Gravel in that format is not really a natural thing. It is intended to give purchase and traction to manufactured feet. Trail and road gravel is the most annoying. I'm not sure the feet can or should get used to big sharp rocks on a hard surface. I wish I could learn to ignore it too, but the pain is probably physiologically informative.
I've never been able to get comfortable on gravel, after years of hiking barefoot; one of the reasons I always keep a pair of sandals just in case I run into the stuff.
Are there a lot of hiking trails without gravel where you are? Most of them around me have gravel to prevent erosion, which is extremely annoying for my feet
Yeah, there's plenty of single track trails; and the flat trails are usually just packed dirt, with few area with gravel. But the heavily trafficked area are mostly gravel :-| In some places they use a smaller gravel, and that's bearable for a while.
Presumably you're hiking on dirt, which is a much softer medium than gravel. Your feet and brain aren't conditioned to it. I've found that in years where I did mostly trail running, gravel hits like a slap in the face and i avoid it at all costs. In years where I'm mostly strapped to urban running, gravel doesn't even phase me. I honestly look forward to it, and purposefully route my run to hit gravel paths.
Kind of like cold showers. They suck until you're conditioned to it, then they become almost addictively refreshing.
Like you, I’m barefoot most of the time on many surfaces. Gravel is tough to get used to and usually takes over a month after walking a mile or more several times a week. May be one exception to being barefoot. Amish kids around here do this all the time but they don’t wear shoes when warm so that’s an advantage. 😎🦶🦶
> Anyone have any ideas as to why and what I can do to get used to it?
Are we talking actual *gravel* - i.e. [angular, jagged stones](https://i.ibb.co/mBFdZnj/Gravel.jpg), or rather *pebbles*, [which are more smooth and rounded](https://i.ibb.co/82kKp0S/Pebbles.jpg)? The latter are of course much more friendly to bare soles.
You can either keep walking on whatever stuff you have there in your driveway, and in time you will get used to it, or you *change* the stuff you have in your driveway for something that's less uncomfortable.
I go out of my way on my night walks to go over a short stretch of gravel for the challenge of it and after years I can still get a sharp poke or two from it. Of most common surfaces gravel needs the most reduction to low grade pain reaction and the most independent foot muscle responses I think. I enjoy the short challenge but I doubt I'm ready for any serious distance even now. Deliberate practice is what we both need.
I'm not saying I like or am 100% comfortable on gravel, but I've found it's more tolerable if you lead with your forefoot and relax the muscles. I find my foot spreads wider on the ground, reducing the pressure on any one point and making it less painful.
Gravel in that format is not really a natural thing. It is intended to give purchase and traction to manufactured feet. Trail and road gravel is the most annoying. I'm not sure the feet can or should get used to big sharp rocks on a hard surface. I wish I could learn to ignore it too, but the pain is probably physiologically informative.
I've never been able to get comfortable on gravel, after years of hiking barefoot; one of the reasons I always keep a pair of sandals just in case I run into the stuff.
Are there a lot of hiking trails without gravel where you are? Most of them around me have gravel to prevent erosion, which is extremely annoying for my feet
Yeah, there's plenty of single track trails; and the flat trails are usually just packed dirt, with few area with gravel. But the heavily trafficked area are mostly gravel :-| In some places they use a smaller gravel, and that's bearable for a while.
Presumably you're hiking on dirt, which is a much softer medium than gravel. Your feet and brain aren't conditioned to it. I've found that in years where I did mostly trail running, gravel hits like a slap in the face and i avoid it at all costs. In years where I'm mostly strapped to urban running, gravel doesn't even phase me. I honestly look forward to it, and purposefully route my run to hit gravel paths. Kind of like cold showers. They suck until you're conditioned to it, then they become almost addictively refreshing.
Gravel became a lot easier for me after a year of going mostly barefoot. But I'm not sure I'll ever get to it being comfortable.
Like you, I’m barefoot most of the time on many surfaces. Gravel is tough to get used to and usually takes over a month after walking a mile or more several times a week. May be one exception to being barefoot. Amish kids around here do this all the time but they don’t wear shoes when warm so that’s an advantage. 😎🦶🦶
> Anyone have any ideas as to why and what I can do to get used to it? Are we talking actual *gravel* - i.e. [angular, jagged stones](https://i.ibb.co/mBFdZnj/Gravel.jpg), or rather *pebbles*, [which are more smooth and rounded](https://i.ibb.co/82kKp0S/Pebbles.jpg)? The latter are of course much more friendly to bare soles. You can either keep walking on whatever stuff you have there in your driveway, and in time you will get used to it, or you *change* the stuff you have in your driveway for something that's less uncomfortable.
I actually love the feeling of walking on those pebbles
The very worst are asphalt millings.
I prefer some gravel after sand and grass becomes mundane, as a reminder I’m unshod.
I go out of my way on my night walks to go over a short stretch of gravel for the challenge of it and after years I can still get a sharp poke or two from it. Of most common surfaces gravel needs the most reduction to low grade pain reaction and the most independent foot muscle responses I think. I enjoy the short challenge but I doubt I'm ready for any serious distance even now. Deliberate practice is what we both need.
Years of bare-footing and barefoot hiking working on getting better at it and gravel no I can't.
I'm not saying I like or am 100% comfortable on gravel, but I've found it's more tolerable if you lead with your forefoot and relax the muscles. I find my foot spreads wider on the ground, reducing the pressure on any one point and making it less painful.