The Dirty Sole Society
				Winter BareFootFest '95

				      Information

	Filed by: Paul J. Lucas, Mike Berrow, & Maggie Scott
	Location: In and around the San Francisco Bay area, California, USA
	Dates   : February 17-20, 1995.


	FRIDAY, FEB 17
	==============

	After a long, 4-hour flight, I arrived at San Francisco
	International Airport at 3PM.  (Earlier, when I first sat in my
	seat after boarding, I put my Birkenstocks into my luggage with
	the intent of them staying there the entire long weekend.)  I
	walked off the plane barefoot to look for Mike Berrow and
	Maggie Scott -- Maggie was scheduled to arrive at 3PM also.
	After some wandering around by baggage claim, I went back to my
	gate -- there they were.  Mike's kids were also there to greet us.
	After grabbing a little something to eat at the airport, we piled
	into Mike's mini-van (later dubbed the "Foot-Mobile") and were off
	to Concord where Mike lives.

	The following section was contributed by Maggie:

>It was a chilly 18 degrees F (-8 deg C) when the taxi picked me up in
>State College for the trip to the airport. I decided it was too cold for
>bare feet, so I wore a pair of socks with my Birkenstocks; however, no
>coat. The State College airport was chily, plus, I had to walk outside to
>board a little commuter prop plane--I opted to leave my feet covered.
>After a 50-minute, uneventful flight, I arrived in Pittsburgh. The
>Pittsburgh airport was overly warm, so I removed my socks, Birks and
>heavy sweater, strapped my Birks on to my pack, and proceeded to my gate
>for the San-Francisco-bound plane.

>When the flight was called, the ticket taker at the gate took my ticket
>and told me I had to put on my shoes. I said ok and started down the ramp
>as she had already reached for the next person's ticket. When I was
>half-way down the ramp, she yelled from the door, "I mean NOW. Before you
>get on that plane!" I stopped, unslung my backpack and started to unhook
>my shoes. By then, the rampway had filled with people, so I picked up my
>pack and boarded sans shoes. So much for "NOW!"

>Just after I was in my seat and comfy, the young man next to me asked if
>I would mind trading seats with his wife since they were unable to book
>seats together. When I stood to gather my belongings, someone commented,
>"Look, she's already prepared for the flight! Her shoes are off." This
>started people all over the plane removing their shoes! It was
>incredible!

>I was very glad to end the 5 hour flight from Pittsburgh, mostly due to a
>full bladder. I was even more glad to see the smiling faces (and bare
>feet!) of Mike and his kids, whom I recognized immediately due to
>the "Go Barefoot!" t-shirts on the children and their bare feet. Their
>welcome was so warm, I felt like I was coming home. I was in sunny
>California, barefoot and very happy.

	Ordinarily, it would have been about a 50-minute drive; but the
	traffic was horrible -- it took a few hours.  The time was not
	wasted, however, as it gave us all a chance to talk and get to
	know each other.  En route, a small car passed us on the left.
	Out of the back-seat window were sticking a large pair of male
	bare feet!  Welcome to California!  A few moments later, a tiny
	pair of bare feet came out of the front-seat window!  (All the
	soles were clean, though.)

	I realized while in flight that I had (again) forgotten to pack
	my nasal spray, so I asked Mike if we could stop at a place to
	get some...and also film while we were there.  We all went into
	Long's drugs barefoot and nobody said a word.  I love
	California!

	We got back to Mike's house, carted our stuff inside, and met
	Mike's wife, Patti.  Despite the requests of Mike's kids for
	pizza, we wanted to go to a Moroccan restaurant because,
	according to Maggie who has eaten in many, they REQUIRE no
	shoes.  All right!  Patti called ahead and they had asked if we
	knew where they were.  Patti said "yes" although she hadn't been
	there in a while.  Well, we got to where they used to be and
	eventually found a phone to call and ask where they are NOW.  We
	did make it to the place.  Maggie was right: we went in barefoot
	without incident.  (Maggie said that this place was a bit
	unusual since there were shod people there.)  We sat on large
	pillows on the floor around a large brass tray that served as
	our table-top.

	For entertainment, there was a belly-dancer.  Her technique was
	excellent (so I was told), but she was Nordic-looking (white
	skin, blond hair, etc.).  Maggie said she could stand an 
	additional 20-25 pounds on her.  She invited several people 
	to dance with her.  Mike's kids did; it just so happens, 
	they both dance.

	After enjoying our tasty meal, we went back to Mike's place and
	crashed -- we were exhausted from all the air travel and
	traffic.


	SATURDAY, FEB 18
	================

	Both Maggie and I awoke early -- around 4AM, since our bodies
	were on more eastern time-zones.  Maggie had brought some of her
	home-made granola.  I had some with milk and it was yummy stuff.
	We were eventually joined by Mike and family.  

	Mike had received the following piece of e-mail from DSS member
	Donny Cameron:

>Yo, Mike.
>
>Your updated itinerary sounds great.
>
>Since I couldn't be there for the DSS barefoot expedition, thought I'd send
>the traditional *congratulatory telegram* so as to be able to *be there in
>spirit*.  If you feel its appropriate, please read it at the opening of the
>festivities.
>
>Thanx all over the place.
>                --Donny
>
>----------------------
>GREETINGS, D.S.S., AND CONGRATULATIONS ON THE OCCASION OF THE
>GREAT WEST-COAST BAREFOOT PATROL!!!
>
>THOUGH NOT ABLE TO BE THERE W/ YOU ALL, I WISH FOR YOU PARTICIPANTS
>ALL THE BAREFOOT FUN YOU CAN HANDLE, AND HOPE YOU CAN POPULARIZE
>BAREFOOTING TO THE MASSES WHO WILL SEE AND ENVY YOU.
>
>WIGGLE YOUR LIBERATED TOES IN THE AMBIENT AIR, LEAVE THE BEAUTIFUL
>BARE FOOTPRINT EVERYWHERE, AND GET THOSE SOLES DIRTIER THAN EVER
>BEFORE.
>
>REMEMBER, YOU ARE NOT JUST MAKING MEMORIES THIS WEEKEND--YOU ARE
>MAKING BAREFOOT HISTORY.
>
>GO FORTH AND CONQUER.
>
>WITH YOU IN SPIRIT,
>                (signed) DONNY CAMERON,  OREGON D.S.S.
>----------------------

	We got our stuff together, read the congratulatory telegram
	from Donny, and piled into the Foot-Mobile, all us us wearing
	our "Go Barefoot!" T- or sweatshirts.  There was a Japanese
	animation film that Mike's son wanted to see after the hike, so
	we brought along footwear just in case we had a problem with the
	theater.

	We wound our way up the East Bay hills to Redwood Park and
	arrived at 10AM (right on schedule).  The night before, Mike had
	received a call from Leo Broukhis (after I had gone to bed) who
	said he would meet us at the park.  We waited around until
	10:30, but there was no sign of Leo, so we had to press on.
	[Postscript: It later came to light that there are TWO "Skyline
	Drive"s in the Bay area -- Leo went to the wrong one.]  We
	accosted a couple to take our group photo.  The man exclaimed
	that his son hikes barefoot too; Mike gave him some information
	on how to contact us.

	The trail started off easy.  The soil was damp and a bit cold
	for me, but I managed.  Having not done too much barefooting
	while braving the Chicago winter had allowed my soles to go
	soft.  I was a bit worried about how I would hold up; looking
	back, I did just fine.  On the whole, the trail is a good trail
	for a beginning barefoot hiker.

	We were passed by two young guys who told us of some really
	good mud ahead; we never did find the mud they were talking
	about.  We came upon a young woman with her dog.  She finally
	noticed that we were all barefoot and said, astonished, "Oh my
	God!  You're all barefoot!"  We explained that we were a group
	from various places.  A little while later, we picked a nice
	spot and had lunch consisting of sandwiches, celery, carrots,
	and dinosaur cookies.

	Of course, during our hiking, we talked.  We got the idea that
	Mike's son should harass a shod hiker for a bit of turn-about.
	When a lone, shod hiker went by, he asked him, "What are
	those things on your feet?"  The man smiled and played it
	fairly straight: "Shoes."

	At a camp site, we stopped to take another munchy break.  A boy
	about 10 years old was in a nearby tree.  A few minutes later,
	we noticed boots flying out of the tree.  He was now barefoot
	and seemed quite happy about it.  I told him to smile (he did)
	and I took his picture.

	While I was making nice to a tree, the rest came upon a young
	woman who asked, in a rather snitty manner, "Is there some
	reason for not wearing shoes today?"  Mike retorted: "There's a
	reason for not wearing shoes every day!"

	We eventually got back to the Foot-Mobile and prepared to head
	off.  A short while later, that boy who threw off his boots was
	also in the parking lot; he was still barefoot.  Presumably, he
	walked back that way.  Cool!  Hopefully, we made a lasting
	impression on him.

	We were now headed for Berkeley to tour Telegraph Avenue, a
	prominent avenue characterized by never quite having left the
	1960s: hippies, street vendors selling tie-dyes, jewelry, etc.
	We got quite a few looks and comments about our "Go Barefoot!"
	shirts.  Mike's theory is that it's the tourists who commented
	as the locals probably don't care.  We made it to the UC
	Berkeley campus where drummers were about. Mike's son, after a
	spell of intense watching, was allowed to play the drums.  (He
	wants to get a drum set and learn how to play; all he has now
	are drum sticks.)

	We walked a bit farther into the campus closer to the Campanile
	tower.  We got the strangest look from a young, presumeably
	individualistic woman with no less than three piercings in her
	face.  And she thinks we're strange for going barefoot!

	While walking back, we noticed a young woman walking along the
	street barefoot like us; her soles were quite black.  Then, I
	noticed a guy who was the quintessential hippie: very long,
	dirty blonde hair just about to his waist.  He was kneeling on
	a mat where he was selling merchandise.  His back was to us and
	the filthy soles of his feet were visible.  I looked around him
	and there were no shoes anywhere.  Presumeably, he left his
	place barefoot and set up his mat and spent the entire day
	barefoot.  Too cool!

	We got back to the Foot-Mobile and drove to Oakland.  Mike was
	taking us to The Edible Complex, a sort-of cafeteria-style,
	bohemian restaurant and coffee shop where many student and
	eclectic people hang out.  We ordered and sat down as our names
	would be called when our food was ready.  We were noticed by
	the staff -- not a word about being barefoot.  Cool.  Mike said
	he must have been in there about 50 times and only been "half
	hassled" once by someone who said, "You know, you really ought
	to have shoes on."  Mike said, "Ok, I'll remember for next time"
	and that was it.

	After dinner, we went to see "The Wings of Honneasmise" (oh knee
	ah miss), a Japanese-animation film that Mike's son wanted to see.
	The plot was a "The Right Stuff" rip-off, but not nearly as
	good [Maggie's note: The plot was almost non-existent]; the 
	animation was very good, however.  We did get into the theater 
	barefoot, by the way.  After the movie, we returned to Mike's 
	place and, once again, crashed.


	SUNDAY, FEB 19
	==============

	Today was going to be an even better barefooting day for a few
	reasons: (1) No shoes were brought along at all (I _love_
	knowing that I have no shoes with me), (2) Redwoods!  Big ones!,
	(3) Picking up Darren Richardson, the DSS's part-time
	publicist, and (4) Meeting other members of the DSS and several
	members of the South Bay Naturists.  Mike, his kids, Maggie,
	Darren, and I arrived a little late.  I started to wander
	around the parking lot and noticed other people who were
	barefoot -- it must be them!  That's another good thing about
	hiking barefoot -- you can easily find each other!  I waved
	with a big smile as I got closer to them.  Despite being
	naturists and hiking nude in other locations, this was the
	first time some of them had ever hiked barefoot.  Now, they
	were doing the reverse: clothed bodies, but naked feet.
	(Nudity is not permitted in Big Basin Redwoods.)  (For more
	information about the South Bay Naturists, send a self-
	addressed, stamped envelope, bearing $0.55 postage, to: South
	Bay Naturists, Box 23781, San Jose, CA 95153.  The extra
	postage is so you can receive a copy of the newsletter.)

	In attendance were Mike Berrow and his kids, Rich Pasco, 
	Joel Schwitzer and friend Debby Paulin, Maggie Scott, 
	Leo Broukhis and me; Darren Richardson; and Cheryl Gendotti, 
	Richard George, and John Ralston from the South Bay Naturists.
	Eleven of the thirteen of us were barefoot. Elmer Sanborn
	joined us when we stopped for lunch. Having missed us at
	the parking lot, he walked the opposite direction up the
	trail, and asked people along the way, "Have you seen a
	group of barefoot hikers?"

	After we took our obligatory group photo, we were off.  We
	discovered that large groups tend to string out.  People
	stopped for photos, to talk, or when confused and looking for
	the "guy with the map" -- Mike.  Mike commented that it's sort
	of like a moving cocktail party.

	We did get to experience quite a bit of _MUD_!  To date, I
	didn't care too much for mud, but it grew on me (quite
	literally).  Maggie stated that the technical term for the
	noise one's feet make while walking though mud is "ploppy
	sound."  Thanks to Maggie and her engineering background!  :)
	[Maggie's Note: Actually, this term only applies to the best
	barefootin' mud...the kind that makes ploppy sounds when one
	lifts one's foot to take the next step!]  Along the way, there
	were several fallen trees we had to climb over/though.

	Mike's daughter spotted a wonderful example of a banana slug --
	live, of course -- by a nice stream. The group stopped to admire
	the slug and do a bit of wading, partly to wash the mud from our
	feet.  While there, the vote was to have lunch and relax in the
	warm sun before pressing on.

	After lunch, Debby was not feeling well, so she and Joel hiked
	back to the car. The rest of us carried on, clearing brush,
	chatting and ambling our way up the trail.

	When we were nearly back, we passed a young couple.  The woman
	noticed that we were all barefoot and asked if we were an
	organized group of barefoot hikers.  She commented that she was
	a "pre-converted" barefooter and that our example was enough to
	persuade her to remove her boots.  The man and I exchanged
	some info and remarked that he might be the next convert.  I
	have his address and intend on mailing him some info.
	[Postscript: I mailed him a letter and included a copy of our
	flyer.  I have not heard back from him yet.]

	We got back to the parking lot and made plans to go to Lupin
	Naturist Club, a clothing-optional resort, as the guests of
	Rich Pasco for dinner and hot-tubbing.  Before we left, I heard
	from the first-time barefoot hikers that they enjoyed their
	experience -- great!  We must have hiked about 8 or so miles;
	it took longer than expected due to people stopping for photos
	and because of the fallen trees we had to negotiate.

	Before we went to Lupin, Mike, his kids, Darren, Maggie, Joel,
	Debby, and I were going to swing by Santa Cruz to look around.
	Santa Cruz is supposed to be a very barefoot-friendly place.
	Mike's kids wanted to play games; Maggie wanted to stick
	her toes in the Pacific, and I just wanted to look around.
	Despite the fact that we were along a beach with very suitable
	weather, there were not many other people who were barefoot.
	Darren's theory is that, despite the weather, people are
	conditioned to only go barefoot in summer.  There were some
	barefooters, though.  I managed to take a photo of a young
	couple walking around, having fun while barefoot.  As a
	souvenir of the trip, I bought a necklace.  [Postscript: It has
	not been off my body since I put it on.]  In order to make it
	to Lupin, we could only spend about an hour at Santa Cruz,
	which was unfortunate because some of us, myself included,
	would have liked to have stayed longer; but, as mentioned, our
	hike of the day took longer than expected.

	The traffic out of Santa Cruz north was horrible!  We got to
	Lupin way late after the office closed.  Since we had come all
	this way, we decided to see if we could find the restaurant on
	our own.  After some driving about in the dark, we saw the name
	of the restaurant on a sign.  We parked, then walked up the steps.
	Seeing Rich Pasco, et al, inside (nude at the table), we knew we
	were in the right place.  We entered, were greeted warmly, and
	joined everyone at a large table.  In the spirit of the evening,
	some of us decided to doff our clothes as well (I didn't;
	I thought it would have been too chilly).  The food was good at
	a reasonable price.

	After dinner, Rich and Cheryl led us over to the hot tub area.
	It seems that naturists aren't often barefooters (to me, this
	seems kind of strange).  One indicator of this was the rather
	annoying grade of gravel leading to the hot-tub area.  We again
	doffed our clothes (me included), showered, and entered the hot
	tub -- ooh!  It was _very_ warm and bubbly.  After a while, I
	thought it was too warm, so I sat half way out. During the several
	conversations that were going on, Rich congratulated me and declared
	the day's activities acomplete success.  There we were, in a hot
	tub, under a beautiful start-lit sky, relaxing after a day's worth
	of hiking. Mike blurted, "California really sucks!"  ;)

	Eventually and reluctantly, it was time to leave.  We got
	dressed and recrossed the annoying gravel back to the parking
	lot.  Farewells and hugs were exchanged; new friends were made.
	Darren stayed the night with us at Mike's place.


	MONDAY, FEB 20
	==============

	Monday started out fairly leisurely (we were tired!) and we
	didn't get going until around 10AM.  Mike took us to a nearby
	place, Castle Rock Park.  There is a fairly long lead-in over
	asphalt and climbing fences to get to where the real hiking
	actually started.  Parts of the ground were what Mike called
	"bony ground": hard mud, packed into odd shapes.  It was very
	unpleasant.  The cows in an adjacent field didn't pay any
	attention to the fact that we were barefoot.  We also passed a
	group of people on horseback.  I heard someone say, "Look!
	Barefoot hikers!"

	We came upon this small, rock cave in the side of a hill.  We
	spent a fair bit of time climbing in and out of this, taking
	turns taking photos.  (Maggie had a bit of trouble getting in.)
	[Maggie's Note: I did not...I was being cautious. <grin>] Given
	the generally pleasant weather in this part of the country, I
	mentioned the idea that, if did I move to California, I could
	just live here!  :)

	Along the way, we had to cross several (chilly!) streams.  Given
	that my soles were soft from the lack of barefooting due to
	Chicago winters, not to mention all the barefoot hiking of the
	past few days, my feet were a bit tender, so I took my time
	getting across the rocky streams.  In a few places, and in one,
	large expanse of trail, as far as our eyes could see, there was
	a _lot_ of deep mud made even worse by all the horse traffic
	and the occasional "trail treasures" left behind.  Presumeably
	stunned by the amount of mud present, Mike charged ahead, crying
	out, running though the mud.  The rest of us decided, "What the
	hell?" and followed him.  Needless to say, our feet were a mess,
	but just think what hiking boots would have looked like?!  And
	feet are much easier to clean.

	We eventually got to a spot where we decided to turn around.  On
	the way back, we took a slightly different path.  Crossing a
	stream, Maggie stated, "That is not a rock!" and we avoided it.
	(Think about it.)  We came upon a log and I set the camera up
	with the timer to take a group photo.  Continuing on, Maggie got
	a little something in her foot, but Mike's portable tweezers in
	his Swiss army knife came to the rescue.

	After we got back to the Foot-Mobile, Mike took us to downtown
	Walnut Creek for lunch.  En route, I took the opportunity to
	clean the mud off my feet and get it out from under my toenails
	to make my feet look presentable.  After arriving, the warm
	pavement felt quite nice (and smooth!).  We ate in a diner-type
	place that had outdoor seating.  After eating, we wandered up 
	and down a shopping strip, browsing in a few stores.  We
	passed a small boy (maybe 4 years old?) who began shaking his
	head and pointing at our feet: "Uh oh," he said.  It's amazing,
	and unfortunate, how early children are brainwashed into
	thinking bare feet are odd.

	We got back to Mike and Patti's place and Darren offered to
	give each of us a free reflexology session.  Some of it felt
	really nice; some was a bit painful (and I let Darren know!).
	I was sitting in a big, comfy chair, having my feet massaged
	(reflexed?) and Patti fed me chicken and kiwi fruit.  Is this
	the life or what?  ;)

	We just sat around Mike and Patti's house for a while and,
	eventually, it was time to take me to the airport.  We reached
	San Francisco International Airport and I was dropped off at
	the curbside.  Hugs and goodbyes were exchanged and I proceeded
	into the airport still barefoot.  I had not worn shoes once
	since I had originally arrived: cool.

	[The remaining account was written by Mike since I was en
	route to Chicago while all this was happening.]

	6:15 PM

	Maggie and I dropped Paul at San Francisco airport.  We hugged
	him goodbye ... he did look really sad to be leaving.  [Paul's
	note: I was.]

	Maggie's flight was scheduled to leave at 11:30PM, so we had a
	fairly good sized chunk of time to kill.  We headed north to
	San Francisco (about 10 miles) with no particular plan. I work
	in downtown San Francisco so I know parts of that area, but
	only on foot!!!  (I ride the train there from Concord.)

	We got off the freeway and landed in the ritzy Union Square
	shopping district. After installing the "Foot-Mobile" in the
	underground parking area in the center of the square, I turned
	to Maggie and said, "Well, are we going to bring shoes with us,
	or just leave them behind." I knew we had to eat somewhere, and
	we really weren't on my "home turf" anymore. Maggie just smiled
	and said "leave them!"

	The pavement was still warm. It wasn't crowded but there were a
	fair number of pedestrians around. We wandered along to one
	corner of Union Square and saw the Neiman Marcus (VERY upscale)
	department store across the street. Yes, just the thing ... in
	we went.  There were no anti-barefoot signs on the front door,
	but I felt sure that we would be accosted. So far, we hadn't
	been challenged in a single store or restuarant for the whole
	weekend. I know I picked the restuarants carefully, but I DO
	get hassled from time to time when I am on my own. Maybe it's
	because there were so many of us.

	We walked around in there like we owned the place and apart
	from some intrigued looks and puzzled glances ... not a word to
	our faces. We overheard some bored salesclerks in the Men's
	department mutter, one to another, "no shirt, no shoes, no
	service" ... must be some kind of mantra.

	The metal-ribbed escalators felt especially good to our feet.
	On the fifth or sixth "ride," I noticed (in small red letters)
	"no bare feet" as rule number four.  I wondered "if it's
	explicitly NOT allowed on the escalators, then isn't it
	*implicitly* allowed everywhere else ?" It was moot. We trying
	to find where they had hidden the ladies bathroom on the second
	floor when a storelady came marching up to us with a determined
	look in her eye. "This is it" I thought.  "Are you looking for
	the bathroom?" she asked. "It's just around that corner".

	We eventually finished browsing and left.

	Wandering on down the street, we eventually came to Chinatown.
	The people we passed only gave momentary glances and said
	nothing. We looked at curios, jade and other art. Only one
	storekeeper commented on our bare feet. "Why don't you have
	shoes on?," ... "I took them off because they were hurting
	me," ... "Oh."

	We started looking for a promising restuarant. We were dawdling
	outside a very Chinese "family" restuarant (everything written
	in Chinese) when a head waiter in a dark suit opened the glass
	door and looked over at us.  He held two fingers up and said
	"two?" We nodded. He beckoned to us and said "come." As we
	were passing over the threshold, he looked down at our bare
	feet and said "oooh, no shoe?" Then ... he smiled and showed
	us to our table. We smiled too.

	We had a pleasant meal. At one point, I looked over and saw
	that a young Chinese man had shucked his shoes under the table.
	I got harassed out of Denny's one time for that (but that's
	another story).

	We walked back to the car enjoying the warm evening.  Maggie
	needed to locate some "Red-Tail Ale" she had promised to get
	for a friend, so we headed south back towards the airport.
	After a couple of false starts, we found a large grocery store
	that had some.

	Once in the airport, I had a coffee with Maggie near her gate.
	We hugged goodbye. The West Coast BareFootFest '95 was over.
	Three hikes, three city walks, One beach and boardwalk, five
	restaurants, one movie, many stores, lots of new friends, four
	days and not ONE shod minute.  :)