Hiking Mount Marcy in black KSO Five Fingers

Received the above photos taken of Axel (Axel is wearing the backpack) on a hike up Mount Marcy in New York (The top of which is the highest point in the state!).

Mount Marcy (5,343 feet), Essex county, NY

My friend goes literally everywhere barefoot though sometimes he wear shoes (yeah getting kicked out of places for being barefoot is not fun). He had never heard of vibram so I got him hooked into it and at the same time I decided to buy a pair. A week later after getting our shoes we went out to Mount Marcy for a 20 mile hike. I know that everywhere says one should start easy on them to get your feet used to it, the way I see it "life is too short" so up we went and to be honest I have no regrets. At times through the hike I thought I would have to amputate my feet the next day, I figure between the swelling and the pain I would be miserable but to my surprise it was totally the opposite. Yes there was some soreness but that is normal in a 20 mile hike. I have also started running in them, which does require some time to get used to, specially if running on trails where loose or sharp rocks are the main course. Totally recommend the vibram shoes to anyone who is not afraid of getting dirty and feeling the ground beneath you.

@xel

A 20 mile hike two weeks in! Adventurous! Glad to hear that the aftermath was so surprisingly "okay." And Axel is right, life is too short — so everyone close your browser windows and get out and enjoy living!

Thanks for sharing, Axel!

About the Author — I founded BirthdayShoes.com in April 2009 on realizing just how much I enjoyed having "free feet" - I mostly wanted to use them for weights, sprints, and plyometrics (I'm not much of a runner!). I'm a Googler by day and minimalist footwear aficionado by night; you can find me 'round Atlanta. If you want to catch up with what I'm doing outside of the site here, follow me on twitter @bdayshoes or @justinno or check out my personal site JustinOwings.com.
Justin Owings+ has written 842 articles and 379 comments.