Sunfish Pond

I went hiking at Sunfish Pond today in Columbia, NJ (just before exit 1 on Route 80 West).  My iPod Nano’s pedometer shows I walked just over 18,000 steps, so that’s roughly 9 miles.  The terrain is very rocky but the hills are not very steep so a beginner hiker should be fine, it’s just pretty long.  Just follow the white trail all the way to the pond.

The main attraction, the Sunfish Pond, is very nice and big.  There are plenty of big rocks around it where you can sit down and relax.  I spent a few minutes checking out the area and then found a nice spot where I can take a break, eat my lunch, and enjoy the scenery.  About 5 minutes later, a park ranger stopped by just letting everyone know that there’s a severe thunderstorm warning (great…).  And sure enough, a few minutes after that as I was finishing up my lunch it started raining! .  So that pretty much ruined my plan of chilling here for at least an hour reading Vagabonding.

This trail is supposed to be a loop so I was thinking of just continuing to follow the trail but I spoke to some of the hikers there who were also going to the same direction and it looks like they parked at a different parking lot so I decided to just go back the same way I came from.  I was wearing my new KSO Treks for this hike, by the way.  They’re very comfy thanks to the soft, flexible kangaroo leather but they’re even more comfortable with Injinji socks.  They also do a great job protecting your feet from sharp rocks thanks to the thicker rubber sole.  You can still feel the rocks but they don’t hurt at all!

On my way back, the rain got worse, saw a deer crossed the trail right in front of me (I guess it’s running from the rain), and still saw a lot of people on the way up to the pond.  I guess this is a pretty popular trail, the parking lot near this trail was actually full when I got there (around 11:00ish) and had to wait for someone to leave.

My KSO Treks really got a nice test today.  The rocks on the trail are now wet but the Treks seem to do a  good job hugging them, they didn’t feel slippery at all.  Also works great on mud.  The kangaroo leather is also water resistant, I was hiking in the rain for about 4 miles and when I got home my Injinji socks were completely dry, I don’t think even a drop of water got through.  I also started running downhill near the end of the trail and it felt great! With my regular KSO I really had to watch my steps when going downhill as I’ve landed on some things before that hurt my feet, but with the Treks they don’t seem to be a problem.

I’ll probably still use my regular KSOs and alternate the two.  But for long hikes on rough terrains, the KSO Treks would be my choice.  For easier terrains and water activities I’d wear the regular KSOs as they give a better “barefoot feel.”

I was pretty soaked when I got back to the parking lot.  I’m glad I brought my MSR Packtowl (learned about this from Tim Ferriss’ blog) with me, which I was originally planning for just wiping off sweat on my face.  I’m also glad that I bought this backpack (love this backpack!) a couple weeks ago as my old one is not water resistant.  I was also wearing a polyester shirt that wicks moisture and dries very quickly so it was still pretty comfortable hiking in the rain.  The only piece of clothing that wasn’t prepared for the rain was my shorts, I actually just ordered one that is water resistant/quick drying (and if you’re wondering what underwear I was wearing it’s this one – “17 Countries, 6 weeks, 1 pair of underwear” ).

Well, next time, I’ll be more prepared.  It was actually a pretty good experience hiking in the rain and it cooled me off.  I’ll probably post something in the future about hiking gears/clothing as I get more experienced (I’m still a newbie hiker).  Right now the only parts of my body that are sore are my ankles, I guess they’re still pretty weak and need more strengthening (thanks shoe companies that make thick-soled shoes and offer too much foot “protection”).  Looking forward to next weekend to do more hikes!  Some pictures below (hmm…this blog seems to be turning into a hiking blog).

Ramapo Valley County Reservation

I hiked for almost 3 hours this afternoon at the Ramapo Valley County Reservation in Mahwah, NJ with my VFF KSOs.  I’ve been hiking a lot lately and I can thank the VFFs for that, it’s just so much fun to hike/walk with these shoes!

This is a pretty nice park for hiking, it’s big and there’s quite a variety of terrains.  There’s a paved section, dirt trails, rocky ones (both with big rocks and small rocks), some area with grass, some covered with leaves, etc.  There’s a lot of people also walking their dogs here and there’s a lake area where they take their dogs for a swim (this is a nice spot to take a break as well, nice view and breezy).  I also passed a couple of old guys riding their big horses further down a narrow trail, which I thought was pretty weird (definitely didn’t expect that).  There’s also an overlook (follow the blue trail) but it wasn’t that nice of a view, the trees are blocking most of the view.

There’s a bunch of spots I missed, though, so I’d probably come back here at some time.  There’s supposed to be a waterfall here, some old ruins, and another lake passed the other lake where I stopped to take a break (someone was asking me about it on my way down).

My feet are a little sore right now, I guess it’s a good sign that they got a pretty nice workout, I just hope it doesn’t get worse when I wake up tomorrow!  Vibram also has a  KSO Trek model which is designed for this type of activity and I’m actually considering a pair of those.  They’re supposed to have a little bit thicker sole which would definitely help on rocky terrains as I’ve stepped on some sharp rocks and they hurt quite a bit (didn’t leave any bruises or cuts though, so the VFFs did their job).

I also found this nice website while doing some research on the KSO Treks that seems to be dedicated to Vibram Five Fingers and has a lot of information: http://www.birthdayshoes.com

If you’re near the area and like hiking, check out this park.  Just watch out for snakes…and dog poop!

Some pics below:

Vibram FiveFingers Update 1

Finally had some time to really test out my new VFFs!  Here are my experiences so far:

• Hiking

I went hiking twice yesterday at different parks, in the morning and late in the afternoon.  I have to say that it’s definitely a different experience hiking with the VFFs than with hiking boots.  It’s a lot more fun with the VFFs and the hike actually felt easier with these than with hiking boots.  It was very light and it felt like I really had more control, especially when going uphill.

Both trails I did were very rocky (about 2-3 miles long) and while there were a few spots that I stepped on that did hurt my feet a bit, for the most part the VFFs did their job protecting my feet.  You can definitely feel these small rocks while walking which actually made the hike more enjoyable.  I actually wasn’t planning on doing two hikes yesterday but I had so much fun from the morning hike that I decided to do another one in the afternoon (and to burn some of those fat from all the meat I ate during lunch at a rodizio ).  My feet were a little sore after that second hike (this trail was also steeper from the first one) but it wasn’t bad at all and still able to walk at a normal pace.

• Water Park

So I spent my entire day today at Hurricane Harbor wearing my VFFs, seems like the perfect day to go to a water park (4th of July weekend, 95 degrees out).  I was there from 10:30AM to 5:00PM.  The park of course was very crowded and I couldn’t find a single beach chair that’s available so I ended up doing a lot of walking.  A lot of people were actually wearing water shoes and from far away they actually looked like VFFs!  Then when I got closer I noticed they’re missing toes .

At first, the VFFs were very comfortable, protecting my feet from the very hot pavement (I actually felt the heat from the surface just a little bit).  I spent about half an hour walking, checking out the area, and then finally decided to get myself wet and jumped in to the lazy river and walked with my VFFs.  The VFFs worked quite well on water and also gave a nice grip thanks to the rubber soles.  After than, I went to a couple of the rides and it’s nice not having to take off your footwear when you ride them (normally I’d wear flip flops and usually have to take them off so they don’t come off).  I then went to the wave pool where I spent most of my time as the rides have pretty long lines and don’t feel like waiting.  I also did a lot of walking back and forth to the locker (these lockers are pretty hi-tech now, by the way, they give you a wristband with an RFID attached in the back and you scan it on the scanner in the middle of the lockers and it opens/assigns the next available locker, very convenient and cool!, smartecarte made them if you’re curious) to get my sunscreen and money to buy food/drinks.

Now the bad part.  Around 3:30PM I started feeling some pain on the side of the bone near the big toe on both my feet.  I thought there was a small rock that got in but when I took off my VFFs I found they were small blisters!  They weren’t that bad so I decided to keep wearing them and of course they got worse but still not that bad, I could still walk .  I’m not sure if my feet just haven’t adjusted yet, or if it’s just the shape of my feet (I have wide flat feet), or the VFF KSOs are just not designed to be worn wet for a long time.  I actually brought flip flops with me as backup but left them in my car because I got too confident that I won’t have problems .

Overall, it was still a very good experience so far, I just have to remember to bring backup footwear with me on those occasions where I’m planning to be walking for long periods until I’m fully adjusted to walking barefoot.  I’m definitely planning on using these shoes again for other outdoor/water activities.  If my blisters fully heal by the time I wake up tomorrow I’m actually planning on doing another hike in the morning .

Vibram FiveFingers

Just got a pair of these today!

These Vibram Five Fingers “shoes” give you that feeling of walking barefoot while protecting your feet from cuts, scrapes, and burns (when walking on very hot surfaces).

I first found out about these shoes when I went hiking a few weeks ago.  There was someone in our group wearing these and he was telling us how comfortable they are and how walking barefoot is good for your feet and legs so I did some research after the hike to learn more about it.  I found a lot of articles and forum discussions that are saying good things about them so I finally gave in and bought a pair.

According to Vibram’s website:

The typical human foot is an anatomical marvel of evolution with 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles, and hundreds of sensory receptors, tendons and ligaments. Like the rest of the body, to keep our feet healthy, they need to be stimulated and exercised.

Many experts believe the shoes we wear not only cast the foot in a protective form, but also weaken our foot and leg muscles, leaving them underdeveloped and more prone to injury. And while there are many occasions where traditional footwear is essential for protection, safety, and security, it is equally important to stimulate and exercise the foot in a more natural state on a regular basis.

That’s why we recommend wearing FiveFingers for exercise, for play, and for fun. Stimulating muscles in your feet and lower legs will not only make you stronger and healthier, it improves your balance, agility and proprioception.

I bought the Vibram Five Fingers KSO (“Keep Stuff Out”) model ($79.99) and so far I’m very happy with them.  I wore it earlier while mowing the lawn for about an hour or so and I found them very comfortable and fun to walk with, you can feel the texture of the terrain.  I washed them (they’re machine washable also, by the way) after that, though, so I’m still waiting for them to dry out before I put them back on.

If you want to try them out use this link to find your nearest store that carries them: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/productsupport/store_locator.cfm

Can’t wait to use these for other activities!  I’ll post an update in a few weeks!