I had a close call with basically zero forewarning. I had never experienced such a thing before, so I was entirely clueless until the pain started to set in. I was hiking along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (a Michigan favorite) moving from were I had camped that night at Beaver Creek to Chapel Beach which is about 5.5 miles away. In the morning I was mostly lolly-gagging around, taking pictures, exploring some bits off-trail, and I also wasted about an hour trying to find a hat that I had dropped a ways back. After eventually arriving at the beach, I took a dip and lounged around for about 20 minutes. After that, I figured I had travelled far enough down the trail and it was time to head back towards my car located at Hurricane River, about 17 miles away (unfortunately, there are no loops to take). I was still pretty energized, so I decided to run the trail until I got to Beaver Creek, and I did. Feeling pretty winded and wanting relaxation after arriving at Beaver Creek, I took my Crocs off and started walking the remaining 10 miles of my journey barefoot, along the beach. To my demise, after about 7 miles, I started feeling this pain in my right foot right along the arch. Now, I must mention, as I was walking I stayed within the moist/wet region of the sand, since it seamed much easier to walk in, due to its firmness. The problem was that it was apparently too firm - almost like wet sandstone. Even though it didn't feel bad at all when I first started, 7 miles of slamming my bare heels down on the hard surface must have really damaged my foot. It only took about 10 minutes after the first notion of pain before it became EXCRUTIATING. I put my Crocs back on, but they offered very little help. In agony, I limped my way closer to my car stopping about every 20 steps to rest my foot. I took to hiking in the water, as the numbing cold made my foot feel considerably better, but that was making my trek take even longer. I eventually reached Benchmark camp, which was about 2.5 miles short from where my car was parked. I decided to stay the night there and hope for the best in the morning. When morning came, I think my foot felt worse, but I was definitely more energized, so I was able to make my way out. Had the terrain been anything but flat, I don't know if I would have been able to make it. My foot hurt for about a week after that, and I could barely walk. So I guess the moral of the story is: don't walk long distances barefoot, unless your feet are conditioned for that sort of abuse.

Here's a picture during one of my rests (I was sitting in the sand). Just seeing this makes my foot hurt!


Eric