I read about barefoot hiking clubs and I became interested. I decided to start on the path by hiking a 3 mile course at the local park barefoot. This path is asphalt... Needless to say I could barely walk by the time I made it to my care and my feet were very sad, one having a gigantic blister. I also had some pebbles embedded into my feet. About 4 days later they were good as new, but I need some advice on adjusting to the barefoot way. I want to be barefoot in the outdoors which means going over rough terrain so what is a good way to practice?
Well, I am no expert on barefooting but I am considering losing the shoes after school is over. I believe you need to just keep walking barefoot until your soles get tough. If that hike was too much for your feet, perhaps you should shorten it to 1.5 miles?
Don't be too eager to suddenly embrace a 100% barefoot lifestyle, if your feet aren't particularly 'experienced'. Your feed need a gradual introduction to life without shoes. Start by wearing shoes to the park then taking them off and walking around barefoot for a while on grass, paved areas and other less challenging surfaces. A three mile hike on asphalt is a bit extreme for a first-timer. Talk about a trial by fire! Take it easy and with time the toughness will come.
I have an advantage over most of you even though I live in a cold climate. I'm in sandals even as the snow melts, and again in the fall as winter starts. That means, bare exposure for most of the year. Then, how easy can it be for me to kick off, be really bf anytime, anywhere. And of course, most places I work I can be bare anyway. I'm truly lucky this way. Point is, lots of transitioning ways you already have in place. As others have said, it does take time. Even I have some rough moments on occasion. My worst, for some reason, is paths of loose gravel on top of hard. This still makes me crazy, even after all these years. I take it for quite awhile, but if I see miles of loose gravel on hard, I slip on the flops, temporarily. Probably by September or October I'm good with it. But then another winter comes, and I have to reset my feet for next April---
Wow dude, I don't even go 3 miles yet and I've been barefooting for a month off and on. I could probably go 2 miles if I wish, but I usually stick with about a mile and a half. Also, go on grass while you're a novice, it gets your feet stimulated and allows some thickness to build up, and then go on some jaunts on pavements that are maybe a mile long or so to start with. If you start feeling sore, your body is telling you to stop because you are at or past the limit it is supposed to go. Eventually you'll adapt so that you can go barefoot indefinitely on reasonable surfaces (if it's 100 degrees with the sun high in the sky, don't be a martyr, wear flip flops or stay on the grass).
Good advice, that, don't go too far too soon, but don't hold back, either;- in my experience, the harder you treat your feet (within reason!) the harder they will become. Some people, such as Ken Saxon, run marathons barefoot on the pavement without problems. I did six miles on tarmac yesterday, and my feet looked and felt exactly the same after as they did before, but i have been barefooting for many years. It's my shod friends who get foot trouble!
