Barefoot Hiking

HAWAII

2013-01-22T10:27:00.001-08:00

Photos of Hawaii are to come..

I finally am back to barefoot running!

The problem though is that running in hawaii barefoot is a little bit different especially in regards to the roads. Here the roads are much rougher and unforgiving on the feet.

I took off on a fast 2.5 mile run around my neighborhood. It was an absolutely gorgeous day - 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. The cool tradewinds kindly conditioned the environment around me. I began with some sprinting intervals to try and recondition my muscles to the natural barefoot method but I learned that this was a huge mistake.

I had just ran my first mile when I realized a strange sensation on the bottom of my feet.

I quickly discovered 2 MASSIVE blisters, one on each of my feet, which left me limping home almost unable to walk.

The moral of the story is to let yourself adjust to your environment and listen to your body. Don't self destruct!

Im Finally Back! Injuries suck!

2012-08-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

For the past month I have been COMPLETELY unable to enjoy being barefoot anywhere!

I managed to sustain an injury to the top of my foot as a result of barefoot running. This left me limping most of the time and completely unable to place any sort of impact weight on my right foot. It has been so frustrating for the past month being completely unable to enjoy long hikes even while wearing shoes!

I have had to go really easy on my foot for a long time but ive finally recovered and im ready to return to barefooted-ness. This means I'll probably have to build up my callouses to what they previously were :(

I have to make sure this time that I don't overdo anything when getting back into barefoot hiking. Since also becoming raw vegan i've become far more in tune with my body and have been far better at listening to it - something I can honestly say i owe my recorvery to.

Ill be coming at the internet with new awesome barefoot hiking experiences very soon!!!

Broken Glass Dilema

2012-05-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

During my last hike on the Franconia Ridge I decided that It would be prudent to slip on my vibrams. Why?

There was broken glass on the trail.

To me it seemed like a good idea to protect my feet from this broken glass until a fellow youtuber sent me the video above.

It makes more sense to me now that we should be able to handle broken glass on the bottom of our feet. I do feel like we should, as barefoot people, allow our feet time to adjust and become calloused before attempting to surmount glass littered terrain however.

Just something to work towards I suppose. It would make a great party trick!!!

Mt. Chocorua...BAREFOOT

2012-05-04T05:39:00.001-07:00

So the barefoot hike on Mt Chocorua was an overall success. I did sustain a couple of small cuts on my feet but overall I was very surprised at how my feet handled the excursion

The day was perfect. Not too hot and not a single cloud in the sky.

It was interesting to see ice on the hike above a certain altitude and to walk on such cold ground with confidence was refreshing. Usually the concern with ice is slipping and taking a gnarly fall but without shoes on this really isn't a concern. The sensation of walking on up a 3 thousand plus foot mountain without shoes is a great one!

I will certainly have to develop my feet more though if i expect to be hiking barefoot regularly. The last 3 miles of the hike were very uncomfortable. It was as if my feet were becoming hypersensitive to the ground and terrain that would not usually cause discomfort began to.

For a couple of days after the hike my feet were quite sore. I had the sensation of pins and needles in my feet and a couple of bruised areas. Still this is no big deal considering what I put them through. It goes to show exactly how much our feet can handle!

Ill upload some more photos from the hike soon!

Barefoot Adaptation

2012-05-02T04:44:00.000-07:00

After taking on an eight mile hike up Mt Chocorua a couple of days ago, I realized that while your feet can take a lot of punishment from the ground, they need prolonged experience in the outdoors to really be able to handle everything that the earth can offer. My feet are sore as hell and slightly bruised but thats part of the adventure of being barefoot. Look at your feet now. They are narrow and soft. Years of forced shoe wearing made your feet that way and taking the into the great outdoors without shoes will most certainly provide a less than comfortable experience. Over a relatively short time, however, this can and will change. The skin on the bottom of your feet is especially able to harden as a result of abrasive exposure. Callousses will quickly develop and help to reduce barefoot discomfort. That rough stone and sharp gravel will be a piece of cake after a couple of months. Muscles connected to the complex arrangement of bones that make up your feet also need to adapt. Shoes allow our feet to atrophy to the point of being sore being without them. Getting outside and slowly building muscle back up in the feet is crucial. Ankle and calf muscle also needs time to adjust. As a relatively new barefoot enthusiast I can vouch for the fact that you can't have trail ready feet after a week. Being barefoot is worth the work to feel so connected to the world around you.

Pleasant Mountain

2012-04-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

The hike yesterday was amazing! Pleasant Mountain in Denmark Maine showed us some beautiful views of the white mountains after a muddy scramble to the top. My feet got a work out! I put my KSO Vibrams on for the easterly descent along the sheer ledge of the mountain to the road. The total hike was 6.2 miles which we completed just in time for the sun to go down. What a joy.

I noticed that cold and wet feet are much more sensitive to the ground than hot dry feet. Gravel is rough too, especially on an incline with slippage!

I cant wait to hike again. It might be as soon as tomorrow so stay tuned!

Barefoot Running Science

2012-04-23T15:36:00.003-07:00

Prevent injury- By walking barefoot you are reverting back to how you were born to move.

In turn you effectively reduce your chance to sustain an injury from running or walking. The heavily padded heel of our modern day shoes encourages a "heel-to-toe" foot strike on the ground. This is opposed to the natural "forefoot" strike and can lead to injuries including heel spurs, plantar fasciitis, runners knee and back pain.

Observe this:

This awkwardly large chart shows 'vertical ground reaction forces and foot kinematics for three foot strikes at 3.5 m s^-1 in the same runner."

It sounds disgustingly boring but..

Figure a. and b. shows the heel strike form wave has a rough and abrupt impact upon initial contact with the ground.

When our heel connects with the ground first, there is little to nothing that the body can do to absorb the impact (other than the thick sole of the running shoe provided). This initial impact is what is causing injuries in runners. We much prefer to naturally land on the forefoot, which produces that clean sine-wave-like curve in figure c.

So there.

What is natural about this?

2012-04-22T13:32:00.004-07:00

I hear from too many people that running barefoot is unnatural and uncomfortable. What they clearly don't understand is that it is very natural.
Our bodies have become adjusted to our own misguided creation: The modern running shoe. We did not evolve feet designed to wear these:

F***ing gross.

Its obvious to me at least that we have been bamshoosled (Yeah I did that) into believing that without this shiny new product, we will not be able to perform as well as our competitors. Yes, shoe companies know how to play the fear card and they do it very well.
Celebrity endorsements ensure you that the best athletes in the world use their shoes and that you will score the game winning dunk to win the game.
Here is a melodramatic commercial showing that:

I'll stick to using my feet and if its freezing cold I'm wearing those shoes my ex got me last year.

2012-04-22T11:56:00.002-07:00

Fuck.
I love running barefoot.
Its like taking off a sensory blindfold and suddenly realizing that there is so much more to the ground you walk on.
Amazing.
I went ahead and got myself a pair of the Vibram Fivefinger KSO to protect my precious feet from dog piss and glass when I run in the greasy streets of Portland. A very sound investment.

Here they are. Not exactly handsome.

To be frankly honest my first run sans shoes was a difficult one. I was no more than a mile into it when I realized that my new found "forefoot" strike had sent my calves into a state of panic. It's truly amazing what your body gets used to. After years of running with cushy pseudo science shoes my calves, ankles, and feet have atrophied badly. It just goes to show how important it is to allow our bodies the proper form to perform!

Most recent hike:

This is Burnt Meadow Mountain "Range" in Brownfield Maine:

I hiked this pretty place last week and took my shoes off at the summit to enjoy a textural and pleasing descent down the other side of the mountain. The forest floor feels incredible when you put your feet to it and the rocks and roots serve as an intense but important contrast.

Cant wait to hike again...Gotta take the Vibrams!