Winter Barefooting?

I'm sure this question has already been asked, but it's just easier for me to ask it again, then to search through all the threads...lazy, I know. *winks and laughs*

What do you barefooters do in the winter if you live in some of the norther states?

I live in MIchigan and it's cold here 65 percent of the time...I've spent my entire summer barefoot and I LOVE it! But what do I do when winter comes again? I've been "practicing" wearing shoes again, but now it just doesn't feel right and it bugs the back of my heels, too, so they end up coming off anyway.

Any suggestions? What do you all do during the winter, if you have a winter?

 

When I was growing up in Melbourne, I was also barefoot during the winter months. Although it wasn't as cold as in the snow fields, sometimes the daily temperature wouldn't rise much above 9 degrees celcius.

Yet even though my parents said that I would catch a cold, I didn't, as my Science teacher told me that so long as the vital areas of the body were kept warm - ie the chest and head - the rest of the body would be warm.

So during the colder winter months I would wear a thick shirt, heavy jacket, scarf, jeans and beanie. My feet were always bare and although they would get softish soles from walking in the rain - they never got cold.

People would comment - yet my response was "Ever see a penguin wear shoes on the ice?"

I also agree that body temperature is a state of mind to a degree (no pun intended). If you think you're cold - you will be.

However in Cairns the winter temp is around 23 degrees celcius - so winter wear is only a pair of jeans and a normal shirt.

Avagoodone.

 

I've tried going barefoot in the snow. It's not bad when it's above freezing and the snow is crunchy. I can't go for long periods, though. I think I could endure it longer if I did this more often and built up a tolerance to it. Going barefoot in warm weather was uncomfortable to me at first, but now it's the most heavenly thing.

The cold makes my toes very pink. It's the body's way of trying to keep the skin warm. If your toes start to get white or numb, then you're in trouble. If I'm out in the cold, I check the bottoms of my toes regularly to make sure they are still pink.

Cold rain and dew are even worse than snow. I've made my feet numb by walking in fields of grass with ice-cold dew. Even in early Autumn, dew gets freezing cold and it soaks the feet. Snow at least has an insulating effect and is felt mainly on the soles, not all over like dew. Cold, dry pavement in winter is more easy to handle than ice-cold dew in grass in Autumn. Jagged ice is almost impossible to handle with bare feet.

When it gets in the 20s F and below, it's just too cold for my skin. I have to submit to Mum Nature and put on shoes.

 

Maybe I should just move to a warmer climate... *Laughs*

 

Yeah, Michigan is pretty cold, Annie.

I had a research paper somewhere about a couple of Mideastern guys who worked at an Air Force base around Colorado. They used to go barefoot all winter as part of their religious culture. They could withstand temps below freezing without trouble. I wish I could find the article.

Keeping the rest of the body warm through clothing or fat is a good way to build up endurance to cold when barefoot. Someone did a study of having people try to endure a freezing lab in the nude. Sure enough, people with the most body fat could endure the cold the best. It doesn't help to be skinny.

 

I visit geese by the pond during the winter. They go barefoot of course like all of Nature's other creatures. I always wondered how they endure it. An article I read said they have a special network of blood vessel in their webbed feet that provide extra warmth and keep them from freezing.

I sort of wonder if one goes barefoot regularly in feezing weather if the body could actually create more blood vessels in the feet. The body certainly can create new vessels in response to disease or injury. It would be similar to skin thickening up as a response to going barefoot on rough surfaces. That could explain why some people who barefoot regularly in the cold might be able to do it without problems.

 

G'day again,

Forgot to mention something my old Science teacher said about barefooting in the snow.

If your feet have a pinkish tinge to them whilst walking, then there is a good circulation of blood going to them. Even though they may feel numb, the blood is still getting to them.

If they appear white or white with a blueish/grey tinge - it's time to get back inside as the brain is starting to shut down the circulation to them. Any longer and frost-bite will be starting to occur. When you do get back inside and you're feet are this colour, don't put them straight in front of a heater/fire place! This shock can do more damage to the flesh than frost bite.

Instead, fill a bucket with tepid water and slowly immerse your feet. Allow the circulation to slowly restart to your feet, rather than the sudden impact of a lot of heat.

Just a helpful hint, hope someone finds it useful.

Avagoodone.

 

There are times when I've worn only socks for walks in cold dry weather. Not as nice as bare feet, but not as bad as shoes. Socks sure don't last long outdoors. Socks are worthless for cold wet grass in the winter too, or any wet terrain for that matter.

 

Barefoot in winter in Vermont where I lived the majority of my life = impossible

 

Unfortunately winter barefooting here is a no-no. Sure temperature can be a state of mind, but it's just too cold this far north. I'll run outside and start my car barefoot to let it warm up, but below -20 F a few minutes is all it takes to start to freeze flesh.

 

I'm quite happy going barefoot when it's cold, although when it's cold my feet don't get so hot that I'm uncomfortable in shoes. Although I do go barefoot during the winter from time to time so that my feet aren't ridiculously soft when the time comes to get them out again.

As far as snow is concerned, well we don't get a lot here so I don't have a lot of opportunity to build up a resistance to it as it were. But I always take the opportunity to enjoy it for short periods of time when I can. I can manage maybe 10-15 minutes at a time.