While I agree it feels better being 100% naked, here in Oz there are too many sharp, prickly, thorny and bitey things in our bush to hike barefoot. So I hike with shoes, but take them off as soon as I get to my destination. :-)
Like above I love to be barefoot all over, on lovely soft grass its great, but I was up in Benalla Victoria Australia.about 7 months ago walking with my wife, barefoot on the lovely city garden lawns when we hit a patch ofprickles (thorns) which looked like the soft grass but the 12mm needles really put the brakes on the walk. Once we got the needles out of the feet, it was back to the path for the rest of the walk but the stones on the path were a little rough on the now very sensitive feet. So ended the barefoot strolls thru the rose gardens and lawns. Shoes were definitely order of the day.
The red bull ants are also a real bush hazard too, as if you walk over their nest they swarm out of the multitude of entrances and attack everything in sight enmass. Bare feet have no chance of avoiding being bitten, and even wearing sandels or shoes, the ants just hang on until they find flesh and boy do they sting.
If it was safe to do so I would walk bare foot but with sharp objects and such just laying about the ground I need to keep something on my feet to stay safe from injuries. Still the main thing is being naked and free of clothes to walk as nature intended us to be.
I just spent a week hiking naked in the Austrian Alps (thanks to NEWT). Much of it was through natural unspoilt woods. The hiking was strenuous and the sun strong. So two items of clothing were essential - a sun hat and a stout pair of walking boots with socks. Otherwise we were totally naked. I agree that walking barefoot is so much more sensual, more in contact with the earth beneath our feet. But the feet have to be protected. Their well being is the most important thing on a long walk.
I often wear my Birkenstocks if I need footwear while nude. Other than sharp rocks, needles, bugs, also sometimes it is necessary to protect the feet from the very hot sand, dirt or sidewalks. I have burned my feet before. Wearing Birkenstocks is sort of like being bare foot.
I prefer being barefoot when possible and practical. Most times ... I'm always barefoot but there are times when footwear is practical. Hot beach sand, hot concrete or asphalt, rocky areas, sharp twigs, branches and thorns ... I prefer walking barefoot and not have to stop every three steps to pull something sharp out of my sole or walk so gingerly that I'm not enjoying the nature walk.
I do a bit of naked hiking in Death Valley. Sharp rocks and shale are hell on your feet ... so I wear good hiking boots. I don't buy into the idea that you are only naked if you're barefoot. Practicality runs the spectrum with us. If you need footwear, wear it. If you need clothing from the cold, wear it. ;-)
As much as I'd like to be fully nude when hiking, I haven't yet found the time or place I could ditch the shoes. It's either way too muddy (slippery) or there's other things I can't see under the leaves or whatnot on the ground. I'm hopeful that someday I'll work it in. Besides, I usually wear a hat due to ticks or other things so it's not honestly 100% totally nude anyway.
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