Hike on Moosilaukie - 10.77 miles - 3,300 feet elevation gain

Today the plan was to hike up the summit of Mount Moosilaukie (4802 feet) with a small group of friends.  Fred (50) and George (64), and I don't think they have every really hiked a 4,000 foot mountain in NH.  Sy is a teen who has hiked with me before.

We got a very late start, heading up the trail around 10:40 am.  Immediately as we crossed the road there was a wide shallow brook that had to be crossed.  I simply walked across the cool refreshing water as the rest of the group headed up stream looking for a place to cross.  They finally did find a down tree that had been made into a crude bridge.  The trail was very soft under foot, I was a little surprised seeing how this was part of the Appalachian Trail.  Though hiking about 1.4 miles we came to the new parking lot.  The group wondered why I didn't park there.  I had figured the lot would be full and didn't realize they had made a nice new bigger lot.  I also sometimes don't think in terms of miles and just want to get on the trail.

Once on the Glencliff trail the ground felt much firmer, though still very barefoot friendly.  The trail wandered through a few fields and I was asked if I was worried about ticks.  I was actually less concerned barefoot since they would probably be brushed off or seen more easily then someone wearing socks or long pants.  We soon crossed a few small sources of water which I used to cool my feet.  Once I stepped in some mud that oozed between my toes.  I was concerned at first that when it dried the dirt between my toes would irritate my skin, but that was not to be the case.

As we ascended the trail got rockier and I slowed down, but so did one of the other guys, so I still was not holding the group back.  We were hiking at a very slow pace, but we were all enjoying out time out in the woods.

Gravel on the Carriage Road

Eventually the steep and rocky section ended and we were now on the Carriage Road.  The group decided to push on to the summit.  I was concerned that here I would find the trail to contain more gravel, but at first it was very barefoot friendly, but unfortunately it didn't last.  About a half mile from the summit the gravel appeared in the trail and stayed there for the rest of the walk to the summit.  It is not unusual to see this type of hiking bed at this elevation.  We had seen a few people earlier, but on this section of the trail it got a little crowded.  I tried to walk as though the gravel wasn't bothering my feet at all, but did ask that Sy knock the pace down a bit.  At this point we had lost the other two members of our group and looking back they were no where to be seen.

Two of us made it!

At the summit we got our picture taken.  I was very happy to see they got my bare feet in the shot.  Then we headed down to find our friends.  Going down was a lot harder then going up.  For one my feet had already hiked 5.5 miles (0.5 mile more than my previous hike) and I knew it was a long way down.  Here I definitely went a lot slower, searching for the least painful foot placement, which I'm not sure I was accomplishing.   We soon found our friends resting along side the trail.  United we continued down the trail.




During the first half of the trip downward it was all I could to to keep up with the group and not slow everyone down.  I once again thought constantly of how my boots made hiking down hill so much easier.  (Upon arriving home I read about several other barefoot hikers that wear shoes on the downward trek due to the difficulty of hiking down hill barefoot.  Now they tell me.)  I realized that being barefoot really limited my foot placement and did not afford me any new options (beside mud and water).  I could feel the pounding my soles were taking, and had a good feeling they would be a bit tender the next day.   But the next day was Sunday when I usually take it easy and don't do much walking, so they would get a good recovery day.

At the end of the hike.

Once the trail started leveling out I was able to keep up with the group and soon moved into the middle of our small pack.  Then when the trail got even closer to bottom I pulled to the front and started to drag George along a bit faster.  We came to another junction and we decided George would stay there with my pack and wait for the rest of the group, while I went ahead and brought the vehicle around to the end of the trail, saving them 1.4 miles.

In the end I did 10.77 miles barefoot.  I have now tracked over 100 miles barefoot, either walking, running or hiking outside.  I've walked a bit more, but haven't always remembered or felt the distance was worth tracking.  I think next time ( I must be crazy) I'll try bringing some hiking poles.  In the past I felt hiking poles slowed me down going downhill, but nothing can slow me down more than I'm going now, so hopefully they might help speed me up.

I did get a lot more comments on this hike.  Most were encouraging.  Probably the best moment of the day was when a hiker commented on my bare feet and then asked if I was Dana from Manchester.  It was Ethan a fellow avid hiker who was a friend on Garmin Connect.  If it wasn't for my bare feet we would not have noticed each other have passed each other by.  Of course making it to the top and back while remaining barefoot was pretty cool as well.

On the road we stopped at McDonalds for breakfast and I hid my feet the best I could behind the counter and managed to purchase my food without any hassles.  On the way back we stopped at a country store and purchased a drink with no problems and I'm pretty sure they noticed my bare feet,  They were nice folks.  Then we stopped off at McDonalds again, where we ordered some more food and we sat down to eat.  They delivered my McFlurry to me and I met him half way up the aisle.  I'm pretty sure my bare feet were very noticeable but nothing was said.

Sunday morning arrived and I knew this would tell the real story on how my feet held up.

The first thing I notice upon standing was my ankles were sore and of course the soles of my feet were sore as well.  My calves were also a bit tight.  But I didn't have to much trouble walking.  The soreness in the bottoms of my feet felt more like a muscle sore, then it did bruises.  When I probed the bottom of my feet I did find a couple of spots that could only be bruises.  The arches seem to be where the most bruising was.

As the day progressed my thighs let me know they had a workout that they did not appreciate.  I would hobble up the stairs, but most of the difficulty was in the quads and not the feet, though the feet did contribute a little. While I am not totally surprised my legs were sore, I hadn't hiked a 4,000 foot mountain in a few years.  I was surprised my feet seem to be so doing well.  I have heard from a good source that my feet may swell up, but that still hasn't happened.  I'm thinking perhaps swelling of the feet might be more a result of exercise then it is of being barefoot.  I'll continue keeping an eye on that aspect as well.  Though during the hike my hands swelled up again, though I remember that happening in the past on some of my longer hikes.

Monday has arrived and I walked to work barefoot.  Seemed like the feet were not as comfortable walking barefoot as they have been, like I've lost ground in toughness.  While walking I now notice a bruise on the heel of my right foot on the inside by the arch.  My quads are definitely still sore and I'm not interested in taking many stairs.