Barefoot life

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At various places here at TH I've seen comic references to the displeasure caused by walking on legos barefoot.

Humans.

My personal record for Lego walking is one step. Followed by a lot of swearing.
 
I was wondering if you feet were just going numb from the cold, or if you were just tough and adapted to the cold, because I know I'd have frost bite in minutes.
 
I walked barefoot growing up exploring Santa Rosa Creek, in the 1950s Catching trout, bluegill, bullfrogs and turtles, and I know the Goat's Head thorn (Tribulus) better than most. The only good thing I can say about the plant is its thorns are not barbed. Now walking barefoot through the snow I couldn't imagine.
 
I was wondering if you feet were just going numb from the cold, or if you were just tough and adapted to the cold, because I know I'd have frost bite in minutes.

Don't overlook the faint possibility that my good friend Cory cannot tell the difference...
;)

Frankly, I think he's tougher that saddle leather, myself. I'd not last more than a few minutes barefoot in snow, unless I'd spent too long in a 105 degree hot springs or sweat lodge beforehand. Even then, it would be a short exposure at best.
 
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Jer has it right, goat's head are the absolute worst...sand spurs a moderately close second. Misery to the barefoot.

Actually, if you have to tent camp in goat's head territory, you are in for a horrid time. Those shitters will easily kill top dollar Thermarest sleeping pads through a good ground cloth and tent floor. Let alone bring blood from knees, elbows, and hands while moving about inside the tent.

This I can promise, from first hand experience :).
 
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I was wondering if you feet were just going numb from the cold, or if you were just tough and adapted to the cold, because I know I'd have frost bite in minutes.

I felt like my feet adapted, and I guess you could say 95% of them did because there are no issues (currently) with them except for a couple spots on two toes. But i gotta keep an eye on it cuz Dr Google says frostbite damage can manifest 24-48 hrs later. It's kinda disappointing cuz the feet felt completely comfortable after the hike today and I thought I could expand my barefoot hobby. And now snow is coming tonite, Imma have to wear boots to deal with it :whine:

Jerry, I couldn't imagine walking thru snow either, until a week ago.

Burnham, I would have thought the same about not lasting more than a few minutes in snow. FWIW, I'm sure most anybody could last 10 minutes in snow without issues if they were exercising at the same time.
 
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Well, maybe so Cory. But you also love the ice cold shower thing too...also not my cup of tea by many a mile. I think we just are fundamentally different in the way our bodies handle this "ice against skin" thing :D.
 
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Love. I can't say that's how I feel about cold showers. For me, they are definitely hard to take but afterwards I'm always happy I did it because I feel great.
 
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I think we just are fundamentally different in the way our bodies handle this "ice against skin" thing :D.

I think 99% of people do not relish the thought of coldness but some are willing to endure some of it for a perceived worthwhile return.
 
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  • #88
We definitely gotta have an ice water tub at the future GTG :dude:
 
I thought about it a few minutes...I can get the "perceived worthwhile return" thing in so far as a quick dip in a mountain lake to wash off the sweat and dust from a day of backpacking. Sleeping sticky-free snuggled up with my favorite lake swimmer lady afterwards definitely is a reward worth the enduring.
:D
 
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They do a polar plunge here every year, where they take an excavator, bash a hole in the ice on the river, and then people jump in the cold as eff water for some enjoyment. No thanks. I have hardwood and tile floors in most of my house, and with the crawlspace under the house they're cold. My wife crochets a bunch, so she made everyone a pair of slippers. Mine are wool, and I'll never not wear them again in the winter :lol: keep your feet toasty but let's them breathe so they don't sweat. I'm a convert. And that's in my house. I did take the garbage out tonight wearing my mud boots and a robe tho, that's about as hardcore as i ever care to be! 16126707316438988778436186134031.jpg
 
Lol I'll have to tell her that, but then i think they find me frozen in a snow bank with stab wounds! She's getting pretty good at it, makes blankets often, and our kids both have a couple that they sleep with every night. My 3 year old son must have figured it was gonna be colder than usual so he drug another one to bed with him the other night :lol:
 
I like those slippers. Not really something I wear, but they look good.

I'd take a barefoot hike in the snow with you cory. I'd give it a shot anyway. You can keep your cold showers though. A hot shower is one of my favorite parts of the day, and making my favorite part of the day sucky would just make me angry.
 
We had something like Goat head when I was a kid, haven't seen them for years now, but I don't go roaming around without boots in the bush these days. Used to call them Bull's Heads, same family evidently.

gcucw.jpg

I wear thongs (flip flops?) most of the time when not working, barefoot sometimes. Or used to, it gets a bit cool up here in winter and rarely snows, but if it does I won't be walking around in it.
 
Cycling in the north of Scotland in July we happened to camp in a glen where you could see the snowpack on the mountain which fed the creek running through it (outside Luss in the Trossachs National Park). A pool was nearby so I announced I was going to take a dip to clean off the road grime and salt. I dug out the environmentally-safe camp soap, and headed to the pool. I dove in, crossed that pool in what seemed a millisecond and exited the water in one movement!! I’ll swim in Maine and N Michigan, and this water was colder than anything I’d ever experienced. Karen saw my shock and said nope! I knelt on a rock to wash my matted hair. As fast as I worked my hands were immediately numb. I convinced Karen to let me wash her hair, and she screamed that her brain was freezing. Sure felt good to be clean but that water was coooold!!!
 
Had that experience up on one of the volcanos one summer in the cascades.
Went in that clear clean water with snorkle and fins to see if there might be fishes. Sister got out faster than I. Granted, fins slow on rocks.
Up on Lassen i think.
Ranger was laughing at me when I got out.
My words were something like, sure is cold water, are there any trout in there. Its so deep I could not really see bottom.
I was informed it was very deep, one of the reasons it stayed cold, that, and that the only source to fill it was the snow that recently melted. No, no fish.
 
Cycling in the north of Scotland in July we happened to camp in a glen where you could see the snowpack on the mountain which fed the creek running through it (outside Luss in the Trossachs National Park). A pool was nearby so I announced I was going to take a dip to clean off the road grime and salt. I dug out the environmentally-safe camp soap, and headed to the pool. I dove in, crossed that pool in what seemed a millisecond and exited the water in one movement!! I’ll swim in Maine and N Michigan, and this water was colder than anything I’d ever experienced. Karen saw my shock and said nope! I knelt on a rock to wash my matted hair. As fast as I worked my hands were immediately numb. I convinced Karen to let me wash her hair, and she screamed that her brain was freezing. Sure felt good to be clean but that water was coooold!!!




Was there..shrinkage? 907C20CB-C106-4571-9E5D-623AB9CFDA94.gif
 
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