Going without shoes

[FelixAvery]

Hey im new to the forums been looking at them for a while and finally a topic comes up which i have some experience in!
I love walking barefoot in fact when i came down from tibet into nepal at the beginning of march this year I ditched my furry hiking boots for cheap hemp sandals which were destroyed by the time i got to india (at this time I had scorned the western hippies who walked barefoot through cowdung and dirty streets).

I had settled down for a while near rishikesh and they broke and I was too cheap and lazy to leave the village i was in to buy new ones so I just didn't and things stayed like that for 2 months! Its really nice not to have to put shoes on and its always fun to freak out indians who on the most part think every westerner is completely mental. even in india being barefoot was suprisingly easy apart from the terrible fear of crossing red hot metal bridges ,and having to walk in the shade on sunny days.

The highlight of my time without shoes (apart from the stares in heathrow on the way home) was hiking up to kheer ganga a hot spring 3000m above sea level up in parvati valley which was 6 hours walk from the nearest road and the whole way was over soft close cropped grass and smooth stone and was pure dead brilliant. I still ditch my shoes when i get to my parents farm for the weekend but wouldnt risk it on the streets of edinburgh.

I do find that going barefoot makes you more aware of your surroundings and you feel like a real creature of the earth when you stand on the ground its very anachronistic and primitive!

 

[johnboy]

When I lived in WA, most folk didn't bother with shoes. I personally think it's a cultural thing.

I agree specifically the developed culture in the UK is shoes are a cultural requirement. Here in NZ going barefoot is really really common so it's no surprise to see folks going barefoot at any time of the year.My kids spend most of the time barefoot and they have exceptionally tough feet as a result. I've also spent a good swag of time cleaning up cuts on feet etc..I came to the UK for a trip to see the whanau in 2008 and spent a bit of time barefoot as I would do here in NZ. I do remember going into a Morrisons supermarket and getting pulled to one side by the security guard and warned that being barefoot was not acceptable to them ( or him I suspect) as apparently it was risky and I might cut my foot on something in the supermarket...That view could not be more different to the prevailing view here in NZ.

 

[ol smokey]

My initial experience of going bare-foot was as a thirteen year old when on holiday on a small island in the Hebrides on the west coast of Scotland. It was a very hot summer and with friends. I went hay making and ran about on the hay stubble. This over a short period of about a week, hardened my feet very quickly. At first you had to learn to slide your feer forward as you let them down so as to flatten the stubble (short ends of the cut grass) But after a while you could run normally and not worry how you placed your feet. in just over a week I could scramble around on the rough shore rocks with no discomfort whatsoever. As an adult when on holiday in the town of Ayr I went around smartly dressed but barefoot because I did not know anyone. I did get some funny looks but did not find it too uncomfortable apart from the heat of the pavement as it Ewan's mid summer

 

[Huon]

Yeah. That sounds right. As a kid growing up in NZ I managed to go without shoes for the first 10 or 11 years of my life. The only exception would have been jandals (flip flops) on the iron sand beaches on the West coast and even those we could take for far longer than I can now. Even as a teenager we managed to go barefoot for most of the year and only wore shoes when forced to by secondary school.

I still prefer to go barefoot around the house and garden and if I am back in NZ I think nothing of going barefoot in shops, petrol stations and the like.

I agree specifically the developed culture in the UK is shoes are a cultural requirement. Here in NZ going barefoot is really really common so it's no surprise to see folks going barefoot at any time of the year.My kids spend most of the time barefoot and they have exceptionally tough feet as a result. I've also spent a good swag of time cleaning up cuts on feet etc..I came to the UK for a trip to see the whanau in 2008 and spent a bit of time barefoot as I would do here in NZ. I do remember going into a Morrisons supermarket and getting pulled to one side by the security guard and warned that being barefoot was not acceptable to them ( or him I suspect) as apparently it was risky and I might cut my foot on something in the supermarket...That view could not be more different to the prevailing view here in NZ.

 

[Bigfoot]

Some old aquaintances of mine (Gaelic speakers from Islay and S. Uist) grew up without shoes and didn't wear them until they were about 9 or 10 years old. I have been hillwalking with these guys and one of them did a couple of Munros with me totally barefoot! I found that astonishing and still do I have tried the barefoot stuff and can manage pretty well but I do feel more comfortable with kit designed to protect my feet

 

[mentalnurse]

here are some 3000 year old foots prints from formby beach they seemed to do well with out shoes. but we lived in a differant world then.

IMG00058-20090616-1551 by carlhamer, on Flickr

IMG00055-20090616-1550 by carlhamer, on Flickr
once they are uncovered by the tides in the mud on the beach they only last a few days before being washed away for ever.

 

[treadlightly]

Good to hear there's so much barefooting about!

 

[Thenihilist]

Walking in shin deep puddles is fun!

 

[Thenihilist]

Right after over a week of going without shoes i have made a empirical decision to resume the wearing of shoes but only in town.

The reason being, there is a lot of litter in my town, i have had more than a few people try to physically attack me in town and many making comments which i don't care about (anyone knows how i dress will know i don't care what folk think) but people who try to stamp on my feet(4 of them) i have decided to stop going barefoot in town( anyone from Fife will know the buckhaven/methil area will know what i mean)

In ma hoose and in the woods i won't be wearings shoes, the only negative of this is a stubbed toe ir standing on glass, both are unlikely , the benifits are, no sweaty feet, no shoes or socks to carry, closer to nature, feeling nature.

Contrary to my beliefs feet don't get cold easily, it doesn't hurt (after only a week i walked 3 miles on gravel, as my feet toughen i'll be fine for 20 plus miles

Apart from unfortunate geographical location i'd not wear shoes again.

 

[gliderrider]

Good luck with it. I dont know if your've seen it, but Duel Survival on the discovery chanel has someone that refuses to wear shoes.

Personally my feelings on the subject are that if the circumstances are such that going barefoot is more of a hinderance(or health risk) you should fall back on them, even if its only sandals or mocasins.

So dont let the ******** get you down.

 

[Bigfoot]

Right after over a week of going without shoes i have made a empirical decision to resume the wearing of shoes but only in town.

The reason being, there is a lot of litter in my town, i have had more than a few people try to physically attack me in town and many making comments which i don't care about (anyone knows how i dress will know i don't care what folk think) but people who try to stamp on my feet(4 of them) i have decided to stop going barefoot in town( anyone from Fife will know the buckhaven/methil area will know what i mean)

In ma hoose and in the woods i won't be wearings shoes, the only negative of this is a stubbed toe ir standing on glass, both are unlikely , the benifits are, no sweaty feet, no shoes or socks to carry, closer to nature, feeling nature.

Contrary to my beliefs feet don't get cold easily, it doesn't hurt (after only a week i walked 3 miles on gravel, as my feet toughen i'll be fine for 20 plus miles

Apart from unfortunate geographical location i'd not wear shoes again.

Urban locations can have all sorts of nasty parasite type thingies from e.g dog poo and other excreta so I think you are wise to go "with" when you are in town.

 

[VANDEEN]

Pleased it's going well for you, I never wear shoes round the house & grew up at the coast so look forward to getting onto a beach and kicking mine off, you find some sandy beaches in some lovely places too

Loch Enoch, Galloway. Beaches aint always at sea level

 

[trekkingnut]

I walk barefoot on my days off in Borneo. However that generally only tends to be when i am walking around the villages or on well trodden paths.... If i go totally off road then its not pleasant to go barefoot.

Borneo is generally too cold in the highlands to have a lot of snakes so im not that bothered.

However when i work in the Amazon i wouldnt go barefoot.... prob see a few snakes a day at least!

 

[Graham_S]

I tend to go without in the winter.
In the summer it's just too hot.
You can literally fry an egg on the pavement out here in the height of summer, so walking around barefoot is not really practical.