SO this weekend my girlfriend and I hiked mount wachuset in Princeton, Ma. Not a HUGE mountain by any means (2006 ft.) but a nice rocky uphill climb. I'd been barefoot hiking before and really wanted to do this barefoot so I did. It was a lot of fun, even though some people in HUGE expensive hiking boots looked at me like I was crazy. Some people said they should do the same, to which I replied, "you've already got everything you need!" . It was a really good time. Anyone else ever hiked a mountain barefoot? I found going up was pretty easy and I could go faster than a lot of people with shoes. Going down was a lot harder since you kind of have to "fall" with all your weight on rocks and roots and some have not so pleasant textures. I'm glad I did it though, and would do it again.
wow, that's fucking awesome. people has been brainwashed by commercials into thinking that great sport achievements only can be reached with loads of $$$ of exotic gear produced by some big-corporation-brand-thats-just-selling-its-logo, when in fact all they need is their body working -and this item cant be replaced with something you buy at any price.
I hike mountain trails all the time barefoot. It's great. Back in 1995 I hiked Mount Whitney barefoot, about 10 miles up and down steep rocky trails. A couple of years ago I did a lot of Sierra Club hikes in the Los Angeles area and many of the city folks thought I was crazy. The hike leaders made me sign liability waivers because they thought I was going to get hurt. As it turned out, a lot of the shoe wearers slipped and fell because they were trying to hop from rock to rock in the stream crossings while I simply walked right through the water.
HA! That's awesome! Well, not awesome that they got hurt... but you get it. Jumping from rock to rock on some parts of the trail was a lot of fun barefoot. It was also cool how some rocks were a lot colder than others.
I wish I could, but I have a bad ankle so I need high tops and a brace when doing any walking or hiking on uneven terrain or else my ankle gives out. A few months ago I hiked up a "mountain" near my college (the tallest point in metro-west Boston but it's not that tall) in tennis shoes and my ankle gave out and I had to basically crawl down the mountain since I was only hiking with one friend who couldn't help me out much. I really wish I could hike barefoot again.
Bf hiking will help your ankle muscles grow stronger. Encasing your feet in boots and high tops only prolongs ankle weakness. A wide variety of terrain will help you develop a much better feeling of control so you aren't dependent on ankle support all the time. Go easy and often. You'll be glad you did.
Well I'm not an MD or a PT and I don't know anything specific about your issue, so I won't give you medical advice, but I have done a fair bit of barefoot hiking and I agree with Rugged_Sole's opinion that it might actually help your ankle heal and get stronger to ditch the shoes...but I would certainly recommend taking it very slow and take baby steps. Many of us spend a lot of our lifetime "training" our joints in our feet and legs to maneuver with "support". Returning to our natural "barefoot" gait, which is strong AND flexible, takes a long time and can make us feel worse before we feel better...but eventually it will happen. A physical therapist might be able to get you on the road to feeling better if you lay out your wishes with them.
awe ... climbing a mountain without shoes ... ... the only thing I really don't know about at this point is how to get down again ... maybe crawl ... or go backwards ? lol I just recently dropped my shoes when I was at the point of either not being able to walk at all (because of a bad ankle), or go without shoes and this way give the ankle plenty of exercise, and healing. It works ... Next thing is I wanna be able to run without shoes. Forest walks aside from the roads is wonderful, too ... being one with the flow of your own movements, and the life around ... and no road distracts you from what is right in front of you. And yes - you already got what you need
I would love to do that. It should be fun when I start. I do enjoy my hiking boots when I am on a long, all-day hike. I do think I will be able to do without them once I am hike enough to develope enough callouses to withstand the beating.
It's not really as bad as you might think. I'd gone on a couple of small hikes on regular terrain before and taken some barefoot days in town and my feet toughened up fast.
The highest i've climbed is Thorpe cloud hill (i think that's what it was called) in the Peak district, with some friends from the UK barefoot hikers (now sadly defunct). I think it was just over 900 ft.
I climb most of the small summits in Acadia National Park barefoot. I keep my hiking sandals, NOT any boots or shoes, handy in my pack in case the going gets really rough. As some have said, a very long stretch, before one is used to it, could be trouble, or at least slow one down too much. I don't think I have put my Chacos on yet. But for the long stretches of sharp rocks, going downhill, I need them at hand. It is delightful how much rough ground, roots, rocks, gravel, we can go over bare. It works, almost always works. And I love the stream crossings and the pine needle stretches most. Feels almost too good. I've only stubbed my toe once on a hike, more often when in civilized terrain, and it was my fault not paying enough attention. The hike stubbing was not bloody. The town pavement stubbing was.
Yeah I had my sandals with me when I did it bcause I didn't know if I would be able to do the whole thing. Going down was kind of hard but not too bad I really wanted to have the experience and I think it was worth it. I didn't get blsiters or anything.
