Backpacking

Newsgroups: rec.backcountry
Subject: Barefoot Hiking !!!

Hi, There are a growing number of us that enjoy hiking barefoot, as a pleasurable outdoor activity.

We feel compelled to share this experience with other outdoor-loving folks and to encourage them to try it.

There are no hard and fast rules about where one should switch over to the shod state (temperature, pack-weight, rockiness etc.). It's really a matter of personal choice and conditioning. For most of the local trails I frequent (Bay Area of Northern California), I'm happy to leave my shoes off.

I am the founder and leader of "The East Bay Barefoot Hikers". We are affiliated with the original Barefoot Hikers group started in Connecticut by Richard Frazine. We organize about two hikes per month (year round) and anyone wanting to participate is welcome to join us. There are other groups in the South SF Bay, Oregon and North Carolina.

I'm very happy to answer any questions anyone may have. There are also some safety precautions and conditioning techniques that I will relate (also see the Web pages for these).

We hope you are able to understand that we barefoot hikers enjoy our "vistas" of ground textures as much as many of you enjoy vistas of snow, icy rock, desert cacti .. and so on. Barefooting adds, for us, a tactile dimension that is simply delicious. Admittedly, it may be an "acquired" taste.

Based on many years of doing this, when people ask us questions about WHY we hike barefoot, and why we are convinced that it can be done safely, .. these are some of the reasons we give.

* The sensual variety of ground textures and temperatures
* The healthy pleasure of natural foot flexing
* The feeling of freedom
* The safety of being able to take hold of the ground directly
* No blisters or hot, sweaty, cramped feet
* Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing uniquely inadequate about human feet
* Bare feet are quickly conditioned starting with short walks on soft trails
* Thickened soles nevertheless retain sensitivity to ground textures
* Healthy bare feet have tough flexible soles and strong nimble toes designed to form themselves to the earth
* Safety is increased as a result of enhanced awareness of the nature of the ground and the placement of the feet

-- Mike Berrow -- East Bay Barefoot Hikers, Concord, California

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