outdoor comfort

Personally, I like having smooth soft feet (my wife likes them that way too!).
I also don't think going barefoot is really very wise.
Down here in the Carolinas folks used to go bare-foot all the time (some still do) and alot got hook worms. Folks would tromp through the fields and step in animal dung, and extremely tiny hook worms burrow into the soles of the feet.
Also there is the danger of cutting your foot. I once stepped on a piece of broken glass while wading up a creek when I was a child and had to get stitches. I X-ray folks all the time looking for nails and glass (one guy even punctured his foot by stepping on a golf tee while bare-foot).
And if you have ever been to the Carolina beaches you know how hot that sand can get (not to mention sand-spurs in the grass)!

I also X-ray ALOT of folks who have injured their foot, toe, or ankle and I don't believe that going bare-foot makes your ankle or feet muscles any stonger. And almost every broken toe I have seen occurred while the person was bare-foot.

For wet humid conditions I would suggest sandals (probably the oldest footware in human history and used by primitive people around the world). They're great to wear around the house too (I'm wearing some right now). Sandals give freedom of movement to your feet, allow your feet to dry quickly, and still offer protection to the soles and arch support too.

Otherwise, I'll stick to some good running sneakers or hiking boots.
Just my humble opinion.
Good Luck.

I also wear underwear in the woods (one more layer between my butt and chiggers)!


[This message has been edited by allenC (edited 04-27-2001).]
 
With all of the potential threats to bare feet above, let us not forget the threat of poisonous snakes and deer ticks as well. Here in the north, ticks are prevalent and their threat to human health is substantial.
While poisonous snakes aren't near the threat here as they are in the south, their threat is substantial as well. On my first trip to NC, I almost stepped on a cottonmouth. Within seconds of my hasty retreat, another person was bitten in the shoe by the same damn snake. Had that man not been wearing some great boots, he'd have suffered a nasty bite.

While shoes can make it difficult at times to maintain healthy feet, under most circumstances, feet can remain heathy with proper care.

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It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
 
Skin is great and can do most of the things we have discussed. But it has its limits.
There is good reasons why man made sandles, shoes and boots. We can just inhabit more places on the planet with them on. Many tribes, even with the most hardened feet, only have bare feet in camp where the ground has been prepared. Shoes and boots have always been prized possessions. Sandles to protect your feet from stoney ground and thorns. Shoes, from sharp flint and cutting vegetation. Boots from the wet and cold. If you are carrying weight over uneven ground then boots with a steel 3/4 shank and greater ancle support are worth it.

Today we work at a much higher rate/pace and don't worry so much about being energy efficient. Our tools are just so efficient that we can harvest food easily. Where food is less abundant and a higher percentage of time is used to collect it, people work at a much slower, more efficient, rate. At this rate you can look out for your feey. Modern frantic man might run about like a headless well shod chicken, but he still still lives a whole lot longer. However, he doesn't look up or down much, just straight ahead.

Going barefoot is good for ones feet. Hardenig up your feet (from soft) takes a little time but worth it. But once your feet are hardened you still have to maintain them and care for them. Too thick a footbed and they can crack right into the living flesh. Thorns, parasites among a whole bunch of nasties are out there to tread on and collect.

I enjoy going barefoot and know that my feet benefit from a summer of freedom. But my boots go on when there is work to be done. Last word: do give your feet air regularly, they need it.
 
Man, Evolute, you sure got flak for that, eh? Personally, if you ever need a barefoot hiking buddy, I'm game to try it.

If I'm going to walk through a field of cow patties, you better believe I'm lacing up. But in about a month I'm heading out to the high desert, and I'm considering going "descalzo" - at least part time. I think that it feels wonderful having smooth, hard basalt under the foot, or alkali dust exploding up between the toes. The desert is an extremely clean environment, so I'm not worried about hook worms, although the tumbleweeds can get pretty thorny.

And as far as infections go, the only time I have a battle with athletes foot is when I wear enclosed shoes.
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So maybe the majority of us aren't ready to take quite the jump that Evolute has, but I think he has some excellent points to break some of our paradigms. I mean, where are you going to find Nike's in a survival situation?!
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SOP for Jeff and I in SA is to go all day through the bacterial soup of the jungle, rain, swamps,et al, then make camp and get into dry socks and shoes around camp. Gringos usually can't build up the thick soles on bare feet that the locals have so bare feet are not a good idea walking around camp, especially after dark. There's just too many ways to get bites, stings, black palm thorns, etc. Even the locals will wear tennis shoes or sandals if they have em.

I don't wear underwear there cause it holds water next to your skin longer. Once in the tent/mosquito net for the night, all wet, nasty clothes and boots come off and are shoved in a pile at one end of the tent. Dry underwear goes on and feet and tender areas get a good rubdown with Purell (gelled alcohol). The alcohol helps keep down fungas on feet as well as drying out the skin. After about 10 days of being soaked every day it becomes a mental excercise and you wonder if you'll ever be dry agin.
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When it gets cool in the wee hours of the morning a poncho is great to stay warm. A ThermaRest is all we sleep on--no bags or other bedding.

Next morning all the wet nasty **** goes back on and we haul ass. The best thing we've found for foot fungas infections is "Lamisil" (off the shelf, about $10) or the feminine yeast infection creams like "Vagisil" or the like for about $3-$4. Feet are serious. You can sustain a lot of other problems but if feet get messed up you are screwed as well as the whole team. For that reason we get real nosey about team member's feet on a bush trip in Peru.

The indigs usually hit the water to clean up every day (usually after a soccer game) since most live on or near water. It's also why fish are a big part of the diet. I don't know much about the Andean peoples but there is usually water there also( but cold as hell) and most folks I've been around have been clean and no strong body oder. Chicken seems to find a place in the Andean people's diet more than anything else. If we can find a trickle of water big enough to fill a cup we'll have a bath every two to three days. You're hot and sweating about 10 minutes after again but it does help hygene to wash the cooties off.
Mike
Randall's Adventure and Training
Military Adventures
Jungle Expeditions
www.jungletraining,com
mike@jungletraining.com
 
what Mike said, except that during the military schools the therma rest bedding is a no-no. You can go a long damn time without a full bath. Keeping certain parts of the body clean and dry increases comfort, although I have damn near died inhaling Purell baths under a mosquito net before. After a couple of weeks in hard jungle everyone smells the same so it really doesn't matter anymore. Our only concerns are health issues at that point.

Jeff

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Randall's Adventure & Training
jeff@jungletraining.com
 
I want to make it clear that I understand that hookworms, chiggers, and assorted other parasitic nasties are a real issue to consider when deciding to go barefoot. I am not advocating that being barefoot is appropriate for all situations or all people. I am suggesting that casting off your shoes is a real option, and one which is actually the most appropriate for many situations--certainly more so than people generally realize or believe.

I may have come off badly; if so, please accept my apology. It's just troubling to me to see so many people wearing serious boots every time they step outside, getting blisters, athlete's foot, sprained ankles, bunions, letting their feet become structurally damaged over the years, cutting off their circulation, loosing flexibility and coordination, complaining constantly and taking their shoes off to soak their feet at every opportunity, exhausting themselves by lifting an extra 3-5 pounds thousands of time each day, and generally suffering without good reason.

I've spent a moderate time with SouthEastern US mud between my toes, and I have yet to become host to hookworms or chiggers. Obviously, that doesn't mean it can't happen. I tend to wear tight-fitting pant-cuffs, and I inspect myself for ticks regularly. Even though I have often found ticks on my pant legs, they do not seem to like being near my feet. I'm guessing that this is because those areas are constantly rubbing on things.

I haven't had any experiences with cottonmouth snakes, and have only been graced by the presence of one copperhead, so I can't say much about whether they are a real concern for the barefooted. I have encountered many hundreds of rattlesnakes in the Western United States, and I do not think that a risk of bites to my bare feet from them is much of a concern. Poisonous snakes need their venom for hunting and self-defense, and are extremely reluctant to expend their venom striking people unless they are absolutely convinced that their lives are in danger. I've even accidentally stepped on a rattlesnake in tall grass. I damn near died of a heart attack, but the snake just retreated calmly. Rattlesnakes, at least, seem to be very docile toward humans.

As for bee stings, red ant bites, and the like: you get used to them; they're not that painful nor a particularly big deal. They go away in a few minutes. (Obviously, I don't recommend this cavalier attitude to people who are allergic.)

As for broken toes: Admittedly, I've broken some toes on occasion. I don't know whether I'd attribute that to increased risk from being barefoot; I've also broken my nose, both clavicles, coccyx, both wrists, several ribs, and several fingers. That's just a part of life that I expect, in exchange for living more fully. Furthermore, I consider an occasional broken toe a small price to pay in exchange for no blisters, no athlete's foot, no sprained ankles or fallen arches, no foot cramps, no exhausted or overheated or swollen feet, etcetera. None. Ever.

In regards to the issue of callouses: I have been barefoot my whole life. (I had a brief flirtation with a pair of boots in the late eighties, but I found the experience of covering my feet intolerable.) My feet are completely callous-free, thin-skinned, and soft as a baby's bottom. I have seen my barefooted friends develop heavy callouses and extremely thick soles. I'm not denying that it usually happens, but I do want you to know that not everybody is subject to this phenomenon. I don't know why some people's feet callous and other's don't, but I assure you that this is the case.

Thick skin and callouses are not necessary for being able to bear the rigors of the footloose life. I think that dealing with the way the ground feels underfoot as you trod rough terrain has more to do with a neurological adaptation to the more direct sensations underfoot. (It's similar to why I found covering my feet up to be so unpleasant, like wearing a plastic bag over my head: my brain had never adapted to these sensations.) It is clear that your body must adapt in some ways to deal with being barefoot. I wish I could say more about the particulars, but I can't, because I have never had to make the transition from being one of the shod to being one of the footloose.

I also want to ease the concerns of those who believe that they will need to constantly look down, step gingerly, and focus primarily on their walking. It's not like that. It is simply natural that, when your feet are having a greater sensory experince of their surroundings, you walk with more awareness.

Once again, I am not saying that everyone should be barefoot all of the time. (I regularly wear sandals in cities.) I just want people to consider, before they lace up and step outside, whether they have rational reasons for this, or might instead be better served to let their feet go nude.
 
I see what you're saying.
It was not my intention to "come down hard" on your choice to go barefoot. If it works for you then I say go for it.
But I honestly do think that footwear is better. I believe most of the problems you stated are really due to IMPROPER fitting footwear or wearing the WRONG shoes for the situation (you don't snow-ski wearing sandals and you don't scuba dive with roller-blades. The occasion dictates the footwear).
I think alot of folks are walking around in shoes that are too loose or too tight (especially women!). Combine that with the cheapest socks they can find and very little "foot maintenance" and it equals big problems.

I wore boots in the Army because I had to, and I wear my Danners in the winter because they are warm and dry. In the spring, summer, and fall I usually stick to sneakers or sandals. And I go barefoot sometimes (but I have to be careful because the neighbor's dog poops in my yard).

BTW, I have never been bitten on the feet by anything either. But I have gotten chiggers from sitting on logs and stumps (I have learned better).


[This message has been edited by allenC (edited 04-28-2001).]
 
Evolute, I do agree with a lot of what you say.

My coments were as much to make everyone think a little. My feet are definately deformed from wearing boots and shoes. I'm also more precious than when I was younger - things just hurt more (yep, I'm married and gone soft - I blame having to have central heating). There are a whole lot of places where heavy western high tech boots are the worst choise of footwear. A lot of the modern stuff has a lot to answer for. I used to love wearing those Green Flash type leather tennis shoes, but I don,t thing anyone makes that simple and hardwearing anymore. Deck shoes are the ones I'm using most ofen now.

My coment on modern man not looking up or down was more about his lack of awareness to his enviroment. Once I'm ski fit, I don't have to look at my ski's and my knees absorb the bumps without thought. Out on the hill it takes about a week for my legs to aquire the ability to walk over the rough terrain as if by themselves. The best route also seems to be instictively found.
My favourite skill is walking at night without artificial light.

I'm typical of many who have to switch from the concrete jungle to the natural world regularly. It does take time to adjust. A couple of days to a week depending on how long you have left it and how much experience you have. Some of the skills take some time to remember/relearn, because you do forget them.
 
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