Just started "barefoot" running about 2 months ago. At ~10 miles/week but that is constrained by working 2 jobs, not desire/ability constraint. Totally new style of running, but I am enjoying it more. Its pushed me on to a lot more trail running which has been great. Have a paved 20k in a couple of weeks, hoping to be ready by then. Any other barefoot runners out there? Any barefoot hikers?

I run with the NB minimus (trail version) and am loving them. Lightweight. Lots of freedom. Lots of dexterity/feel with good protection. What do you wear/not wear?

Having deformed feet (much of it hereditary, the rest caused by multiple pregnancies and my tendency to gain weight unless I stay on a starvation diet and exercise to the point of stress injury), there's no way I'd do barefoot anything. However, my kids went barefoot whenever possible, which I encouraged. Two of the four inherited my bunions and hammertoes, but the other two have good strong feet.

I'd say footwear is an individual matter. If you are comfortable in the "barefoot" type shoes now becoming popular, go for it, because they will strengthen your feet. My main concern (if I had "normal" feet) would be injury from things like thorns and sharp rocks. Even a small puncture wound with its high probability of infection means you need to get off the trail to medical attention.

I did not know barefoot running was a sport/thing people were into. I've done some real barefoot running around the soft gravel track at my community college, and people think I'm crazy for it because they expect it to be very painful. I grew up playing in the woods and in the hard gravel driveway so it's no big deal to me. I still do a little coon hunting barefoot and I admit barefooting it through cut-over is not a pleasurable experience. I've never gone on an all out barefoot hike though.
I've got a pair of Vibram five fingers I use for hiking and running shoes and if it wasn't for them I don't think I would be capable of doing the 7 + mile day hikes I've ben doing.
The reason I hunt and run the track barefoot is because I have planters fasciitis and a warped tendon from my foot being crushed by a forklift. The foot swells up sometimes and most shoes make it really bad, but those vibrams do wonders for me.

I sorta-kinda do. When I was training for my marathon I had to postpone it because of ankle and back pain. Then I started doing barefoot training and running with shoes, but in the barefoot style. It helped me train injury free, and run the marathon injury free. Since I finished my marathon, I have been really lazy. But I have run a little barefoot here and there, or with homemade sandals. My feet are still really weak.

YES- another fan of Vibram Five Finger KSO Trek's.
Sure they look goofy...but I love them for trail running!
Sore calves the first couple runs but that goes away. Balance & feel is awesome.

I would be carfull taking the five fingers on a backpacking trip due to the lack of ankle support. twisting an ankle in the backcountry is no fun. I always wear a hiking boot now. I know some people hike in teva sandles and all that but one rut/loose rock/misstep could render you incapacitated.

This is an important point. You should always use common sense taking the terrain into count for footwear.
I should have mentioned when I barefoot coon-hunt it's always in my back yard & on land I know extremely well. Of course the dogs sometimes lead me places I don't want to go, but I still know the area very well and thus it is safer for me to barefoot through it than most people.

Likewise, my Vibrams are never the only pair of footwear I bring on a hike, and all I'm doing are day-hikes right now. I use them if the terrain cooperates. That happens to be most of the time for me, but that doesn't mean the terrain others are hiking would be the same as what I hike. I do not consider my hikes to have been very difficult, and that's why I haven't posted anything about my trips lol.

[/quote]I should have mentioned when I barefoot coon-hunt it's always in my back yard & on land I know extremely well.[/quote]

I dont even know what to say except that is awesome!

Hiking boots with ankle support is a myth. Sure, there are mountaineering boots with ankle support, but most boots have none. You need an ankle brace for support. I bring an ankle brace with my trail runners. My ankles would roll all the time in boots, but don't in trail runners.