If your motivation is to see the look on people's face, try hiking without pants.
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oh and if you wanted to hike over 2000 miles barefoot, you should of made that lifestyle change years ago to prep your feet.
foot health is a MAIN priority on the trail, why put them at so much risk?
I don't see anything wrong hiking in teva's and it would probably a good transition from shoes to going full blown barefoot.
Canoe is correct: ringworm is a fungus, like jock itch and athlete's foot. That being said, one can pick up parasites through the soles of the feet, especially in the southern climate area. Wear shoes.
I love the idea of doing it different, just keep in mind a thru is tough enough without stacking the odds against yourself.In 2013 I met a guy hiking in a pair of Merrill glove shoe thinys.He was off before hot springs with plantars.Also met a guy in VT who was missing a toe from a previous thru attempt in sandals.
I used to day-hike barefoot about 25 years ago. The thing I liked about it was I could really feel the trail in a way that I never could with boots/shoes/sandals. I was much more aware of nuances of the terrain when barefoot, usually in a good way. I never had any injuries.
However, I would not recommend it for long distance hiking with a backpack... particularly if you are not used to going barefoot. A lot of people have already given good reasons why. If I were you I would plan on doing most of my hiking with foot protection. You could always take them off and go barefoot for small sections.
Trying to impress strangers is usually not a good reason for doing anything!
Too much Mick Dodge.....
that show always seemed so fake to me
I hike barefoot a good bit. Love it and recommend it for those places where it is appropriate.
I spend a lot of time barefoot and have toughened up my feet a lot. I've also spent a lot of time in mocassins, flip-flops and sandals which has strengthened my arches. I hike mostly in Florida where there are no rocks.
Even with all this going for me, I never hike barefoot all day. I recommend that you bring good footwear to put on and wear it most of the time.
You should experiment and see what works well for you.
Not necessarily. There are no laws or health codes prohibiting people from going barefoot in stores, restaurants, etc. There are certain stores that have policies in place against them -- but more often than not you would only be challenged by people that 1) Mistakenly believe its against Health code and/or 2) Are wary or uncomfortable with people that do something abnormal and will ask you to leave regardless of store policy.
For those considering hiking barefoot, or even just want to go barefoot around their town, bringing a pair of lightweight sandals at the very least would be something to fall back on if you do get challenged.
There's a ton of places I've walked into that have a sign " shirt and shoes required". Going barefoot, most people will consider you unstable and at least marginally mentally ill.