Barefoot in the park: hiker hangs 10 on the trail after giving shoes the boot.

by Maryalice Yakutchik.

Hiker Kevin Kraus finds it enjoyable to go barefoot, even on the rocky terrain and in the snow. The philosophy professor from Georgetown University finds going barefoot physically and mentally stimulating.

COPYRIGHT 1993 Rodale Press, Inc.

Hiker hangs 10 on the trail after giving shoes the boot.

Hiking rocky terrain can bring tears to the eyes of the most well-heeled trail veteran. Even with sturdy footwear, by day's end your feet feel like someone used them for batting practice.

Which makes someone like Kevin Kraus hard to boots, and he has trekked footloose through some of the world's roughest terrain, including the Alps and the Applachians. His favorite destination is close to home, craggy Old Rag Mountain in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park. On his first trip, he had boots because companions warned him that the rugged terrain demanded sturdy footwear. But he freed his feet halfway into a seven-mile hike and has remained barefoot ever since.

"I did own a pair once," Kraus says, "but I lost them. Sometimes, I'd carry them with me, just in case. I probably set them down somewhere and now they're gone."

Kraus' barefoot philosophy is easy to understand. "A big part of it is freedom. I've always enjoyed going barefoot. I don't like being encumbered by shoes. No matter how good the shoes are still feel like my feet are encased. If you're been hiking for eight hours, your feet get sweaty, no matter what you're wearing, but if you're hiking barefoot that doesn't happen."

What about winter? "I hiked in snow barefoot and liked it very much. The cold isn't a problem if you keep moving. I love the changing seasons because you really do feel a difference in the dirt underneath you. Spring mud is wonderful."

Kraus says he intentionally picks paths with plenty of pebbles and rocks. "It feels good having my arches stimulated, and it beats having to ask people to give me a foot massage."

He has yet to convience his students—he also teches barefoot—or his many hiking companies to follow suit, although they are constantly fascinated by his callouses, as well as the fact that he often hikes backwards and with eyes closed. Kraus says his style attracts plenty of attentin on the trail, but he doesn't consider himself a trendsetter. He's merely doing what feels right to him.

"I think that's the essence of creativity; you find new in the ordinary," he says.