A Barefooter Went to Camp

I recently spent six days as a counselor at a summer church camp for middle school kids. I haven't been to this or any other camp for four years - a span that predates my time as a full-time barefooter - so I wanted to see how things would go with maintaining a fairly barefoot lifestyle. I say this because the camp does have a rule that shoes are required at all times. I came to discover that this rule had several fortunate exceptions.

The camp directors, with whom I have been friends on Facebook for many years, were all aware of my barefoot lifestyle as we staff all gathered on Monday evening of last week. I had told Carol, the camp's liaison to the sponsoring church, ahead of time that I planned to be barefoot all the way up to the point that campers arrived midday on Tuesday. She said, "Okay."

My intent during the camp was to respect the rules of the campground by setting a good example for the kids while they were on campus. I would wear minimalist footwear when out and about, but go barefoot in our lodge room -- it's a pretty swank campground, so there's no tents or anything.

It turns out that I had other opportunities to go barefoot and that former emphases from years ago on wearing shoes had been relaxed quite a bit. It used to be that flip flops were officially discouraged because they still exposed campers' feet to rocks, sticks and other undesirables. Close-toed, secure shoes were what was recommended. Not anymore. The informational materials only said that shoes or sandals were required at all times.

The interior of the tabernacle building

Even so, there were many occasions that other campers and I would slip off our flip flops or other footwear and go barefoot or just in socks. This was a frequent occurrence at the "tabernacle," an open-sided building in which we held most of our "indoor" all-camp activities. The floor of the structure is a smooth concrete slab, so it was very barefoot friendly. Many of us also slipped off our shoes at the nightly campfires, even going up front to perform skits sans footwear. I taught two hour-long classes - both indoors - each full day of the camp. I'd slip off my shoes upon arriving at each of them and teach barefoot. As the week went on, other campers took my lead and kicked off their shoes during class, too! When at the pool, most people went barefoot as well, naturally.

Shoes were used most when traveling between locations and at mealtimes in the dining hall. Because of the high amount of heat and the fact that many roads around the campground are gravel, going barefoot from place to place wasn't the easiest thing to do, even for me. There was one time, however, that I walked barefoot from the lake up to our mini lodge because my Vibram Fivefingers had gotten all wet and I was none-too-interested in walking all the way back in them. Fortunately, most of the ground between those locations was paved. In the dining hall are signs that say "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service. Sorry, this even goes for camp." So we did all keep our shoes on when the campers were there, but for the three meals we staff ate before the kids arrived, I was barefoot the whole time and the kitchen staff - employees of the church-owned campground - never hassled me for it.

In general, I was very pleased with how "barefoot" I could be during the week. While I did need to wear some kind of footwear much of the time, I kept it minimal and had many periods when I could kick it off and go fully primal with my feet. I said earlier that the directors know of my barefoot lifestyle, and I did make the camp nurse aware of my chiropractor's note that I should be allowed to go barefoot. All were receptive and understanding of my choices. I think if I'd pressed the issue more I would have been allowed to go without shoes whenever I pleased, but I did want to wear something when going across the hot pavement and gravel roads.

I can't say with any certainty that my barefoot lifestyle has softened the camp leadership into being more accepting of it, but I'd like to think that. I'd also say that our youth are quite willing to go barefoot more often than adults. Middle school-aged kids haven't been fully programmed yet that shoes are necessary all the time. Even so, it was my job as staff to set a good example. That example, this time, was to only go barefoot at our destinations - an example many campers were willing to follow. It's a start.

What are your experiences with going barefoot at a campground? Have you been blocked by camp policy or the wishes of others from going without shoes there? Have you vastly expanded your preferences for going barefoot because you were camping? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.