The days are getting longer and warmer and I am already enjoying frequent hikes through the nature preserve near my home. On the day this image was shot, the trail was well traveled. I didn't encounter any horses but there were an abundance of runners and bikers on the trail. On a busy day I see perhaps a half dozen people on these trails but I stopped counting at 20 on this day. Most of them rush on by, some say hello and a very small percentage actually strike up a conversation. One man was new in the area, so he stopped me to ask about the trails [distances, times, junctions, etc.]. We talked for about 5 minutes and then we were both on our way. Spring officially begins on the 20th of this month, but it feels like spring already.

big hill pond: turkey call trail

outdoor classroom

courage

We must seek the courage to risk being misunderstood until it no longer takes courage. -- Robert J. Wicks

I think there would be a lot more barefoot hikers around if it were not for this one thing.... it is human nature to be judgmental, rude and hurtful. As I barefoot hike trails all around the country [but mostly in the south] I constantly get comments from hikers, bikers, and horseback riders. Comments like "hey buddy, loose your shoes?" or "careful, don't step on a snake now" or how about the lady on horseback who pulled completely off the trail and commented as I passed "Oh good grief I can't believe you're hiking these trails barefooted. I thought I better pull over so you don't have to hike through poison oak or something." The funny thing was, this was on one of widest trails in the park and there wasn't any poison oak or ivy anywhere along this trail. I think the most tense moment for me came when this pack of runners passed me and the dude in the front yelled "Hey, maybe we should stop and help him find his shoes." They all had a nice long laugh and I was very grateful they kept running. I never comment back to those fellow trail users who find it necessary to comment.

I hike barefooted because I enjoy it. I don't comment when a biker rushes by me without letting me know he's coming or slowing down as he passes. I don't comment to horseback riders who never stop to clean up their horse's mess when it dumps in the middle of the trail, or bikers who cut the trails up with their tires, or packs of horse riders who use these trails on muddy days and leave the trails almost unusable by the rest of us. These trails are impacted less by barefoot hikers than any other group. In spite of all this, I love barefoot hiking.


It does take a bit of courage to hike barefooted, but once you get over the fact that you can't change human nature, you can hike these trails and leave the boots behind.

crossing over

My 6-mile cool afternoon winter hike is almost finished as I cross this bridge to the paved path leading to the parking area.

it's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it

Walking these trails after a rain is not a clean thing. But just imagine walking these trails in boots, or trail shoes. You have lots of clean-up, caked mud, and if you let it dry you have rock-hard dirt in the tread of your boot/shoe soles. Then you have socks to be laundered. Clean-up after a barefoot hike is a cinch... let the mud dry, brush it off, and then a quick garden hose or shower eliminates the residue. Done.

the roots

This is probably my favorite part of the Wolf River Trails... the Yellow Trail with its sandy path and abundance of huge trees along the river bluff. It reminds me some of the area in western North Carolina where I grew up and hiked when I was a boy. It's funny, when I was a boy of say 10 or 11, I lived at the base of a mountain and all of my summer days were spent barefooted, roaming those mountains, playing in the icy cold streams, making my own trails. And then something happened. As I grew up, barefooted became not the thing to do. And heaven forbide, as an adult, that anyone be barefooted anywhere, even in their own home. I lost the freedom of feeling the ground beneath my feet for all those years. Even in 1992, when I met a Appalachian Trail thru-hiker who was hiking 2000+ miles barefooted, I didn't shed the boots. Only in the past few years have I gone back to hiking barefooted and it just doesn't feel right anymore if I have to wear hiking boots. I love the feel of the earth beneath my feet: the sand and mud, roots and leaves, ice and rocky streambeds, hot and cold, it's all good.

winter hiking at its best

I just love it when January is warm enough in this part of the country to hike in shorts, short-sleeves and barefooted. On this particular hike, I did a 6-mile loop through the South Lucius Burch Natural Area, which is just north of the Wolf River in Memphis. There are several trails in the natural area. You can hike as short as 2 miles or all long as 8.5 miles or combine several trails and hike 13.5 miles. There's also the North Lucius Burch Natural Area which connects with the south trails. In the north area you can hike about 8 miles before the trail intersects with the paved Memphis Greenline. I haven't been on the Greenline but my daughter has been biking there several times. From the eastern terminus of the south area trails one can connect with the North Bluff Trail and hike 12 or so miles east to the town of Collierville.

I tend to stay in my comfort zone and hike the Wolf River Trails of South Lucius Burch most of the time. Now when I get an opportunity to go out of town that's a whole different story. I love to explore trails native to the area I'm visiting. You can see by my list of "Trails I've Hiked" that the list keeps growing. I always carry a pair of slides or minimal shoes in my pack when I visit a trail I've never been on before or that I know has the potential of being difficult to navigate barefooted. This spring I hope to climb Pinnacle Mountain in Arkansas barefooted for the first time. I've been there probably a dozen times and I know the trail pretty well. I think if I do this one before it gets too hot, I shouldn't have a problem. It's a difficult trail, with many sections which require a bit of scrambling [using both hands and feet] and several spots that are near vertical. Anyway, I hope to have some Pinnacle pictures to post in 2 or 3 months.

walkin on fallen trees: yellow trail

I just love our local trails. This image was taken along the yellow trail, which traces the bluff of the Wolf River.

walkin on fallen trees: white trail

It seems like months since I've had a chance to walk on fallen trees. I found this one beside the white trail and just had to stop for a photo op.

blur

Back on local ground, familiar territory, Lucius Burch Natural Area trails. This one was taken on the Access Trail leading to the blue, white and yellow trails.

Cool day... 42ºF but comfortable.

marsh trail

Taken on the Marsh Trail, Presque Isle, Erie, Pennsylvania. On this cool autumn day I hiked about 6 miles on the island trails. Marsh Trail is the only one that was a bit muddy. The others were damp, but very comfortable to hike, even though the temperature for the day started at about 40ºF and dropped to 34ºF during my afternoon of hiking. A good day for a barefoot hike.

dead pond trail

I had the opporutnity to visit Presque Isle, Erie, Pennsylvania and do about 6 miles of hiking on the island. This image is from the Dead Pond Trail. The ground was damp [not muddy] with a lot of moss. Great trail for barefoot hiking. The day was a little bit cool [around 40ºF and dropping]. By the time I finished my afternoon of hiking the temperature had dropped to 34ºF and it was flurrying. About an inch of snow fell overnight in parts of Erie [mostly lake-effect snow].

mousetail landing state park: 03

Views from my fall visit to Mousetail Landing State Park, along the Tennessee River in west Tennessee.

mousetail landing state park: 02

Awesome day for a hike at Mousetail Landing State Park, along the Tennessee River in west Tennessee.

Mousetail Landing State Park: 01

I visited Mousetail Landing State Park, along the Tennessee River in west Tennessee to check out fall colors. I had not been to Mousetail in several years and I enjoyed it just as much this visit as I did back then. The trails are nice [not rocky] and the colors were much better than those I found at Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park.

No shoes required on these trails.

nathan bedford forrest state park: 05

One last look out over the rolling hills of Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park at the end of my 8-mile autumn hike.

nathan bedford forrest state park: 04

Nearing the end of my 8-mile hike in Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park in west Tennessee.

nathan bedford forrest state park: 03

The colors weren't that brilliant this year, but I enjoyed my 8-mile hike in Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park. I traditionally take a day off from work to visit a state or national park at the beginning of fall color season. This year I visited Nathan Bedford and Mousetail Landing State Parks.

nathan bedford forrest state park: 02

Here's another image from my fall hike in Nathan Bedford Forrest State. I've had my Merrell Barefoot Trail Gloves for about seven months. I really enjoy hiking in them but it's not nearly as much fun as hiking barefooted. You can't tell from these Nathan Bedford Forrest images, but the trails in this park are just covered with fine, sharp rocks and after an 8-mile hike, constant contact with these little rocks can cause some pretty sore soles. I wear the Trail Gloves to give my feet a break.

nathan bedford forrest state park 01

It's not often I post  images on this blog that show me wearing shoes. I suppose many of you think I never wear shoes. Well there are occasions when I still wear shoes on hiking adventures. Those include areas that I have never hiked before, areas I know are rocky or extremely overgrown, or very long hikes. On the long hikes I sometimes carry minimalist shoes just to give my feet a break occasionally.

On this hike in Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park, I took my Merrell Barefoot Trail Gloves with me because I knew from past experience that there are areas on the trail which have extremely sharp little rocks. I don't especially like walking on sharp, little rocks.

the last warm days of fall

Self-portrait, taken along the boulevard trail.

faster

late afternoon shadows

trail spiral

footnote

8.5 miles

I have upped my mileage lately. I used to hike about 3.5 miles each time I hit the trails [twice a week], but for the past 2 months or so, I have been hiking 8.5 to 12 miles each time out [5-6 times a week]. I'm lovin it. I'm seeing a lot of trails I don't normally hike. I'm trimming down a little... lost 6 pounds around the waist so far. And I'm meeting people. It's funny, I always carry a camera with me, but it's usually my compact digital. On the days that I carry my DSLR and a bigger tripod, people stop me on the trail and strike up a conversation. I've met some pretty interesting people.... like the college kid who asked me about barefoot hiking. I told him how great it is and when we ended our conversation, he tied his sneakers on his belt and hiked off down the trail barefooted for the first time. Or the elegant-looking lady who was hiking the trail for the first time. She was dressed in a long dress with a wide-brimmed bonnet, carrying an umbrella and a rain jacket on a perfectly sunny day. After our conversation, she returned to her car to leave the umbrella and jacket, and replace her shoes with some more comfortable ones. Or the young barefooted seminary student. He stopped me to ask about the status of my soul... and to ask how long I had been barefoot hiking. He hikes the quarter of a mile or so along this trail to the river twice a week barefooted, but doesn't hike barefooted on a regular basis. Or the father and daughter who were running the trails and stopped to ask me about barefoot running. Both of them have been thinking about trying it lately, especially since there are so many minimalist shoes out now and all the ads are singing the praises of barefoot [or near barefoot] running. And I've actually seen barefoot prints on the trails, other than my own, this summer and fall.

I think the time may be just about right and I want to start a barefoot hikers club in the Memphis area. If you are reading this and live in west Tennessee, north Mississippi, or east Arkansas and would be interested in being part of this BFH club, please leave a comment or send me an email. I'm thinking weekday hikes in the Memphis area and/or weekend hikes in the wider Mid-South area. Your thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

down to the root of the matter

The yellow trail has undergone a lot of transformation over the past two years. Two major floods in this area in as many years has left the trails eroded and diverted. Tree roots are exposed now that were never visible before. And of course I can't leave it alone. I have to walk on all the fallen trees, broken limbs, and tree roots along the trail. That's just me. No fallen tree or tree root left behind.

through the ziplock

Rainy days hikes are my favorites. I enjoy the mud puddles and dripping trees. The only problem I have with rainy days is taking pictures. I have a weatherproof camera, but it's an old 35mm Minolta Weathermatic and I don't take much film photography these days. I have three solutions. One: carry an umbrella to shield the camera. Two: keep my camera in my beltpack [which is a Mad Water Snorkeler's pack and it works really well] and only bring the camera out between showers. Or three: put the camera in a gallon-sized ziplock bag and just keep shooting. I chose three on this hike. I like the effect shooting through the bag provides.

in the pines

One of my favorite lunchtime destinations is the outdoor classroom at the end of the red trail in the Lucius Burch Natural Area. On a hot, summer day like today, it's nice to relax here beneath the pines and enjoy nature. I know it has to be ten degrees cooler here than it is out in the broiling sun. Another great thing about this place is it is only seven minutes away from my workplace, so I can come over here any day at lunchtime or stop by on my way home in the afternoon, and I do both all the time.