first barefoot hike!

i don't think i'll ever wear hiking boots again!

my friend and i pretty mich drove aimlessly around letchworth park, hiking whichever trail looked pretty. the first was really muddy. i was intimidated by all the mud, and my weak ankle and knees were killing me after a few minutes. my feet felt really wierd in the boots, and i had a hard time getting my footing because i couldn't feel anything and my feet couldn't grip the ground in those hard soles. i landed on my ass in the mud several times.

we stopped for lunch at tea table rock, and hiked from there to wolf creek, which is my favorite spot in the whole park. i took my shoes off before we got to wolf creek, and continued hiking barefoot. we hiked somemore from wolf creek, and some parts of the trail were really slippery, but were much easier to handle barefoot. i did fall again...clumsy i guess, but i admit i rather enjoyed having my handsome friend help me out of the mud!

i walked on mud, gravel, smooth stone, pine needles, and soft, moist, wonderful moss. i can't wait for my next barefoot hike!

 

hey kitty, glad to see that you got to get out and go on the hike. it sounded like you had lots of fun.

i do some barefootting every now and then. not that much though. but it definatley feels awesome when hiking, when you feel the earth and everything. totally awesome.

 

Yes!!! I do this whenever I can - there's lots of beautiful forest preserves around where I live, and I *never* wear shoes (unless it's cold). I was just out doing this yesterday - my feet got a little muddy, but I kind of like the feeling of stepping in cool squishy mud I must admit that while I was out in the woods yesterday, more than my shoes came off it's a rather secluded area, so... may as well enjoy the whole thing.

 

wow, i wish i had a place like that to hike!

 

Well, if you ever do find one, please don't forget to bring pepper spray - I keep one of the little keychain pepper spray things - you never know who or what you may encounter!

 

Way to go Kitty. Barefoot hiking is simply awesome. I'm glad you enjoyed it! I love to go barefoot hiking. Its one of life's great pleasures.

 

I love barefoot hiking. The only problem is last time i crushed a thorn plant and ended up walking over 15 yards of holly leaves. I must have pulled 30 out of my soles.

 

Yesterday I went for a hike down by the ocean bluffs. Going up and down in elevation along the trails the rock strata changes and you can feel the difference in your soles. It's like doing a tactile geologic survey! I like running down the steep crunchy gravel roads. It feels nice when the gravel rolls under your feet when it's so steep that you end up sliding. At the ocean, there are lots of nifty tide pools with starfish, anenomes, and other cool critters. There's also a friendly sea lion or otter or something that likes to watch you if you wave or talk to it. It dips itself in the water occasionally then pokes its cute little head out and stares at you with its whiskers twitching. Once I sang a song for it and it even smiled at me. I like how it feels walking around on the barnacles that cling to the tidepool rocks, poking out like little tiny volcanoes. One time I met a sweet Hawaiian girl and her dog at the tidepools. They were both exploring the rocks barefoot too and we all had a little conversation about Reggae music somehow. Well, the dog actually didn't have too much to say about that but seemed interested nevertheless. Going back up the hill, I stepped on some puncture vine thorns but they didn't hurt. My feet are tough enough that I usually can't feel the difference between a thorn seed and a piece of chewing gum. They both feel just like lumps stuck to the bottom of my foot. The only type of thorns that will stick to my feet around here are puncture vine thorn seeds, due to their tetrahedral geometry.

 

I hiked for three hours today. No shoes with me either. I stopped bringing them long ago. I walked on everything: moss, ankle-deep mud, dirt, gravel, grass fields, a stony creek, a paved path, fallen trees, and a river. I climbed up and down the side of a steep river bank using fingers and toes.

It's not uncommon to slip when hiking barefoot for the first time. The heel has a way of slipping on smooth surfaces like mud or slimy stones in the creek. I land my foot on the heel and toes at about the same time, rather than heel first, to prevent slips. I've learned to make more use of my toes when I hike.

Barefoot hiking is so comfortable and relaxing. I can't even force myself to go back to shoes.

 

What a funny otter.

I snuck up on two deer in the creek and watched them drinking. Bare feet are incredibly quiet. I like to sneak up on these creatures and watch them.

 

Hiking BF is the best! sometimes I'll do close to 20 miles in a day and feel invigorated by all that's around me. It's way more fun than with boots.