My Favorite Shoes for a Naked Hike

The best foot ware for naked hiking? Well the answer to that is obviously whatever works best for you. However, if you are like me, wearing shoes while the rest of your body is bare is kind of a bummer. Plus, wearing shoes kind of goes against the spirit of naturism. You want to be in touch with nature without the barrier of clothing, including foot ware. However, walking barefoot for long for me is an issue because of a minor foot problem, and I like doing long hikes, usually four miles at a minimum. I also dont want the bottoms of my feet to start looking like shoe soles. The answer I came up with is Vibram Fivefingers shoes. They look goofy, but if I go with the thinner soles, the feel of the ground underfoot is pretty darn good and sharp rocks and sticks are much less of an issue. They take some getting used to, as they make all those little atrophied muscles in your feet work, which is a good thing. In addition, you have thin rubber under foot, but it still takes a while to toughen up your feet so that every little rock isnt a pain. Christopher McDougalls book Born to Run has some great material on minimalist shoes and the merits of less is better; plus, it is a fun read. In addition to feeling more natural and more naked, there are other benefits I have found. I have a bad ankle. If I wear a hard-soled hiking boot on a 4-mile hike, I will roll my ankle at least 4 times. In Fivefingers, I havent rolled my ankle in over 100 miles of hiking. That is a little counterintuitive, but when I explain to people why that is, they get it. It is one of those things that a visual demonstration is worth 100 words. I can walk off-trail through uneven ground that would kill my ankle(s) in a hard-soled boot without any problem in the Fivefingers. Another benefit is in dealing with water. You can pretty much ignore it in a pair of Fivefingers that fit snuggly and are porous. I walk through marshes and creeks all the time, and all I can say is it feels good. Within a few steps of being out of the water, your feet dont even feel wet any more. That is a luxury. Back in the day, there was nothing worse than filling your hiking boot with water, having to stop, pour the water out of your boot, wring out your sock, and then put the soggy thing back on. There are other reasons why I like my Five Finger, but I dont want to be too much of a commercial, but if you are a naked hiker, I encourage you to try them. I've posted a picture of me in my Fivefingers on my page. You have to ignore my hairy legs.