My first barefoot trip
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I have just returned from 3day trip and want to share my experience.
I have been walking around the city barefoot for over a week. My Solomons weren't fitting me well, so I decided to go barefoot for this hike. I left home early Friday morning to join a rappelling program. It was approx. 150 ft rappel and there were about 35 people. I spent the day mostly napping and talking to people while waiting for my chance and then for event to get over. Fortunately, the rappel wall was in shade, other wise it was difficult to stand on the rocks in 90+ heat. On the way back I got a cut on right foot ball which I washed, and applied hand sanitizer to disinfect the wound and then a band aid.
Late night I reached another place to meet some friends with whom I planned to hike next two days. They forced me to carry a pair of slippers and I was glad to have them. We slept in a friend's place near the trail head and [4 of us] drove there early morning the next day. The beginning portion was sandy and I enjoyed walking barefoot. But later it turned to loose rocks and I had a hard time keeping up with rest. So I had to wear the slipper. The slipper were rubber one, the most basic type available. Here is a pic:
These slippers force you to hike on your balls and it provided near barefoot experience for tough sections. Some places where I preferred slippers:
>loose rock
>forest
>dry grass
>when the ground was hotAlthough I was grateful that I had these slippers I cannot recommend them. I suffered multiple hot spots due to constant rubbing of my feet in the slippers. I also have a blister under my big toe on my right leg.
This was a tough hike and we hiked till late evening with frequent stops depending on shade, terrain and slope. We stopped in a village 1.5hours from our destination. Since we had whole sunday [note that I am in India] we decided to stop in the village for food and rest rather going to the top. Next morning we started early and were on the top by 8:30 am. It is a tourist spot and vehicles can come directly to the top from the other side. I took a bus back home while other 2 took a different path down.
Comments:
Golite Ion
The narrow/tall profile was excellent and I think think this pack is going to be a keeper. The seems dont seem bomber so I will seam seal it with MCU.Nike running shorts:
They were great in shade but out in open in 90+ heat, I could feel my legs burning.Trek pants
Stretchy nylon fabric. Lack of ventilation results in lot of sweating. So I switch over to shorts in heat. I believe a good solution is pants with side zip which give all the benefits of pants with ventilation of shorts.8mm CCF: Cut to torso length it complimented the pack well and gave good support and padding.
Torch: mine probably weights more then my backpack. I HAVE to buy a LED flash light.
sleeping system:
8mm CCF, sun cap, nike drifit ss zip T, shorts, trek pants.
It was a bit chilly at night but I have been trying to condition my body to be comfortable with little insulation. I slept mostly on my stomach with my arms under me to maximize the insulation from CCF.Food: I made a mistake of taking spicy snacks. Never again. You need more water with spicy food and we had hiked with little water to spare. [Relatively speaking based on my urine color]
Lime water with suger/salt is great in heat.
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