Hi, I'm Dave Powers in Montana

[RiverNude]

Dave,

This is similar to my outlook on what to wear, or not wear when hiking. Barefoot's my favorite way, but yes, there are certainly places it's not safe or appropriate. And, I usually wear a hat, particularly for protection from too much sun, plus, the shade on head and neck helps keep us cooler in hot climates.

Ah, yes, broken glass and bare feet don't mix! That mythical, elusive creature "Slobivious Americanus" lurks everywhere!

[Greenbare Woods]

Ah, yes, broken glass and bare feet don't mix!

In several years of being full time barefoot, the only time I've gotten cut by broken glass was in a street in Newport, Oregon, USA.  My wife and I were walking from our hotel to a pub at the bottom of a hill, a distance of about 3 or 4 city blocks.  Someone apparently had thrown an empty bottle that had broken in the street.  Most broken glass lays flat and causes no problems.  I wasn't paying enough attention.  The bottom of the bottle was laying flat, but it had a small upturned bit of the bottle side still pointing upward.  It caught the edge of my foot.  OUCH.    Still only once is quite a few years of barefooting 24/7 isn't bad. 

It's not a nude story.  The weather had been cold and windy in Newport while we were there.  Pants and jacket weather. 

[RiverNude]

Glass in rocky places is more likely to be a foot hazard than glass on dirt, as it's usually jumbled among the rocks. Like you said, it tends to lay flat on/in soil. Also like you said, bottoms of bottles and jars are the risky parts. I've got an area on my place that had been basically a trash midden under previous ownership. I constantly find large glass fragments there, as they work out of the soil with rain and dry cycles. A lot of those have been broken in place, so that the entire jar or bottle is still there, just in pieces. The soil is woodland loam, so it's easy to step onto the glass while your foot sinks down a bit, making a perfect set-up for a nasty cut. That's the one area of my entire land that I won't walk barefoot through.

[jbeegoode]

Rocks that I can fry an egg on are dangerous to walk on. Hot beach sand a similar problem.
Jbee

[Free hiker dave]

Okay, how many of you will walk barefoot across the ground in the picture?

[RiverNude]

For just a short span along a hike, I'd probably do it, very slowly and carefully. But, if the hike would have a lot of that, I'd want my 5-Fingers or boots.

[Free hiker dave]

For just a short span along a hike, I'd probably do it, very slowly and carefully. But, if the hike would have a lot of that, I'd want my 5-Fingers or boots.

You will want to wear boots. While the slope looks stable, it isn't. The rocks roll and shift under your feet. It is like walking on grinding, chewing bearings. Once rocks start moving, you start sliding. Rcoks slide over and under your feet. It is worth keeping in mind you are miles away from your car and help. Your feet become your most important asset. Keeping them safe keeps you mobile.  If you look closer, there is more of the same rocky slope beyond the ponderosa pines and juniper.  The pines and shrubs grow on top of rock fragments.

[jbeegoode]

I'm almost always on a trail. Trails almost always make a more firm strip along a rock slide like that. Still, I use caution on spots like that. I walk around spots like that. They can be an avalanche, short distance and long. I'll use the bottom where it is less far to slide. I'll use those trees to climb through it. It is best to avoid that stuff, if possible. Of course, if it is fresh, it is even more unpredictable and spooky.

Still, sliding in boots might be a messed, twisted up ankle. I prefer better movement, flexibility, awareness, which are things when attempted slowly, tend to make the carpet slide out from under me in a slower motion. Rocks will roll slowly over my feet. Toe shoes are lighter and move out of harm quicker than clunky heavy hiking boots.I've used all fours to help me put less weight on any of the four points and create an escape by weight distribution. Heavy boots put more weight on a single point which can dislodge, or push rock, out from under.

Four legged animals use the same strategy of weight distribution and reactive movement to lessen the push that is needed to make the rocks give. Many get low to the ground, sometimes in ready. animal feet have flexibility, and friction strategies built in, even those with hooves.

Then, there are those slopes in the sun with dark grey rock baked to heat and burning my hands and feet through my thin soles.

Why in the heck were you climbing that dangerous pile of rubble, anyway, Free hiker dave?
Jbee

[Free hiker dave]

Why in the heck were you climbing that dangerous pile of rubble, anyway, Free hiker dave?

Jbee, I was working the float looking for fossils. Look closely at the picture you will then notice I have a hammer and chisel. I'm cutting away a  fossil.  You will also see a stout walking staff made of ironwood. I use it like a third leg. I am different from many on Free Range Naturism because I rarely use established trails. I'm out searching for fossils, insects, and everything that interests me. Such things are rarely seen along well-established trails. I always carry a notebook, I write down observations about contorted junipers and speculate on what forces caused them to be the way they are.  My pursuits are best done alone.

[jbeegoode]

I sat twenty some years observing the lush desert around my Tortolita home, the seasonal and weather effects, the behaviors over years. I rarely wrote notes. There is so much to learn. The diversity, the subtle adaptations and ecology are fascinating. I understand the need to do that solo, or with a partner that gives space.

Have you any knowledge of dowsing. A vortex often contorts, twists trees and Junipers erratically. I visited some of the vortex sites in Sedona and found bizarre configurations. Many other trees will do the same. I dowse or just feel it, pretty consistently. An artesian flow will produce a positive, or negative spinning energy. A tree may tap into that water source and get twisted as it grows. Sometimes domes are associated with a vortex, which could be the water under there, or something else.

The granite rock formations in the Tortolita hills would seep and flow when it rained. The effects can vary in intensity depending on drought. I found several vortex, vorticees, (sic.) there. One was in my backyard.

DF and I tend to wander where it is lush and easier, which brings us where most trails go. Climbing up and down is tough, too. It is fun to find something unusual, or precious, a Native American artifact, a fun rock formation, etc.  Tributary washes bring these things as rains and erosion uncover them.
Jbee

[nuduke]

I'd certainly wear my walking boots over that terrain, Dave!
John

[eyesup]

Ding! Dong!
Just thought I would pop-in for a visit.

OK, remaining TSNS colleagues, what did we used to call 'netless' hiking?  Was it "Extreme SN"?  I've been racking my brains and can't remember the term.  Was it not Alf who would freeze the car key in a block of ice, lock the car and hike off with no form of cover up (netless) until the ice melted enough to release the car key and allow him to go home!  Wouldn't work nowadays with electronic keys which would stop working when wet!

John

I believe we called it "enforced naked hiking".

Duane

[Greenbare Woods]

Okay, how many of you will walk barefoot across the ground in the picture?

That looks like a talus slope from a basalt area.  Basalt tends to fracture with sharp edges, and a talus slope doesn't get much wear to round them off. I would be careful crossing a talus slope, even with sandals.   Individual rocks are usually unstable and move when stepped on.  We have quite a few such slopes around here.