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Thread: hiking barefoot

  1. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by brother brzo View Post
    that might not be a bad idea. i will admit, part of my reason is to make a bit of a statement/do it old school, i like seeing he looks on peoples faces. the few times i have hiked barefoot, my main problem was pricker bushes and, during the colder months, the ice sucking the warmth out of my feet (yes, i've tried going barefoot in the winter, the ice/snow is the only new problem winter seems to present 4 me). thanks for the idea
    If your motivation is to see the look on people's face, try hiking without pants.
    Shutterbug

  2. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shutterbug View Post
    If your motivation is to see the look on people's face, try hiking without pants.
    I met not only one, but two different people that hiked only in exofficio boxer briefs.

    yes, it does make day-hikers jaws drop when they show up to a shelter. Most thru-hikers don't really give it a second thought on the trail.

  3. #23

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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.

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shutterbug View Post
    If your motivation is to see the look on people's face, try hiking without pants.
    It rather funny.... Not that I would know from experience.

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    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.

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    Quote Originally Posted by brother brzo View Post
    that might not be a bad idea. i will admit, part of my reason is to make a bit of a statement/do it old school, i like seeing he looks on peoples faces. the few times i have hiked barefoot, my main problem was pricker bushes and, during the colder months, the ice sucking the warmth out of my feet (yes, i've tried going barefoot in the winter, the ice/snow is the only new problem winter seems to present 4 me). thanks for the idea
    Deer works good for mocs.

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by brother brzo View Post
    ok, i expect some of you will warn against this, but has anyone ever heard of someone trying to do a thru-hike barefoot. if so, did they succeed? if not, why? something I've been considering doing myself. any particularly hazardous sections of trail for this?
    Yes, but the guy I ran into who was doing it said he wouldn't recommend it. His feet were pretty badly cut up and blistered after a week of barefoot hiking in NC.

  8. #28

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    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.


  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by steve0423 View Post
    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.
    with the sandels, not to conserned. the ones i would probably use are probably some of the few closed toe ones that can be found easily. keens

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1azarus View Post
    Read the barefoot sisters stuff. Best I can tell it all becomes about walking without shoes, not about hiking. Like an entirely different, almost completely unrelated experience. No value judgement here, to the best of my limited ability...
    They also hiked much slower than their peers, almost certainly much slower than they would've with shoes or boots.
    The more miles, the merrier!

    NH4K: 21/48; N.E.4K: 25/67; NEHH: 28/100; Northeast 4K: 27/115; AT: 124/2191

  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by brother brzo View Post
    that might not be a bad idea. i will admit, part of my reason is to make a bit of a statement/do it old school, i like seeing he looks on peoples faces. the few times i have hiked barefoot, my main problem was pricker bushes and, during the colder months, the ice sucking the warmth out of my feet (yes, i've tried going barefoot in the winter, the ice/snow is the only new problem winter seems to present 4 me). thanks for the idea
    While you're at it, bring a bow and a quiver of arrows and catch or harvest all your own food in the wild.
    The more miles, the merrier!

    NH4K: 21/48; N.E.4K: 25/67; NEHH: 28/100; Northeast 4K: 27/115; AT: 124/2191

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    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!

  13. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by egilbe View Post
    The Barefoot sisters paid attention to where they were placing every step. They grew up in Mount Desert Island and spent their entire lives walking barefoot on the rocky coast woods of Maine. It can be done if you want, but you need to watch where you place every step. Most modern people are walking on pavement and we quit paying attention to where we put our feet once we put on shoes. Our feet evolved to be walked on, without shoes. Shoes make your feet weaker, Not stronger. If you want to not wear shoes, go for it.
    Not only that, but it took them something like 8 months to do the AT, and they didn't do the whole thing barefoot.
    Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish.

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    Quote Originally Posted by canoe View Post
    Ringworm is not a parasite but a fungus type skin infection
    Well, it is a parasite. Skin infections are parasites. That said, I think Slo probably meant hookworm, which is the classic disease gotten from walking barefoot.
    Time is but the stream I go afishin' in.
    Thoreau

  15. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by Driver8 View Post
    While you're at it, bring a bow and a quiver of arrows and catch or harvest all your own food in the wild.
    dont tempt me, that has already crossed my mind

  16. #36

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    Too much Mick Dodge.....

  17. #37

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    that show always seemed so fake to me

  18. #38

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    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.

  19. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by squeezebox View Post
    You will have to bring shoes for grocery stores etc. though.
    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.

  20. #40
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    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.

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