Where did you go barefoot today?

I've posted on here a number of times of going to my local Albertson's store barefoot ALL the time. Never once had a problem. In fact, I was thinking of going there sometime tomorrow because I need to buy some more trash can liners for my kitchen trash can. I'm loving this warm spell too. Got up to 84F/29 C today. :sunny:

 

you mean bycicle or motorbike ?:biker::biker::biker:

 

video store, bakery, liquor store, and state park----autumn foliage barefoot!

 

bycicle,i like feel the pedals under my feet

 

Yes, indeed, I wrote "skyclad" up there, meaning nude. In mid-November, too, which is a clear indicator of untypically mild weather. And perhaps this was the last occasion to enjoy more than a short moment being barefoot all over out of doors. The weather situation leading to that occasion was developing in the middle of last week, when a small cyclone called "Carmen" was making its way over Germany, with wind speeds around 80 to 90 kph in our flatland region. In its wake, mild air from the south-west was shovelled in, which led to temperatures around 15°C (60F) during the day and night temperatures not dropping below 10°C (50F). What also happened was the celestial equivalent of a rain cloud highway. A narrow strip of rain clouds hanging almost fixed over central Germany brought almost constant rain from Thursday until late Sunday afternoon. And here is the reason for calling the usual barefoot Sunday stroll in the park a swampy one.

I didn't want to get too wet from the rain, and so I postponed my Sunday walk as long as possible, while watching a weather web site and checking the radar images there, which told me, that there would be no or only very little rain in the late afternoon - which would then mean a walk in the dark, after sunset. I recently have joined a German-speaking web forum known as Hippie-Forum 2.0, a Joomla-based platform for freaky people to meet and exchange their views. After joining a group about Barefoot walking, I founded an interest group of my own, entitled "nudity - freedom", characterizing nudity (as well as walking barefoot) being a typically "hippie" thing as well, And after posting an introduction message about me and my reasons to live a nude life (whenever possible - weather permitting, being nude outdoors as often as I can and being constantly nude at home) I felt that this might be the last occasion this year to be naked outdoors for a time longer than my usual morning ritual (a nude coffee and a smoke on my balcony in the early morning on work days). So, I decided to take a barefoot and skyclad walk in the park and dressed accordingly - clothes which are easy to take off: my kaftan, a long dark red t-shirt obve that and my cinnamon-brown hooded jacket.

Even though it was already dark when I left my apartment at about 5.30 pm to walk down to the park, the temperaturs were still slightly above 15°C, the light breeze from the south-west feeling warm, too. Since the temperatures had been mild over the last few days, the pavement - even though it was wet - felt quite warm underfoot, too, as did the puddles I splashed through in my bare feet. Barefooters know that evading puddles is something that just isn't done when walking barefoot. Puddles are one of the main fun things about barefooting in or after rain. I was also looking forward to another treat which only can be enjoyed in or after rain: mud. The inner child, also a very strong force to make me walk barefoot, wanted to get out, wanted to play and wanted to get his bare feet filthy. Before entering the park, I only succeeded in getting them wet:





Since it was dark, as I wrote above, I could only take pictures in the orange- yellow shine of the sodium vapor lamps standing along the road leading down to the park, and in a spot of that light shining down on the entrance path. Since a cell phone camera is no pro equipment, the pictures didn't come out as nice and shiny as the ones I take in daylight, of course.

At first, the walk into the park felt like a usual stroll after a rainy day, with the sandy path at the entrance giving me the well-known delightful feeling of a barefoot walk on a wet beach. But three days of almost constant rain had added something which I felt after a few steps... plenty of puddles and some parts of the paths had turned into mud, which I felt squelching between my toes and covering them, too. I grinned, wiggling my toes in it, making sure to get lots of mud all over them, as my inner child asked me to. On exiting the park later, I saw with delight that I had obliged to my childlike desires very well, indeed, as my quite muddy feet proved:




(Muddy feet in better light after entering my apartment house, coming home from the Sunday stroll)

The skyclad part of the Sunday walk was set between those two little photo sets. After turning away from the roadside, following the muddy path taking a turn, leading deeper inside, I came to one of my favourite resting spots - a couple of white wooden benches - and sat down on one of them (which was dry, surprisingly). I sat there, listining into the dark park, gazing at the barely distinguishable paths and lawn spaces ahead, hearing only a distant white noise from roads nearby and the occasional rustle of the few leaves left on the trees. Even sitting down for a while didn't make me feel cold at all - the slight breeze was still mild and gentle. I took off the jacket and the shirt, now only wearing he light and thin kaftan, normally a summer garment, feeling almost like a breeze around my nude skin. After a few minutes, I stood up, and walked a bit on a path before turning to walk onto the lawn, which was now more of a bog than just grass. I took slow and very careful steps, both to enjoy the swampy feeling underfoot and to prevent slipping and falling. After a few minutes, I had arrived at the western end of the park, my favourite spot to carry out my energizing ritual of rooting my feet to the bare earth (finding a spot to stand frimly was a bit harder, but I succeeded), and do my breathing meditation to draw positive energy in and exhale fatigue, fears and negative thoughts. Having found my spot to stand firmly, I listened again into the dark, if there were any steps to be heard on the wet and muddy paths, gazed into the very sparsely-lit park (which still has no lighting along the paths, therefore is a quite dark place after sunset), seeing no silhouettes or shapes resembling human beings moving around. So, now was the time and I pulled the kaftan over my head, standing fully naked on the grass, beginning my breath meditation as close and open to Nature as I could be. While breathing in, I moved my arms upwards, raised them high above my head, brought my hands together, and drew them down in front of my chest, taking the posture of the Namasté greeting and then exhaled, letting my hands drop at the sides of my body to start the cycle again on drawing in a new breath and new energy from Mother Earth through my bare soles...
A simple yet effective form of barefoot and nude yoga, so to speak.

After several minutes of gathering energy in this way, while a gentle breeze was blowing around my nude body, adding another refreshing and energizing element to the experience, I listened and looked again into the park and found that I was still all alone. So, I decided to walk a round on the paths fully nude to get back to the benches where I had sat down before proceeding with the breath meditation. I sat down on the bench, skyclad as I was, had a cigarette and still did not feel that it was necessary to put on my clothes again. All in all, it was more than half an hour blissfully spent in the nude, before I went to leave the park and stopped briefly before reaching the better-lit fringe of the park near the road, where my body was bathed in yellow-orange light. I put on my kaftan, the t-shirt and my jacket and walked on very muddy and delightfully dirty bare feet home, feeling energized and ready to start a new week of office work.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Ganesha*~

 

We live in a rural area in PA near Milford.... I am new at outside barefooting, but love it. I am usually barefoot at home 100% of the time and if not barefoot wear sandals (Biblical sandals...) I wear real shoes only once a week when I go to work (working from home most of the time).

 

yesterday the sun showed up a bit so I took the opportunity to hike in the woodland with a friend. after weeks of rain the paths were a muddy flood, near to freezing point, and steep ones were much easier to climb in bare feet than shod. also my buddy managed to slip into some puddle , showing the complete inferiority of the "boots and no stick" gear rather than "bare feet and a stick" configuration. at the end of the hike his boots were dirty and flooded , I had almost clean feet. a few steps in wet grass completed the cleansing. :2thumbsup: .

 

...while walking in the park and meeting a winter barefooter's nemesis for the first time... (plus: looking back on a week of barefoot walking while temperatures hover around frost level)

Well, this is a rather lengthy headline, to be sure. Nevertheless, the first part is a true summary of the feelings and sensations encountered on my barefoot walk in the park on this year's first Advent Sunday. Since temperatures have reached almost wintery dimensions, with slight frost at night and temperatures around 0°C/32F during the day, walking barefoot is now something that shouldn't be done without proper preparation, such as bundling up warm, wearing as much clothing as necessary to keep up the body's core temperature, so that the circulation in fingers and toes keeps running at normal levels. And for sure, the outdoor nudity season is over by now - I won't be doing any barefoot and skyclad walks outdoors for a while, sadly. On my way to the park, I came across a little part of the sidewalk, right at a bus stop, where I met the barefooter's winter nemesis for the first time since the beginning of this year: grit strewn onto the sidewalk.

The weirdness of this was, that we hadn't had any snow or ice as yet, just slight frost - normally no reason to spread those nasty little pieces of stone onto paved paths and sidewalks, where they're just waiting to bury themselves into my bare soles...
Perhaps someone was too eager to get that stuff onto the ground, remembering the long and cold winter we had last year, meaning to play it safe as soon as possible.

On entering the park, I could see that we were currently in that transition phase of autumn turning into winter, as the pond, normally with a fountain running, too, was lying there, covered by a thin layer of ice, rime turning the grass on its banks grey-green. The sandy paths felt cool underfoot, but still soft, since the frost had not as yet penetrated the ground too deeply. Some leaves on the ground were covered with rime, too, giving them an appearance of white-grey stubble having grown on them.

On walking further into the park, I could see that most of the grass was covered with rime, too. Any remnants of the lush yellow, gold and red hues of Indian summer which were visible two weeks before, had disappeared completely and also fallen leaves had been raked off the paths and disposed of.

It looked like the park was all set for slowly falling asleep in hibernation.

I continued my walk on the sandy paths, feeling that in some places the sun had warmed it up slightly, melting the rime and leaving a slightly muddy and moist surface to walk on. Next to the paths, the grass was still covered with rime, though, beckoning and inviting my bare feet to feel it and have Mother Earth kiss my toes with cool and frosty lips. And so, I turned from the path to walk over the grass, instantly feeling a shock of coldth, as if my soles were stung with hundreds of tiny needles, no thicker than a hair. That prickling feeling of cold on the outside was met with the warmth my feet were producing, glowing brightly pink with the circulation still running at full throttle. Since I was packed up in warm clothing, including leg warmers to keep my shins and ankles warm, it felt delicious to walk on that surface


One winter barefooter's outfit: jeans, black leg warmers, black knee-long skirt, double layer of t-shirts with the purple shirt with a golden Ganesha print on top, turquoise knitted jacket, grey knitted scarf and a warm padded black cotton jacket on top. That's enough for me to keep my feet comfortably bare, even in slight frost.


After walking on the cold grass for a few minutes, which was challenging, since the soil beneath had turned from soft to crumbly hard with frost, jabbing at my bare soles, I felt my toes going a little numb, while they still looked pink... yellow alert, I thought, hurrying back onto the path, walking to and fro a little on the slightly "warmer" soft soil, and then turning towards the park's exit to get to the bus stop, taking the opportunity to have a bus due three minutes later. That was yet another little challenge: standing barefoot at a bus stop, waiting. In order to keep the circulation up and running, I slowly paced to and fro, wiggled and clenched my toes, giving my bare feet all the stimuli they needed to keep warm.

With the bus arriving on time, I went back home, where I went to my usual natural skyclad state of being as soon as I stepped into my apartment.
Now, I am curious whether the forecasts are true, that there will be slight snowfall tonight... it might be, that there will be another series of frosty kisses on my toes waiting for me tomorrow on the way to work...

Looking back on last week, I must say that the first days of coldfooting went by without any damage to my bare feet. I took the occasional frosty morning in stride, preparing for barefooting in cold conditions just like I did on this Sunday - warm clothing. And only once last week I preferred to keep my work shoes on, as on Wednesday evening the weather was very wet, temperatures just above 0°C/32 F, cold puddles everwhere and a gusty wind blowing, making it feel even colder. Those were conditions beyond my comfort threshold for barefooting. And on Saturday evening , this time again being our regular role-playing game group night, I went barefoot in slight frost on dry paved ground without any trouble. Only on departing, a member of our group asked me, if I didn't think that now was the time to think about wearing shoes, which I declined. In wet conditions, I would have worn shoes, but dry cold weather is still barefoot weather for me...

And being barefoot also means to me being open to the world around me, and not missing moments and sights like those clouds, sunrises and sunsets that are also typical of clear and crisp wintery weather:








Wiggling bare toes, undamaged by frost,

~*Ganesha*~

 

I barefoot every day at and outside my home. Sometimes I barefoot drive when I do a quick trip to a "quick stop" like-store or maybe get gas or fast food. I used to jog barefoot in the wonderful nearby park - but I stopped jogging so I don't do that for now.

At most of my friends places I take off my shoes and socks and go barefoot while visiting.

Being barefoot is is my preferred way. Can't always go that way - but when I can I do.

 

How's that for a possible reply when being asked how it feels to walk barefoot in snow, or to "snowfoot" as I and other barefooters call it?

Yes, we have snow - even in the urban flatland of the Ruhr megalopolis in central western Germany. While this morning was merely a frosty barefoot walk to the tram stop in dry weather, then taking public transport, changing to a bus and then walking from the bus stop to the office building, the weather forecast held its promise of 2 to 4.5 inches (3 to 7 cm) of fresh and fluffy snow falling and covering sidewalks and roads with a fluffy white blanket later on.

All around the office people were moaning about the possible traffic chaos imminent as soon as one flake hits the ground - and let's face it: people used to having snow in the winter will merely laugh at the puny few inches fallen here.
I was just delighted, counting the hours until I could get out of the office at 6.15 pm, and kick off my shoes and feel the special sensation of freshly fallen snow underfoot, between my toes, and also covering my insteps - which was a rather cold sensation, but never unpleasant. I was lucky enough to be almost in time for my bus to arrive, with a three-minute waiting period. And since there was a little shed at the bus stop, I could stand there, wiping the tops of my feet dry on the back of my pants cuffs (Let's hope no housewife reads this, or she'll cringe with terror). And after taking the bus to the stop where I was to change to the tram, it was just half a minute behind the bus. Wonderful timing, indeed, keeping me from standing still in the cold for too long.

One thing I realized is that bare feet have great traction on fresh-fallen snow. Shod people were walking quite slow, taking ginger steps as to prevent slipping and falling, while I walked quite briskly, unaffected and without slipping at all. So, this was a sure example of being sure-footed. The nice part was also, that I never felt too cold, circulation running at full throttle, no numbness. Wearing those leg-warmers to keep shins and ankles warm in frosty conditions was a good idea and the right thing to do.





Wiggling bare toes, shaking off the last remaining snowflakes,

~*Ganesha*~

 

Hello all,

I'm a new member and this is my first post. Right now I am waiting for a plane in Atlanta with my naked feet proudly out in public. I deliberately didn't wear socks today, so as soon as I got to security I slipped off my mocs and packed them away.Then I had a nice leisurely stroll through four concourses to my gate. It was/is great!

I also did some barefoot shopping over the weekend at Wal Mart. I walked in shod, then put my shoes in my cart and just shopped normally. I definitely got some looks, but nothing that made me feel the least bit uncomfortable. The cashier was very friendly and was smiling the whole time. I walked out with my shoes in one hand and my bags in the other and drove back to my hotel barefoot.

 

awesomely relaxed feeling, wasn't that?

 

Indeed, it was another nice snowfooting morning before work, even though I had to get up real early to attend a meeting at the office at 7 am. When changing from the tram/subway to the bus at the central station, I had a little extra time, and stepped out of the station building to have a smoke (yes, one of my vices...) and to have fun by leaving some trademark tracks of mine in the snow:

​

Since the weather forecast for December 1st tells me about -10°C/14F at night and no more than -5°C/23F during the day, I guess that my feet will most likely stay in their office Birks all day, sadly.

Furthermore, the snow has turned from fluffy to hard-packed, and in a plenty of places salt has been strewn onto the sidewalks, leaving behind two quite unpleasant things in winter: puddles of molten snow, colder than freezing level and the sharp little bits of salt, which sting a little as well as irritate the skin of my bare soles. But, looking on the bright side of things, temperatures are forecast to rise above 0°C/32F on coming Sunday, so that there might be a nice mix of tactile sensations waiting for me on my barefoot walk in the park...

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Ganesha*~

 

Well, to be honest, temperatures have just risen above -5°C/23F this Saturday morning - which is still low enough to make mainstream people cringe with terror at the thought of walking barefoot outdoors, but high enough to make me bare my soles to the frozen ground and have my toes feel a little snow, occasional ice and in some places slush, too - all the pleasures of winter barefooting in a small package.

There was not much grit on the sidewalks, and what was there was mostly pressed into hard-packed snow and therefore was rendered useless in its main function for barefooters: being bothersome. Again, I cherished and enjoyed the good traction of my bare soles in these conditions and also was happy for my circulation working properly, making my feet literally light up in the pink:

Waiting at the tram stop ​

My weekend shopping trip went by with enjoying a nice barefoot winter day with varying textures and temperatures, and some people now really staring at me for being barefoot, too shocked to even think about comments. And just as I am writing this, more snow is falling, and the temperatures are on the rise towards 0°C/32F, and scheduled to pass the frost barrier on Sunday - with freezing rain to fall on Sunday morning.
Before that, 5-10 cm (2-4 inches) of fresh, fluffy snow is forecast to fall. I guess that my barefoot Sunday walk will be quite interesting, with relatively mild air and cold ground underfoot - I am looking forward to feeling a variety of different coolfooting textures beneath my bare soles.

Wiggling bare toes in anticipation,

~*Ganesha*~

 

newspaper, milk machine, water, and a trip to the local store for some honey. a friend told me i'm not the only one shopping barefoot in there.

 

It's pretty cold right now but I'm always barefoot at home.

 

I'm up to 5 miles running barefoot and this time I did it in the rain!

 

...quite treacherous and dangerous to walk on, too (be it barefoot or shod).

The mild temperatures came overnight, at first with new snow falling, then turning to sleet and in the end to rain, which began to melt away the fluffy new-fallen snow and turned it into slush. In some places, it still looked like snow, all nice and white, but as soon as my foot landed on it, it collapsed into wet and slippery slush, feeling all squelchy underfoot and spurting up between my toes, being as slippery as walking on yellow soap.

Taking a short walk across the road to the gas station opposite the house where I lived, I made sure to step very slowly and carefully on that unsafe ground, and also felt my feet get very cold very swiftly, as I stepped in ankle- deep slush and also some puddles, which were filled with a water-and-slush mix. Such wet conditions are just made to drain all warmth from bare feet, and I was glad to be back at my door after purchasing some soda and smokestuff, without having slipped or even fallen. My feet felt, as if I had taken a winter hike of 30 minutes or more on snow, after those three minutes in wet slush.

At least I was able to present some of my prey from the Saturday before to the world at large, since my weekend shopping trip took me to the drug store as well, to replenish my supplies in candles and cough drops. And I happened to pass by a shelf with nail polish, too... well, I stopped there, and decided it was time to get something new in that department, as well... and especially the glossy dark green befits the holiday season quite nicely, I think...

​

Since conditions weren't going to improve, I forfeited my walk in the park for safety reasons. I'm not a professional danger seeker like Rex Cramer (check out Kentucky Fried Movie for that reference), and I do my barefooting for wellness and pleasure. And always being tense with apprehension of possibly slipping and falling would not really provide relaxation and positive energy for me. Well, if it's getting a lot milder, and all of the slush dissolves into water, I might think about getting there for a stroll. Or if it gets colder, and more snow falls, which will improve traction for bare feet considerably.
Either way, I'll wait.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Ganesha*~

 

We had two days of cold rain in Southern California last Sat and Sunday (12-4/5, 2010). Last night (Monday) after work I drove to a local wilderness area that is usually failry deserted, and contains nice mud puddles after a rain. The earth in this area is dark, with some clay content, and is usually great for rich barefoot sensations.

I was not disappointed.

It was after dark when I arrived -- about 6 p.m., with hardly anyone around. I drive everywhere barefoot, so I had already taken off my shoes and socks right after work. I stopped the car in a dirt parking area, right adjacent to several extensive and inviting mud puddles. It bears to mention in passing that it was cold for this part of the US -- certainly cold enough to wear a heavy jacket and the breeze was very chilly.

The mud was watery but very thick and clay-like around the edges. I stepped into it barefoot, and sank almost to my ankles. It was chiilly and refreshing and mud oozed between my toes with every step. I walked back and forth a while, leaving deep imprints in the mud (hopefully for others to see this morning). It was delicious, relaxing, and mood lifting. My rough day at work was forgotten in a split second, and I was a kid again enjoying my bare feet in cold mud!

I spread a towel on the car carpet so that I could drive home with feet all muddy. When I got home I still had layers of moist mud and grime between my toes, and on my feet almost to my ankles. It was fantastic, and I am going back tonight.

 

Since I wasn't barefoot outdoors today, here's my pre-office barerfooting experience from yesterday morning (with the reason for staying shod in the frost):


This Monday morning pre-office test was not about temperatures, since it was well above my newly-defined limit of -5°C/23F in dry weather. It was rather a test of dealing with different frozen surfaces and with feeling surfaces where salt had been applied to melt away ice. As far as the feeling of the frozen pavement and the slush and old snow from the day before was concerned, it felt crisp as well as crispy underfoot.


Barefoot on frost-glazed crusty snow with frozen slush mixed in

After the treacherously slippery ground on Sunday, medium frost of about -5°C/23F overnight had turned the puddles to ice and the slush to irregularly shaped chunks of ice, too, and the old snow was glazed over with frost, turning it to crsuted snow.
All in all, it was not the temperatures which were taxing for my bare soles, but the irregular pieces of frozen slush which jabbed my soles all over, including the soft arches. After leaving the bus before work, I slowly walked over that coldfooting test-bed, then facing an especially cold stretch of sidewalk, where the ice had been melted by use of salt with grit mixed in between.
Even though I had to walk only fifty meters over that strip of sidewalk, it felt way longer, since my feet suddenly felt colder than the surrounding temperatures - which is quite likely, since salt can turn ice to water that is cold down to temperatures of -7°C/19F - plus: the wetness also amplifies the coldth stimulus. After having mastered that short piece of sidewalk, I slowly walked down the slight slope that is the driveway down to the office building, careful to walk over crusted snow again - for traction as well as "warmth" reasons, since that was not as cold as the saltwater before. Before entering the building, I slipped into my office Birks to prevent shocking possible bosses already being there out of their wits, and as soon as I was sitting at my desk, slipped out of them again, wiggling my bare toes under the desk to let them dry and warm them up slowly.


Bare feet under the desk, warming up

As long as the surface is still as irregular and in some places salted as it is now, I will most certainly wait for milder days to return to barefooting happily - after all, I do it for comfort and wellness reasons, and not to prove myself as a barefoot winter fakir.
At least the weather forecast is on my side, predicting temperatures to rise above freezing level on Friday, bringing thaw on the weekend. Let's just hope that the slush will dissolve quickly into water (above freezing level).

Wiggling toes, waiting for temperatures to rise again,

~*Ganesha*~