Sorry for the long gap between my first and second post! I've had a few setbacks in trying to get my feet ready for the summer, but I'd say that my soles are beginning to get callused enough to really commit to this project! So be on the look out for posts once every week or two on new parks in the Connecticut/New York area that I will be reviewing in terms of how barefoot friendly they are.
Let's get started! My first brand new shoeless excursion of the year was at the Nichols Preserve, which is on the border of Greenwich, CT and Aramonk, NY. The entrance to this small park is in a residential area at the end of West Lane, which can be seen above. There was no parking lot of any sort, so I pulled my car off to the side of the road and walked in.
The initial walkway inside the park is technically part of Electric Road and is more or less a crumbling sidewalk. The very beginning of the trail was covered in a lot of gravel and prickers, which can be frustrating when trying to take in your surroundings. However, the trail quickly became more level and felt more like walking on the street.
As you can see in the left of the photo above, there were several horse jumps inside the park, which makes sense as the sign at the entrance mentioned it being a popular place for horseback riding. I only once encountered horseback riders while hiking in Mianus River Park, but did not run into any during my time at the Nichols Preserve.
I remember looking at the riders in Mianus with wonder, as I had never seen people in Connecticut riding horses outside of a ranch. One of the two riders had noticed my expression and nodded kindly before stopping his horse and giving me a surprised look of his own. "No shoes, eh?" he asked. To which I responded, "That's right." He gave me an approving smile and continued on his way.
While there were no horses or riders at the Nichols Preserve, there were a number of these large grassy trails leading off into the park, which are not typical in places made primarily for biking and hiking. I considered following one one of the trails, but decided against it out of fear of getting ticks from the grass or stepping on unseen pieces of glass.
Sadly, the one trail that was not either paved or covered in grass did have lots of small pieces of glass strewn among the pebbles. It is for this reason that I did not venture down that path and do as much exploring as I had hoped to do.
Glass is an inevitable annoyance when barefoot hiking, but is typically harmless unless it is broken down into splinters that can stick into the sole of your foot. Almost every park I have been to has had some spots where obnoxious people have decided to smash a bottle, but certainly parks are better than others. While the Nichols Preserve is beautiful, I did not feel comfortable hiking as much as I would like due to all the glass.
The path continues into an enormous grassy field full of flowers and the sounds of nature (and sadly the sounds of the highway as well). I spent nearly twenty full minutes just taking in the spot and basking in the openness of it. The trees surrounding the field and the pristine sky above really made me feel like I was far away from civilization, which is how I love to feel when hiking. I just wish the highway was a bit further away from the area.
The paved road eventually came to an end and gave way to the tall grasses that surrounded the walkway. While I was not about to walk through knee high grass, I couldn't help but take photos of the flowers and trees. This secluded spot would definitely be a great place to read or write.
As I made my way back to the entrance, I decided to take advantage of the emptiness of the place and take a few artistic barefooting photos. While I'm not a huge fan of walking on tiny pieces of gravel, I do love the feeling of silt and tree branches as they provide me with objects on the ground to explore with my feet.
For me, barefoot hiking is as much about feeling interesting sensations as it is about practicing mindfulness while walking. Instead of letting your mind wander and thinking about things that could be troubling you (trivial or otherwise), you need to be focused on each step in order to make the most of your walk.
While I was certainly surprised by the paved walkway instead of the typical dirt ones, I thoroughly enjoyed my walk. The pavement was just the right temperature during such a hot weekend and offered an array of textures to experience. Though I didn't get black soles like when I go barefoot around town, I did end up with some prickers stuck to my heels.
I highly recommend the Nichols Preserve to anyone who loves nature, quiet spots, or horseback riding! While my barefoot hike was very serene and I got to appreciate the sensations of my toes gripping the asphalt as I walked, I would say that overall this wasn't a very barefoot friendly spot.
That's it for today! I hope you all enjoyed my post! Look for another in the coming week and thanks for reading!
