[at-l] I'm a trail shoe failure

[icw39@ncfreedom.net (Clark Wright)]

That jives with what I heard last year, too; one, simple observation: 
For the majority of mankind's time on this earth, and for the majority
of earth's citizens to this very day, the same bare feet that the good
Lord gave us all do just fine for all kinds of walking and running -
local and long distance . . . a good argument can be made that the whole
hiking boot/shoe fitting thing is really more about your foot rebelling
against such onerous confines, than about finding the "perfect fit"
[which assumes your feet WANT to be in the proverbial glass slipper!] 
Foot coverings certainly are necessary, if nothing else than to deal
with temperature extremes, but I sometimes wonder whether or not the
majority of AT foot problems are caused by the foot coverings
themselves, as opposed to the inherent pounding of the walk . . . 

thru-thinker

Sanne aka Ready wrote:
> 
> The question was posed about how the Barefoot Sisters managed to hike so far
> without shoes/sandals.
> 
> They had been going barefoot for much of their lives. Hiking barefoot was not
> merely some hair-brained scheme to garner attention, but a natural extension
> of something they were very comfortable with doing.
> 
> What I recall of their comments about hiking barefoot:  they did tread more gingerly
> than most of us do/would (in shoes/sandals/boots). Going barefoot took a bit
> more time because of having to choose the placement of their feet as they
> hiked.  They discussed how it was not so much that their feet became impervious to
> pain (ie, toughened up) but that they became somewhat desensitized; the pain didn't
> bother them.  They were able to hike even in the cold as long as the cold was *under*
> their feet. Once the snow reached *over* their feet, they had to put on protection.
> 
> Their decision to wear foot coverings (Tevas) on their return North was attributable to
> having a deadline for completing their trek. They didn't think they could (or wanted) to
> hike shoeless (read: slower),and have to be on the Trail longer than their deadline.
> 
> Sorry if this had already been answered.  I checked through the posts and it didn't seem
> that anyone had addressed the question.
> 
> Ready
> 
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