[Dschur]

Hiker hopes to endure bare feet feat

Associated Press
Sept. 19, 2006 08:05 AM


BOILING SPRINGS, Pa. - Ron Zaleski is trying to accomplish quite a feat: Hiking the entire Appalachian Trail in his bare feet.

His goal is to bring attention to the need for combat veterans to receive counseling.

"In the beginning I thought, 'I gotta do this to show how tough I am. I want to be famous,' " he said at a recent pause to eat some pecan ice cream. "Now I just want to help these kids." advertisement




Zaleski, a retired health-club owner from Flanders, N.Y., said other hikers tend to stop complaining about the weight of their equipment or sore feet when they see him.

Zaleski said his aversion to wearing shoes began after he left the Marine Corps following a two-year stint in the early 1970s. Going barefoot started as a protest against the Vietnam War, although for 33 years he didn't make his explanation public, he said.

But recently when a little boy asked him why he was barefoot, he told him the reason.

"I'd almost forgotten why I was doing it," Zaleski said.

[fairweather8588]

I'd like to see that on the AZT

[big_load]

I'd like to see that on the AZT

It's actually pretty bad where he's from. PA is notorious for having the rockiest stretch of the AT. I picked up some through-hikers in NJ this year who sadly discovered that the first 30 miles of NJ are almost as bad (but with better views). I barely had the heart to tell them it would keep up another day. That bit is pretty snaky, too.

Still, I'll take rocks over cholla any day. Once it even stuck to the shaft of my trekking pole.