingers and have done a lot of hiking and short runs in them. I'm a slightly old geezer with some assorted knee and foot problems. I believe the five fingers had some positive therapeutic value for those. One of my hiking trails has some medium sized pointy rocks and last summer I bruised the bottom of my foot. It wasn't serious, but took a long time to heal and I had to go back to regular shoes. So I'm pretty selective about where I wear them now. That aside, not only did it seem to help a few things, but it was actually fun. I'd think you would have to have built up some pretty good calluses to have protection against sharp objects to go totally barefoot.
So I'm a believer in the theory, but in practice there are some risks to watch out for.
Thanks, Rogar. I may give the vibrams a try. I agree about being cautious where to use them. A few years ago I hiked a trail at Pine Mountain, GA, that seemed to be carpeted with small, irregular rocks. I could feel them even through my tennis shoes - it was pretty uncomfortable. I'd keep my boots for trails like that.
How do you get your feet really clean looking , all you barefoot people? Or am I the only barefooter that has feet that look like an Amish lady?
How do you get your feet really clean looking , all you barefoot people? Or am I the only barefooter that has feet that look like an Amish lady?
I can accept that my feet look like crap ;) I've never been a pedicure kind of girl anyway.
But what do you do if you work on a cement slab? I am a teacher and so I walk around all day on a cement slab. When I wear shoes with no support, I feel it.
Also, I take a LONG hike every day. The hike is rocky and packed dirt. I would love to try hiking barefoot (I have seen some broken glass, though) but am afraid my feet would get tired and I wouldn't be able to finish--miles from my car.
Wildflower
6-18-12, 10:06pm
Love going barefoot. Never put on shoes unless I have to. Don't think I would hike barefoot, but I'm not doing much hiking these days anyway thanks to my back problems.
I'd be a little worrried just hiking barefoot - I think it's something your feet grow into over time. I haven't done it since I was a teenager (footwear was something you had to wear to be allowed inside of public buildings), but your feet toughen up.
Now I just wear Converse Allstars or sandals most of the time, which feel more like walking on a rubber mat than wearing shoes.
Running barefoot is a real craze now - and was in the past. I haven't tried it and don't intend to. But you can buy expensive running shoes that are suppose to be just like running barefoot but with a bit of support. I do long distance trail running on pretty rough terrain and can't imagine NOT wesring trail running shoes for both support and traction. Stubbed toes on rocks and roots? No Thanks!
Would you pay $200 for these? Nope!!
http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=807&d=1341515894
Running barefoot is a real craze now - and was in the past. I haven't tried it and don't intend to. But you can buy expensive running shoes that are suppose to be just like running barefoot but with a bit of support. I do long distance trail running on pretty rough terrain and can't imagine NOT wesring trail running shoes for both support and traction. Stubbed toes on rocks and roots? No Thanks!
Would you pay $200 for these? Nope!!
http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=807&d=1341515894
No, and I probably couldn't even put them on, but they're cute as a bug's ear, IMO.
ApatheticNoMore
7-5-12, 4:49pm
Possibly, I've had 3 pieces of glass lodged in my feet in the past couple of weeks. :|( Would expect to pay more like 1/2 that though.
The 5-fingers are $110.00 at REI online. Look like the same style as well.
I spent a big chunk of my summers barefoot, but my feet never became really accustomed to it, even by the end of the summer I would be hobbling around. I have arthritis in my big toe now so I need to wear stiff soles or I am in pain, so I spend most of my life in Brooks these days.
I have two thoughts about this though: 1. This is what bugs me about TOMS shoes. In places where people are used to being barefoot, it is better for them to continue to do so. If you give them a pair of shoes, their feet become tender and then when they outgrow those shoes and can't afford a new pair, then where are they? With sore bare feet! Instead, fix the sanitation issues so that kids can run round barefoot like they always have.
2. I know that people love their 5 fingers and i have many friends that have them, but it kind of makes me think of it as a Stuff White People like issue: We will be barefooted like the tribal people we romanticize, but then we have to create a new product and spend lots of money on it because we must be like the tribal people. That is not a dig to anyone personally who wears them, just a thing of our times. I believe it is covered here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPdb7ZDJKS4
The 5-fingers are $110.00 at REI online. Look like the same style as well.
Yeah they are probably cheaper than $200 - I was using hyperbolic license :-)! I don't go barefooted at all except for water sports and to play beach volleyball - and even then I often user sand socks (special socks for playing sand sports) because the sand gets too hot sometimes. I don't even wear flip flops or sandals because my sister got plantar faceitis from wearing them and was in alot of pain for a long time. After she got $800 orthodics, it got better. So i would think going barefoot for walking, running, or hiking would also potentially cause Plantar fac..
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