Barefoot Hikers

Healthy feet can hear the very heart of Mother Earth.
Sitting Bull

Your feet walk upon the Earth and through this your spirit is connected to the universe. Our feet are our contact with the Earth and the energies that flow through it.
Cherokee "Moonmaiden" Jenny Wallace

And forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
Kahlil Gibran

Introduction
Book: "The Barefoot Hiker"
Barefoot Hikers Chapters
Publicity
Related Internet Resources
Comments and Inquiries

Introduction:

THERE IS NOTHING more natural than hiking through nature barefoot. The soles of your feet and toes are wonderful sensory organs and the myriad of feelings from earth, grass, moss, pine-needles, and mud are wonderful. Many could not see hiking any other way.

HIKING BAREFOOT causes virtually no trail erosion since a bare foot makes much less of an imprint than a booted foot. A comparison photo is available. (I had to step hard next to somebody else's boot-print to make any imprint at all.) Bare feet are therefore the environmentally sound choice for hiking.

THE BAREFOOT HIKERS are groups of people who enjoy hiking barefoot. The first Barefoot Hikers chapter was started by Richard Frazine, author of The Barefoot Hiker.

[Photo: Barefoot Hiker book cover]

The Barefoot Hiker

A Book About Bare Feet
by Richard K. Frazine
1993, Ten-Speed Press, ISBN: 0-89815-525-8

It's a "how-to" book on barefoot hiking, but also on bare feet in general including thoughts, perceptions, and a historical and cultural viewpoint. It's a great little book at $7.95.

Ten Speed Press
P.O. Box 7123
Berkeley, CA 94707-0123
Cover photograph of the author and son Charles leading a barefoot hike along the Mattituck trail. Taken by the Rev. Dr. Raymond Odiorne, Jr.

If you are interested in barefoot hiking, here is a Beginner's Guide.

Barefoot Hikers Chapters:

Note: The following list contains every barefoot hiking group we know about. Please do not send e-mail asking if there is another barefoot hikers group in your area. If there were and we knew about it, we would have listed it below. (Why would we intentionally withhold such information?)

If you hike barefoot, or would like to, and would like to head-up your own Barefoot Hikers chapter, send e-mail for information and about receiving a link from this page.

Publicity:

The East San Francisco Bay Barefoot Hikers chapter is the recipient of
Barefoot Cellars' Outstanding Barefoot Achievement Award!

Related Internet Resources: