Going Barefoot. . . .A lot of questions answered!
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:
Funky fungus & athlete's foot. . .NASTY!!
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Rick wrote: ". . .watching all those shoeless funky feet walking through there it makes me wish I knew how to levitate." (shakes head)
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Alpine Sapper wrote: ". . .there are some people in the world who have some REALLY nasty feet. Not just ugly, but infected fungal sponges. . .
I didn't cover this part of the shoe topic in my thread, but I figured it might come up.
The biggest reason people get or have funky fungus foot or athlete's foot is because they wear the same shoes day-after-day and they don't allow their shoes to dry out inside.
I was told this by a podiatrist. "When you buy a pair of shoes you like, buy 2 pair." Why? Well you need to rotate your shoes to allow them to air and dry out.
The inside of shoes (especially if they're vinyl or synthetic) are a virtual breeding ground for germs and bacteria, and when you wear the same shoes everyday (not everyone does this, but many do) the germs and bacteria inside grow and fester with all the day-to-day moisture your shoes absorb from your feet perspiring or getting wet in the rain or snow.
I had athlete's foot in high school from always wearing my basketball shoes all day, every day. Mine got especially wet inside because of sweating during basketball practice, which expedited the process. That's where I learned from the podiatrist to buy two pairs and rotate them.
So that's the biggest way people acquire those funky prodigious digits!
Sweaty shoes + sweaty socks = Foot fungus and disease
EXCELLENT post Crash!! :thumbup: :thumbup:
There are a lot of misconceptions about bare feet.
Foot disease occurs on feet that are "weak". What I mean by weak is: skin on said feet that is thin and too soft.
I have been all around the U.S., Australia, Peru & Canada barefoot. Never have I had a problem with disease or warts or anything of the sort.
Podiatrists will try to convince you that going barefoot is harmful to your posture and musculoskeletal system, but much to the contrary.
As I wrote in my original post. As you wear shoes the soles wear down. As they wear your stride changes and becomes worse and worse. This is why so many people have back problems, slipped disks, compressed disks, and overall, general back problems, as well as, muscle fatigue.
Walking barefoot does not cause these problems. My stride remains the same, my posture remains the same and I no longer get tired or have fatigue when walking long distances. Also, I can walk many, many miles without tiring.
