Barefoot Snow Walking

You know...I just noticed something about those pictures...It's a completely foreign concept to me...The grass is green...in the winter time....Where I'm from, the grass dies around Mid-October due to the cold and doesn't grow again until late March. Plus, that snow just seems a bit...fluffy....It doesn't look like any snow I've ever seen.

 

Here I was proud of myself for being out and about with flip flops on in 30 degree weather and I see some of you are walking barefoot in the snow. I must say that is impressive, I tried to go barefoot in the snow longer that just getting the mail and taking out the garbage. I only last about ten minutes of shoving the snow barefoot before I had to come in side.

oh I'm I jealous of those in Florida right now

Bud08

 

when I lived in this little town in the middle of nowhere Burns I would walk bare foot inthe snow for short periods It felt good . I have allway been ether bare or with sandels but the first time it snowed I rode my bike to the store in sandels. big mustake by the time I got there I had no feeling in my feet and as I walk around the store they begain to hurt but not as bad as when I got home.

 

It's been snowing here all week and I've been out in it for hours some days. Tuesday there wasn't much snow, but it was pretty cold in the morning -about 20F when I left home. It warmed up quick though to temperatures around freezing and the snow wasn't deep at all, just a little. We moved a lot of dirt around w/wheelbarrows and stuff, so it wasn't too hard to stay warm as long as I kept moving.

Wednesday we cleaned out a couple of the farmhouses (unheated reconstructions), and it snowed much harder all day. I also had a flat tire so I had to walk about 20 mins each way from the train station & back. There was quite a bit of snow -for us-, a good 3 inches I guess. Can't remember the last time I saw more than one inch. I wore barefoot gaiters a good part of the day which helped keep the tops of my feet warm (covering my foot but only have a strip of material on the sole to keep them on, heel, ball & toes are bare at the bottom). And when I came home I built a snowman! That was fun, hadn't made one since I was a kid. Temps were around freezing again, not that cold, I could stay out in it easily. I was very warmly dressed, several layers and I didn't get chilled at all. If my feet got a little chilled from going through deep snow, all I had to do was find a place where the snow had been stamped down (or make one ) and flex my toes, and they warmed right up.

Then thursday I had to go to work but the trains were a mess, after an hour and a half I had only made it one station down and I finally turned back. Then I shovelled some snow and I walked to the store, all barefoot. Yesterday I didn't go out much but I'll go to the store again today.

 

Don't you ever get weird comments on you being barefoot with these weather conditions from those foolish Dutch people? (I know what I'm talking about, I'm a foolish Dutchman myself...) Seriously, when I'm walking barefoot in the snow (which I can't endure as long as you, about 15 minutes is my max) I got strange looks and some comments.

 

Yeah, I get quite a few comments, but I don't mind. Actually no one this week has offered me money or anything -even though, with that kind of work to do (shoveling, cleaning up) I was wearing old, torn jeans too. Often when it's really freezing I get people who offer me money, or shoes/socks (if for example they're carrying sports shoes), even when I'm doing regular work and am wearing nice clothes from the ankle up.

 

We've gotten quite a bit of snow recently, but I haven't walked barefoot in snow. I'm not sure if my feet would feel comfortable.

 

lol! since reading this thread a couple of days ago I decided to give it a go! I cant stay out for longer than 5 minutes at the moment but I LOVE IT! Ive been going out every few hours- just in to the garden. My dad keeps calling me a freak but Its amazing! I think Ive become addicted! I have an urge to go out now! HELP!

---TRY IT!!! wow youll be amazed



peace

 

A couple tips:
-Dress warmly from the ankle up. A hat helps conserve heat in your body in general, and leggings will help to keep your circulation from withdrawing from your legs. The shorter the track that needs to be kept warm by your circulation, the easier it will be.
-When you gotta go out a lot in colder weather, adjust your diet. You can handle more fat during those days & high energy foods like peanut butter. I ate at least twice as much as normal the first half of the week -and stuff like bacon, peanut butter sandwiches, sausage, stew. Of course I was doing more physical work too but from *just* physical work on a warm day, I may eat another sandwich but not anywhere near as much, and not such fatty foods either.
-Flex your toes with each step.
-Give your body time to adjust before giving up. Right when you step outside, on frozen ground or on snow, it will feel cold, but if you keep walking for a bit often your feet will warm up. Watch them -it's okay if they turn red, that's circulation keeping them warm, but if they turn pale it means your circulation is giving up and withdrawing, and they shouldn't go numb either- and make sure you can either put something on your feet or go inside if your feet aren't warming up.... but it may take several minutes for your circulatory system to really kick in and warm them up. In the first few minutes my feet feel cold too, but they never turned white & they didn't feel numb either.
-If you don't mind stuff on top of your feet (I know, barefooters vary, for me it's just the sole that counts but some people don't want anything on their feet, period), try barefoot gaiters, they help keep the tops of your feet protected from deeper snow & from the wind.

 

At least you should try the sensation, if only once in your life! A minute won't hurt you at all, but will give you the feeling of something extraordinary! I bet you get addicted, like Metal_sugarplum!:sunglasse

 

Another tip, don't walk in icewater. I was able to handle the snow fairly well on my last barefoot hike, but the ice water made my feet numb very quickly.

 

Try to increase your distance and duration. You'll notice your tollerance to the cold improves everyday. Also...salt and ice melting chemicals on sidewalks should be removed from your feet as they are not good for you. Snowfooting is great fun and addicting, by spring time you'll be seeking out snow piles and icy sections for their cool contrast to the sun warmed trails. Have Fun !

 

I sometimes wonder if there are physiological changes in the feet when walking barefoot in the cold regularly, such as increased number of blood vessels in the soles, much like how skin thickens when going barefoot. It would make an interesting research project.

 

A hike I did in January was in melting snow. It was warm in the open fields and quite cold in the woods. It was a full array of sensations.

 

Salt and chemicals are nasty! Can't always avoid them -they use salt on almost all roads here, not sand, so if you cross a road you have to walk a few steps through the salty slush- but it sure feels a lot colder. And I'm not sure about chemicals, don't have any sure experience with them (I've never actually seen anyone use them), but I suspect a person down the street used chems on his driveway. It was only two steps across, but my feet felt much colder, sort of a sharp sting, than from crossing the (2-3 times as wide) salted road. I walked several steps through the deep snow on the edge of the sidewalk to wash it off my feet.

 

I know from experience that frost bite has lasting effects. My 3rd & 4th toes on my left foot are always the first to go numb and last to warm back up, I'm sure its from overdoing it as a young barefooter. As for phisiological changes I'm willing and do try to expand my tollerance however I don't want to jepordize the sensations I enjoy the rest of the year. Do any of you smoke and what if any changes are a esult of decreases in circulation ? Archie

 

I always watch my toes carefully! But even though I push it, I haven't had anywhere near as cold a toes as I have had sometimes when I still wore shoes... I remember *many* times each winter when riding my bicycle and also when riding horses that my feet were SO cold... all in shoes/socks or boots/socks, of course... they'd get totally numb and hurt real bad when warming up too. It was like a normal thing, everyone had cold feet like that (sometimes we'd stop halfway when riding our horses & walk a bit on cold days, to warm up... and everyone complained about their feet hurting during the ride & afterwards).
Fortunately didn't get any lasting damage but my feet haven't been that cold since. Sometimes the skin will tingle a bit when warming up but usually I won't feel any different when coming back inside. Last time they really hurt when coming inside was several years ago when it suddenly got colder and I rode my bicycle back from a friend's place, it was mostly windchill and I just pushed on, wasn't much more than ten minutes anyways.

 

Salted areas are a problem because they make the water colder than 32F. Water at 32F is bad enough, but colder makes it even worse, of course. It's like the salted water you use for making ice cream.

I don't know if the melting chemicals themselves are dangerous. I would imagine they are mostly salts, which lower the freezing point. Some are just salt with coloring added so you know where you put the stuff.

I don't smoke, so I don't know what effects it would have.

I know that some of the cleaning powders janitors use on carpets in offices can cause the skin to get irritated.

 

o man i live in micigan on a farm, its like 20 F out here and i definately fed my horses in the snow barefoot, it was all kool untill they started stinging and i steped in a frezzing pudle of dirt and water.