[pct-l] Hiking Barefoot?

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

There isn't really that much cactus on the trail, but you might try  
hiking in the Scissors Crossing/San Felipe Hills section to see what  
it's like. The worst rocks on the trail were between the Sisters and  
Mt. Washington in Oregon.

I think with really tough feet you could enjoy a barefoot experience  
under the forest canopy in the soft duff from about Sierra City  
northward to Canada with some off-and-on donning of at least sandals  
for the rockier or hotter sections or places with glaciers and  
glacier melt streams, road walks or other unpleasant areas. The  
barefoot sisters hiked the Appalachian trail barefoot, wearing shoes  
in a section with snow and ice. The AT is mostly under the forest  
canopy, and most of Northern California, Oregon and Washington have  
nice forest canopy, too.
http://www.barefoothikers.org/barefoot-sisters.html

Yesterday I hiked almost 14 miles wearing a pair of homemade huarache  
sandals. It was a delightful experience, but things like wild roses  
tearing at my skin were not too pleasant, and some unexpected poodle  
dog bush could have caused a big problem if I hadn't noticed it  
immediately.


On Sep 5, 2011, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> What would be the worst sections as far as cactus, and rock?