Hassled for going barefoot at L.A. nature reserves

You're not going to believe the opposition I got last weekend just for taking barefoot walks in the nature preserves around Los Angeles.



Saturday I went for a hike down to the tide pools at a nice rocky beach where I used to visit as a child. While I was there I noticed a crowd of maybe 30 people who were part of some nature club based in the city. Everyone was wearing brand new sneakers and socks pulled way up high and they seemed rather cold and snobby to me. I asked one of them a simple question about the sea lions in the area and she pretended to ignore me, avoided eye contact, turned around and walked away. Most of them gave me the "look" when they saw I was barefoot. Mind you, we were at the beach, albeit a rocky beach.



On the way back, I was apprehended by park rangers who said that several of the nature club enthusiasts had reported a strange man who was walking around barefoot, God forbid, and explained how they were concerned that I was probably in trouble or a hazardous liability to the county or something. Others were afraid that I might be a homeless person and would threaten the peace or the aesthetic of the park. The rangers asked me where I was from and told me to wear shoes in the future.



Now, if that were not enough, get this. The following day (Sunday) I signed up with the Los Angeles chapter of the Sierra Club to attend their popular pizza hike where it’s a group hike up to a vista point with a pizza lunch at the top. So I got a ride from a friend, leaving my shoes behind of course, and got to the group meeting place. As soon as I arrived, a super uptight woman asks me, "Sir, where are your shoes?" I explain that I've been hiking barefoot for almost the last 20 years. She tells me that I can’t come on the trip because the Sierra Club does not allow people to hike without proper shoes. Part of the bylaws and constitution, club charter, etc., due to liability, safety hazards, etc. etc. I explained that in the last 20 years of hiking barefoot, including up Mount Whitney and Alaskan mountains, etc., I have never injured my feet. But she wouldn't back down and insisted that it was not possible to make an exception for me. I then called over to my friend to explain how since I couldn't go on the trip I would either need a ride back or have to call a taxicab to pick me up. Another group leader was there, overheard what I said, and finally stepped in to help me. He allowed me to sign a release of liability waiver. "I, the undersigned, assume all risks associated with hiking sans shoes and shall not hold the Sierra Club of Los Angeles liable for any damages or injuries caused by my choice to hike barefoot". They told me, however, that they would never accommodate me without shoes in the future.



Just then, a mountain biker came careening down a nearby hill and the walking group all let out a gasp- "Ohhh, how dangerous!", shaking their heads in disdain.



I muttered, "well thank God at least he's got shoes on so he'll be all right and won't sue."



Meanwhile I was getting interrogated by all the other people in the group. "Why do you go barefoot?"; "Do you have thick leathery calluses on the bottoms of your feet?"; "Are you like a sage or guru or something?"; "So what's with the barefoot thing?"; "Don't these rocks hurt your feet?"; "You must be freezing, aren't your feet cold?"; "Are you trying to be a Hobbit?"



In all my 20 years of hiking barefoot in Northern California I have heard maybe 5 comments about my bare feet from random people. Now that I've moved back to Los Angeles (forced here due to economic reasons), every time I have gone hiking in this area I get a comment from about 9 out of 10 people I pass by, and that is no exaggeration.



I give them the usual explanation that I simply find going barefoot more comfortable than wearing hot sweaty stinky shoes, and that I'm used to it now so rocks and stuff don't bother me. I also mentioned about the medical studies that showed how wearing shoes causes most of the foot problems people get and how I believe it because my feet have grown way stronger and healthier since I decided not to wear shoes.



At least I got a couple of supportive comments yesterday. At the trailhead someone joked about how they had a pair of high heels I could wear so I could go on the hike. I said, "Yeah, like I'm less likely to hurt myself wearing those". Also someone else told me that I should start a trend and get other people to lose their shoes too.



However, the people I ended up hanging out with the rest of the hike happened to be fellow transplants from Northern Cal who were laid-back and couldn't care less about my choice to go barefoot. We had a great conversation and one of them had been a barefoot kid growing up so she knew all about the pleasures of keeping the feet free.

 

I wouldnt let what those snobby people say bother you. Theyre just jealous of you because they dont have the balls to actually take off their shoes and go barefoot like you do so instead they think they can make themselves feel better by putting you down with as many rude comments as they can throw at you. I would just ignore what they say and or just not let it bother me and just consider the source. If they have a problem with you going barefoot, it is THEIR problem and not yours.

 

Well, I never actually got the feeling that the people were being rude. They just seemed kinda freaked out like they've never seen anyone go barefoot in public before. This one girl in the hiking group kept nervously asking me if my feet were OK on the rocks and was really fascinated. I got the feeling from her that she secretly wishes she had tough feet and could go barefoot everywhere too. Sad how this city seems to have become so uptight about such trivial little things that it represses many simple pleasures. This place really needs some kind of cultural revolution or something. It seems to be so tightly run by lawyers, Disney, television, car makers and oil companies.

 

This is ridiculous. I can understand the hike leader although I don't agree with her; someone who's never yet met anyone who goes barefoot may not know how strong feet can be. I have a friend for the longest time looked down doubtful & asked if I'm okay keeping up on tiled sidewalk, even after seeing me walk on it quite a few times... he's not the type of busybody to tell me to wear shoes or even ask me to, he knows it's my own responsibility, but his own feet are so sensitive he just can't get to fully grasp anyone would be able to walk barefoot and not hurt. So if someone like that were to lead a hike in a position where they'd assume responsibility for the participants, yes I could see how they'd be reluctant to let a barefooter come along. What I'd like to know, however, is whether they were willing to change their opinion after seeing you walk on the hike? Barefooting is extremely rare where I live, and I get comments of 'isn't that cold' and 'doesn't that hurt' all the time, however people usually get over it once they see me walk across gravel & other rough surfaces without discomfort. Most of them wouldn't have believed it doesn't bother me if I'd only told them, but after I've hiked/walked with them for a bit they have to believe 'cause they've seen it. Even that one friend stopped asking eventually, although it took him longer than most. Even if this one hike wasn't enough to convince them, you can always keep hiking there by yourself... and maybe after a few more times, especially if you happen to meet them more often (just go on the same days ) or maybe take a hike with some of the individual members (the folks you walked with?) they'll have seen enough evidence that you really are fine, & that you won't hold up the group, let alone get into trouble enough to need assistance.

Being told by the park rangers you need shoes is quite sad, they should really know better. Were they still concerned about your own health/state of mind even after speaking with you, or did you get the impression they were mostly worried about the image of their preserve and/or they just didn't want to be bothered by more complaints from other people?

 

Yeah, I wonder if those Sierra Club leaders got more relaxed after seeing me hike the whole trip without any discomfort. They're probably somewhat conditioned now by the exposure of witnessing a barefoot person. Maybe they'll let me do it again, and just ignore my feet next time.

About those park rangers. I actually spoke with them a while and explained that I moved away from L.A. 20 years ago and lived in a small town where going barefoot was commonplace and no big deal to anyone. I explained how I feel perfectly comfortable hiking on the rocks without shoes now and there is no cause for alarm. Incidentally I've been hiking the same beach trails for about the past 28 years, long before there were even rangers patrolling the area. I got the impression that the rangers were just echoing the wishes of the nature conservatory people who happened to be there that day. The rangers showed me their pamphlets. The nature group is composed of very wealthy conservationists who collectively raise millions of dollars to purchase natural habitats in order to protect them from real estate development. At least that is what they claim to be doing. They are planning to purchase part of the beach area I was on. Kinda scary because does that mean they might post NSNSNH (No Shirt No Shoes No Hiking) signs all over the place? There is already a big sign that says "No Nude Sunbathing". Anyway, I don't plan on ever honoring such ridiculous demands for me to wear shoes at the beach!

I guess it would still be better than having private mansions built all over the bluffs. Either way it's kinda sad because this little cove with the sea lion and otters has been a special sanctuary for me for most of my life. I'd probably need therapy or something if the place ever became inaccessable.

This whole weekend experience seems like some kind of omen or something. It's like an indication that the city overpopulation is now beginning to encroach on the most sacred places, swallowing them up and turning them into artifice. It may even be a metaphor for what's going on in my own life, but that's another thread.

 

I'm glad you posted this information. I hope the coments here have encouraged you to comtinue your bf hiking. As a northerner I'm unable to stay completely bf year round but I do go out in the snow bf almost daily to re-conect with the world. This amazing connection is something those shoddys will never know. I have hiked a few times with the eastern new york bf hikers and they are a wonderful group, but mostly I'll hike by my self in parks and areas that are closer to me. The solitude is wonderful but hiking with a group that understands the joy of barefooting is great too. It's obvious you are a kinderd spirit and I hope you'll share more of your experiences. Archie

 

Has anyone looked into the official Sierra Club information to find out whether they indeed prohibit barefoot hiking? That lady sounds like she was off her nut, man.

If that's the way they're going to be -- making you sign a waiver and still saying that they won't let you hike barefoot the next time you come back -- man, if I were you, I wouldn't come back.

-Jeffrey

 

Fortunately I seemed to make good peace with the folks in the hiking group. My intention to go hiking with other single people wasn't to get there and become challenged by people. I moved here more than a year ago and went from knowing almost everyone in a small town to suddenly being hit with a huge city where I still know nobody. I figured the people who go on the Sierra Club hikes might have had a similar experience. In fact, I got to know several others who were very friendly, had similar experiences, etc., and the leaders never gave me any trouble during or after the hike. So overall I had a positive experience, had good personal exchanges, and now get the feeling that they would feel really guilty if they actually prohibited me on future hikes without shoes. However, you've now got me curious to see if anybody on their message board is trying to start a controversy about me and my bare feet! That may be a paranoid thought, but hey you never know! Now THAT would be ridiculous!

Anyway, nobody needs to be concerned since I'm seriously considering a long vacation!

 

Yah mon, I think you mean I could start a "Barefoot Hikers Club of Los Angeles" so that I could have both options available (and to those I convert). Yes, except I'd need to come up with a more catchy name to appeal to the whole L.A. new age scene. Perhaps, "The Zen Church of Extreme Reflexology", where I could teach special libido healing exercises like tantric hot-foot yoga or something pathetic like that. But then the prosecution lawyers that run the Sierra Club would try to sue me as a competing attraction. Hey but if it works out, I could retire early and never have to wear shoes in a dreary office again. In any case I'd better have really good liability insurance in case a shoddie shows up to class.

 

sorry bout all that. never understand why.

 

I woulda told them that hiking in my barefeet don't cause as much errosion/distruction as wearing shoes and hence much better for the environment.

 

So true, so true. Especially at the tidepools. You can clearly see the difference between the more public areas from the less frequented areas. Shoes tend to kill all the little baby sea anenomes and other delicate creatures that hang on the rocks at low tide. Bare feet pad lightly (and are more cautious) and don't really harm anything.