I try test my limits daily and have found a city park in Waterbury that's perfect for doing so. Along with every type of natural surface there is also litter, tons of broken glass, large areas of rocks/gravel/mud, paths and roads. I walk through abandoned industrial areas full of broken bricks and all types of dangerous surfaces. My feet always hurt and sometimes i have to wear my five fingers because the pain is too much from previous outings. I take responsibility for each and every step because there is danger lurking everywhere. If anyone wants to try some extreme barefooting in my area i'd be more than happy to be a tour guide. My schedule is very relaxed at the moment so i'm pretty much available most days. If your idea of fun is to come home with filthy, throbbing, often bleeding feet, then i have the perfect place for you. Here's a photo of my feet after 2 hours in the beautiful, picturesque, squeaky clean Hamilton Park
Perhaps you'd be better off on 'feaksRus.com' not only are you fekkin' mad do you seriously think people are interested in your complicated self-harming games! Get a life whakO!!!!:biggrinjester:
Unfortunately, I'm not near CT, otherwise I'd join you. I think that one of the most awesome things about going barefoot is how the soles become so tough.
That'd be a totally new market segment, I guess. I have read on the 'net that there are courses and workshops offered for people who wish to learn about the benefits of walking barefoot - where people can spend money for guided barefoot walks, hikes and relaxation exercises as well as courses for barefoot nordic walking (the ridiculous-looking thing with the sticks...). Why not offer a guided tour in extreme barefooting and charge for it? Considering the wellness and adventure hype, that might be a viable business idea... of course, relying on that stunt barefooting alone would not be enough, IMO. Therefore, the wellness and relaxation variant should also be offered... We're living in a mad world, after all - this might work. Wiggling humorous bare toes, ~*Ganesha*~
I wish i could pull it off but i can't even find anyone around here that is mildly interested in my "sport". If i can't find anyone to walk with me i'd be at a loss to figure out how to find people to follow me. I even have a name for the business idea. it's something i'll be getting tattooed on my foot this week. "Sole to Soul". Thanks. Maybe i shoiuld tattoo "fekkin whako", lol
Way long time ago when i went to college, every area around the dorms was covered in broken beer bottles. after a while you learned how to walk over the glass or be forced to give up being barefoot. There is an art to it and it helps if there are heaps of broken glass cause it seems like you can walk on it easier. i don't know how else to explain it....
I am proud of how often I encounter rocks, broken bricks, glass and other such hazards *without* getting sore and bleeding feet; surprising those who do not go barefoot with how very tough bare feet are. One time I went on a tour of a rock quarry barefoot; stones, loose rock etc everywhere, hardhats required, feet were fine. That was great! But the fun of hurting myself, feet or otherwise, escapes me.
Hi Myranya. I like the pics of your feet. Make no mistake, i'm not trying to hurt my feet but with my extreme barefooting sometimes i can't help it. I truly take responsibility for each step as a form of meditation but once i get used to a surface i look for another, more dangerous one to conquer. Sometimes i just walk too many miles on pavement and it tends to make the balls of my feet tender. Not wanting to skip a day i'll fasten a little tape and keep going. In the park that i refer to there is a reasonably long wooden guardrail that's 3 feet off the ground at it's lowest point and close to 6 feet at it's highest. In the middle is a break for a walkway and i carefully hop from one side to the other. I do this about 20 times so i probably average about 1500 feet. This morning my footing wasn't right and i slipped a little and as i tried to correct myself i fell off the beam backwards and skinned my hand, ripped my rain coat and slightly sprained my ankle. My pinky toe took a hit and was bleeding a little. I walked it off and then went back to finish. I really landed with a thud and was completely out of control. I didn't like it
I think I know what you mean. At highschool, we have this heap of huge gravel pieces. They're very sharp and actually hurt in the beginning of the year, but every time I pass there (about 4 times a day), I just have to walk over it. I walk very conciously then, and I like the way there's nothing else than my feet on that moment for me. By now, I find it easier to walk over it, but I still enjoy the feeling of that gravel...
I totally agree. The true challenge of extreme barefooting is not injuring your feet. Try SW desert if you want a challenge. With zillions of species of cacti, it is slow going indeed! Better not have to run away from anything... Or try some Rocky Mountain hiking...dry Pine needles are sharp! And thank god for deer trails...lotta stubbly stuff 'n sharp rocks off trail. Here's one... Pheonix, Arizona in July when its 110-115 deg out, try getting from your car to the entrance of a building without blistering your feet on the hot parking lot asphalt! Hehe, Run you fools! ZW
Actually, I very much enjoy extreme barefooting. To me, walking barefoot over very challenging terrain is envigorating, almost spiritual. I like the challenge, and I like how it makes me feel alive like almost nothing else can. I have walked barefoot over broken glass, thorny fields, sharp rocks and gravel, hot surfaces, etc. The only experience that has escaped me so far is walking barefoot in snow, which I understand is more amazing and pleasant than difficult. Native peoples in the South Pacific deliberately walk barefoot on blazing hot rocks thathave been heated in ovens for hours, as a spiritual exercise; in India people walk barefoot over hot coals for the same reason. Religious people in some parts of Europe walk extremely rough terrain barefoot on pilgrimages as "penance for sins". All over the world people pay money for seminars on how to walk on hot coals and broken glass "safely". Its a tad unusual only in that we are a minority (most people shy away from painful or uncomfortable experiences) but it certainly isn't "freaky".
I've spent many hours in snow, slush, ice and below freezing temperatures. I've been outside each and every day (in Connecticut) for the past year. If it's 20 and sunny i'll walk. Sometimes it's only for the time it takes to smoke a cigarette and other times i could be found running up and down the freshly plowed street sliding on the thick, smooth surface. It's like being on a new planet.
I uploaded a bunch of photos from todays walk. It was 42 degrees and windy so i had to bundle up. I used my phone and the pics came out okay. i think the lens may be dirty.
Those are great pics man So did you step on the big piece of bottle that still has some shape to it? I wonder if it would break under your weight. Do you ever break bottles so that you can stomp on the glass barefoot? How about putting out cigarettes?
I don't usually try to step on things that have a potential to make me bleed. I'm often many miles from home or my car and i don't bring footwear so i try my best to get home in one piece. Cigarettes are another story. I can easily squash out a butt between my two big toes or slowly snuff it on my heel. I do smoke so i often just drop it and step on it. (i don't litter so i pick up the butt and put it in my pocket)
I have done both. I have broken bottles and walked on the glass barefoot as an experiment in will and endurance. Turned out amazingly well, and envigorating to know that I was/am able to do so. Listen, if one happens to be out barefoot you might accidently step in broken glass or goatheads, and get a sliver or a thorn. It happens, and yeah it hurts. It isn't life threatening. It's amazing the experiences that your bare feet can provide.
That's great, you guys with those experiences of putting out cigarette butts and stepping on broken glass. On Saturday night, I tested myself on broken glass, which went well. Then, I decided to break a beer bottle with my feet. That's when I cut my foot. Nothing major - just a few nicks, like what would normally happen to my hands whenever I work on the car or something. I cleaned up afterwards, and I still love to go barefoot! If this is any indication, my soles need more toughening before I try breaking a bottle with my feet again. Cigarette butts are no problem, though. I don't even feel them. I even like to use my hand to crush them against my toughened soles sometimes, since stomping on them sometimes doesn't seem like enough.
Once I was shooting pool with some friends and stomped out a cigarette barefoot. Freaked this one guy out! lol
This is one of the stories i posted on another site. My wife Ann was stricken with cancer and passed away on 11-10-09, so that's the reference to my stress. I am not currently a barefoot runner but a barefoot walker. I started running and loved it as I did weight training and elliptical. My life drug is cigarettes. Ann was smoking and we had gone to Key West for a drunken vacation and I fell off the wagon. The stress of life has made it difficult for me to commit to quitting right now, but I will soon and begin running once again. I get up every morning and the first thing I do after feeding the 4 cats is put on a jacket and go outside for a smoke. I love feeling the earth under my feet. The temperature differences from day to day are sometimes remarkable. Feeling winter underfoot is like being in a new climate, the feeling of snow and slush, sand and ice is wonderful. Walking half a mile in the rough sand/salt/stone/litter mixture on the sides of the road is not for people with delicate soles. I firmly pound through it only looking for sharp debris to avoid. The tougher they get the stronger and more flexible they become. My toes are straight and strong, almost like fingers. I can grip the ground and hold myself to it. Go ahead, try to knock me over. I can pick up golf balls with my toes. My arches are strong springs and my calves are solid. I listen to my feet. I don’t blindly walk out of my safety zone. They’ve gotten used to the cold and crave it regularly throughout the day. If it’s simply too cold I’ll just walk out briefly to feel the temp. My soles are remarkably thick. My toes used to get numb very quickly but that went away. Of course they’re now black and I think I left one frozen to the driveway. lol I just decided to be completely barefoot Saturday. I do bring footwear just in case. I stopped at the corner store for smokes, gassed up and headed off to Long Wharf. It was about 40 degrees but the sun was out. I walked out to the end of the pier where the concrete became thick solid wood. The sun was on it so it felt about 20 degrees warmer than the ground. It felt very comforting on my starting to get cold feet. There was a metal gang plank leading to a lower dock that was not made for bare feet. It was almost sharp. So I ran up and down it, twice. I walked the entire length of pedestrian path until it turned into a dirt walk. It was covered in tiny gravel so I decided to try it. It was colder than the concrete and asphalt and every once in a while I walked through a muck puddle, the smooth thick ooze pressing between my toes. This was a pretty long walk that ended near the water on the West Haven side of the park. I was feeling rather good, pretty cold but good none the less. I walked back dodging the bird litter and broken shells as best I could as I went, stopping now and then to try and get some of the cold mud off my feet. I walked all the way back out to the end of the pier and rested on the warmer wood. On the way out of there is one area that is covered with pine needles, heavenly underfoot. I reached in the car for a smoke and sat on a bench brushing the now dust from my feet and inspecting them for damage. They were starting to get tender. I found a little slice caused by pivoting the ball of my foot upon push off so when I got home I cleaned it and sealed it with crazy glue. I decided to do it again Sunday. It was a couple of degrees colder and the sun wasn’t out so right off the bat it was going to be a different day. It took a while for the tenderness to dissipate before I felt comfortable walking my normal fast pace. At the end of the pier there was no warm dock to receive me. I walked down and up the gang plank, this time with more respect. I walked back, through the pine needles for the 6th time and proceeded to follow yesterday’s route. I was more aware of the cold, the shells were more noticeable and when I got to the dirt path it was much wetter, muddier and colder. I went about 200 feet but the mud was thicker so each time I stepped in it my foot was almost covered. I wouldn’t care if it wasn’t so cold. I went up on the grass and cleaned off the mud the best I could and returned to the car for the final outdoor smoke. I took it a little easier for the rest of the day. It started snowing when I got home. After work tonight I decided to walk around the ¼ mile block. The soles of my feet are still sensitive so the stones hurt a bit. If I rest my feet for a few days as I have done in the past they should come back tougher and stronger. The shoes I have chosen to live my life in are Five Fingers. Even though my head was mostly down I was aware of people looking at me. Okay. I had a hooded sweatshirt over a ball cap, a hooded winter jacket, gloves and jeans. What were they looking at? Lots of people go barefoot in New Haven in January, don’t they?
