Hiking barefoot a release for sole
Associated Press
Friday, July 7, 2000EMPORIA — Peter Rupprecht is a "sole" man.
Nearly every day of the year, whether the sun is shining, the rain falling or the snow blowing, Rupprecht pursues his passion: barefoot hiking.
"This is a way to enjoy nature at its fullest," Rupprecht said while leading a hike Saturday at Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. "Your feet will say, 'Thanks for bringing me along for the trip; you usually leave me in the suitcase.'"
Rupprecht, pastor of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Emporia, is the organizer of Emporia Barefoot Hikers, a casual group of walkers and hikers who prefer to venture into the wild unshod.
"I love the sense of being in touch with nature: the comfort, the freedom," said Susan Siepelmeier, human resources coordinator at Presbyterian Manor. "I feel the stress of my life go out my toes."
Siepelmeier, a member of Emporia Barefoot Hikers, has been hitting the trails without footwear for two years.
"I feel like barefoot hiking touches my soul, S-O-U-L, as well as my soles," she said.
Rupprecht supports barefoot hiking — and barefootedness in general — as a natural thing to do.
"The foot is well-designed to handle natural terrain," Rupprecht said. "We tend to forget that."
Rupprecht has enjoyed walking and hiking throughout his life but found that he was developing extreme heel discomfort that was limiting his hiking potential. Four and a half years ago, he read an article in Newsweek magazine about Richard Frazine, a proponent of barefoot walking and the author of "The Barefoot Hiker," a book about the advantages and techniques of hiking without shoes.
"It made sense to me," he said. "I contacted the author (Frazine) and formed a local chapter of Barefoot Hikers. When I started walking without shoes, my heel pain went away."
Emporia Barefoot Hikers meets about once a month to explore various trails in the Flint Hills area. Members follow general rules of barefoot hiking, designed to minimize the possibility of injury: Step straight down, watch the path ahead, and keep weight off heels, shifing balance to the balls of the feet.