Nativedude
04-04-2009, 12:34 PM
I have received many emails and a few PM's asking me about walking barefoot, especially in winter. So I thought I would post some info and my experience about it here.
I officially went full-time barefooted 8 years ago. As a child I would go without shoes every chance I got, but as I grew up there was less and less opportunities to walk sans shoes, especially working and living in "suburbia".
I find that people in highly populated areas have a real thing about people not wearing shoes, I don't get it and don't understand why, but they do. Now, on to the good stuff. . .
I really understood the benefits of walking barefoot back in 2001 when I was in Australia. I had the opportunity to go walkabout and live, for 2 weeks, with an Aboriginal tribe in the bush. We would walk many miles a day, hunting, trapping, gathering water, etc.
Now I'm no stranger to walking many miles, I average 15-18 per day, but I did it with the usual 5-7 min. "rest stops" to give my feet and legs a break periodically. Well, the aborigines don't take "rest stops" and had quite a good bit of fun talking about my need to take breaks.
What I found out is that wearing my hiking boots was the problem. When we wear shoes or boots or sandals, of any kind, we don't walk naturally, our stride is different, we tend to walk faster, which in turn changes our stride and causes our foot to roll to the outside or inside more than if we are barefoot.
Also, as our shoes wear down, specifically the soles, they wear unevenly to one side or the other, and this drastically changes the way we walk, which again, causes additional stress on our legs, back, shoulders, and cause our spines and hips to be out of alignment, thus causing pain and discomfort, which fatigues you the point of exhaustion after only a little while of walking. This is what I was experiencing while walking with the Aborigines.
So after that first day, off came the boots and I was able to keep up with them (the Aborigines) step-for-step, without missing a step, and I haven't looked back! I wasn't tired, my legs didn't get fatigued, no more "rest stops" were needed.
The biggest question I get about my bare feet is: "how can you walk in winter barefooted?" Well, my answer is this; "acclimation". My feet, because I walk barefooted year round, are acclimated to the elements and temperatures and the skin on the tops and bottoms are built up. Now in winter there are times that I need to wrap my feet, but I do so with wool socks and caribou skins. But that is only on those days when it is extremely windy and the mercury is well below zero, but if there is no wind, I can walk outside, in the snow, just fine.
When ever I am in the lower 48, I always get people staring and asking "where's your shoes?" I don't know why people have become so disconnected and act so strangely about not wearing shoes.
Also, I hear this a lot when I go into stores: "you can't come in here with your bare feet, it's against health the code!" Now I ask you, since when are bare feet a health risk? I would rather go into a place where bare feet are allowed and shoes prohibited. Why, you might ask? Well think about this.
People walk through all kinds of disgusting stuff with their shoes; gasoline, animal feces, spit, gum, etc. All sorts of germ ridden substances that get embedded in the soles of their shoes. And how many people wash the soles of their shoes on a daily basis? None that I know of. And, I watch where I walk and I don't walk through or step on any of the aforementioned substances.
Now, I wash my feet every day. Why? Well for one, to keep them healthy. And so I don't track anything un-necessary in to my bed. I do get occasional cracks in my feet, usually in the summer, but I treat the cracks with Bag Balm and it heals the cracks quickly, usually in a day or two.
Another point is. I have no expense of buying shoes or repair cost of re-soling. No laces to break. And I don't have to worry about waterproofing my feet. . .lol!
So there you have it. My point of view on walking barefooted. Give it a try, I know you'll like it! :cool2:
I officially went full-time barefooted 8 years ago. As a child I would go without shoes every chance I got, but as I grew up there was less and less opportunities to walk sans shoes, especially working and living in "suburbia".
I find that people in highly populated areas have a real thing about people not wearing shoes, I don't get it and don't understand why, but they do. Now, on to the good stuff. . .
I really understood the benefits of walking barefoot back in 2001 when I was in Australia. I had the opportunity to go walkabout and live, for 2 weeks, with an Aboriginal tribe in the bush. We would walk many miles a day, hunting, trapping, gathering water, etc.
Now I'm no stranger to walking many miles, I average 15-18 per day, but I did it with the usual 5-7 min. "rest stops" to give my feet and legs a break periodically. Well, the aborigines don't take "rest stops" and had quite a good bit of fun talking about my need to take breaks.
What I found out is that wearing my hiking boots was the problem. When we wear shoes or boots or sandals, of any kind, we don't walk naturally, our stride is different, we tend to walk faster, which in turn changes our stride and causes our foot to roll to the outside or inside more than if we are barefoot.
Also, as our shoes wear down, specifically the soles, they wear unevenly to one side or the other, and this drastically changes the way we walk, which again, causes additional stress on our legs, back, shoulders, and cause our spines and hips to be out of alignment, thus causing pain and discomfort, which fatigues you the point of exhaustion after only a little while of walking. This is what I was experiencing while walking with the Aborigines.
So after that first day, off came the boots and I was able to keep up with them (the Aborigines) step-for-step, without missing a step, and I haven't looked back! I wasn't tired, my legs didn't get fatigued, no more "rest stops" were needed.
The biggest question I get about my bare feet is: "how can you walk in winter barefooted?" Well, my answer is this; "acclimation". My feet, because I walk barefooted year round, are acclimated to the elements and temperatures and the skin on the tops and bottoms are built up. Now in winter there are times that I need to wrap my feet, but I do so with wool socks and caribou skins. But that is only on those days when it is extremely windy and the mercury is well below zero, but if there is no wind, I can walk outside, in the snow, just fine.
When ever I am in the lower 48, I always get people staring and asking "where's your shoes?" I don't know why people have become so disconnected and act so strangely about not wearing shoes.
Also, I hear this a lot when I go into stores: "you can't come in here with your bare feet, it's against health the code!" Now I ask you, since when are bare feet a health risk? I would rather go into a place where bare feet are allowed and shoes prohibited. Why, you might ask? Well think about this.
People walk through all kinds of disgusting stuff with their shoes; gasoline, animal feces, spit, gum, etc. All sorts of germ ridden substances that get embedded in the soles of their shoes. And how many people wash the soles of their shoes on a daily basis? None that I know of. And, I watch where I walk and I don't walk through or step on any of the aforementioned substances.
Now, I wash my feet every day. Why? Well for one, to keep them healthy. And so I don't track anything un-necessary in to my bed. I do get occasional cracks in my feet, usually in the summer, but I treat the cracks with Bag Balm and it heals the cracks quickly, usually in a day or two.
Another point is. I have no expense of buying shoes or repair cost of re-soling. No laces to break. And I don't have to worry about waterproofing my feet. . .lol!
So there you have it. My point of view on walking barefooted. Give it a try, I know you'll like it! :cool2: