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Hiking in the Jura in Minimal Shoes
Today I went for a short walk in the Jura with minimal shoes and I felt fine. The shoes, despite being thin soled, felt fine on the dry dirt paths. They do get wet when walking in dew covered grass but that’s what you would expect so that’s acceptable.
When you’re wearing minimal shoes you can be barefoot or with socks but both the shoes, and socks dry quickly when there is so little fabric. That’s the bonus of minimal shoes. The other benefit is that they’re light and responsive, so I felt comfortable for the entire walk. They feel natural.
I walked with these shoes because I know the path well so I don’t worry about wondering into the unknown with shoes that are not adapted to the situation. The route is one that I know very well, thus the lack of concern about shoes.
Now is a good time to go to the mountains as there are thousands of flowers that have bloomed.
The Two Cultures
It was interesting to see the two shoe cultures today. On one side there was me, wearing thin, minimal shoes. On the other you had conventional shoes that offer a lot of cushioning. What’s interesting is that I noticed. Before wearing barefoot shoe wearing I saw a shoe as a shoe. Now I notice the difference and look and feel.
The trail gloves felt great on the walk today. So thin and light and yet perfectly comfortable. I don’t know whether wearing vapor gloves, and then trail gloves has much effect on comfort levels. I really do feel happy with the trail gloves. They’re simple, comfortable shoes. The only question to answer, now, is whether they will last 800 km of walking or not. If they do then they are a good future option.
On Whether I Prefer Vanilla JavaScript or Frameworks?
Today someone on twitter asked this question, and rather than be reply: 320 of 10,000, I chose to write a blog post about it. The TLDR answer is Vanilla JS because if you learn how it works without the help of a framework you understand the language. This doesn’t mean that I don’t have an interest in learning to take full advantage of frameworks.
As I listen to JavaScript Jabber one thing is clear. Whereas if we listen to courses and twitter discussions we are tricked into thinking that we should either use React or Angular we see, through JavaScript Jabber that frameworks are as diverse as they are flexible. One app will be excellent for one type of task and another will be awesome for something else. If you spend time learning Vanilla JavaScript, and then you learn about the diverse choice of frameworks then you can either write concise and effective code that does what you need with little to no bloat.
I don’t want to just learn a framework and be inflexible. I want to learn how it works, behind the scenes. Before WordPress, I was learning about navigation using Server Side Includes and other such tricks. When I played with PhpBoards, WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, wiki software, and more I managed to use them as a user, and they did want I wanted, but I never looked behind the curtains so I could use WordPress, but I couldn’t create my own themes, etc, and to some degree, I still can’t.
I have spent time trying to make it so that I can share my instagram archive on my website without using Instagram, and I managed with WordPress. Recently I tried using Vanilla Javascript and I found manipulating the DOM to be challenging. This is precisely why learning to code with Vanilla JS is so important. It shows you the complexities, and with time you learn how things work together.
One of the jokes is that if you get stuck you should RTFM and with frameworks that’s often quite easy. With Vanilla JavaScript RTFM doesn’t mean read just one manual. It means read about a variety of concepts until you understand enough to get it to work by yourself.
So far I can show a random post after each reload, or show the ten most recent posts and their caption. The next three challenges are:
- Go through the posts at a time
- Add crud capability using JavaScript. At first I will try with an empty json file, and then move on. CRUD requires understanding of the fs library (I need to double check the term)
- Add the ability to transfer data from the json to an SQL or NoSQL database.
- Experiment with Houdini and responsive design with a wall of pictures.
We’ll see what else I can think of. The point of this is to take skills I learn in courses and apply them to a project without having someone else provide me with the list of necessary steps.
That’s it for now.
Hiking in Switzerland
In 2019 Swiss people spent 162 million hours walking and hiking in Switzerland. Hiking generates 2.5 billion CHF per year and there are 50,000 signs to help people find their way. In Switzerland people hike 20 times per year.
I go for a two to three hour walk/hike every single day and as a result I have walked almost 2 million steps since March.
The Canton de Vaud has 3736 kilometres of hiking trails of which 1538 have hard surfaces. 547 kilometres are in the mountains. 136 volunteers help keep the paths open.
The total number of hiking trails in Switzerland amount to 66,722 kilometres, of which 17444 have hard surfaces. 24,783 kilometres are in the mountains. For 2019 there were 1028 organised hikes by Randonner.ch. These facts and figures are from the 2019 annual report.
Experimenting with CWT Vulcan
Recently a CWT Vulcan system was installed on a pipe in the building where I live and the calcar that I had watched being deposited in a kettle stopped depositing, and even started to disintegrate. Within a week, or less the calcar almost vanished.
To over-simplify it, you wrap a coil around a pipe, with an electronic ciruit board and it uses electric currents, through electrophoresis to take calcium and magnesium from complex to simple structures. In the process calcar no longer builds up. It goes a step further and cleans the calcar, as was shown by the kettle example. You can read more about the process from this source. If that’s not technical enough you can read this paper.
According to a sheet of paper the system needs two watts of power. Once it is installed you can leave it to do its work. The difference is noticeable very quickly. One test was to boil water five times in a sauce pot, so I did. I could barely see any calcium build up and when I wiped it with a cloth the small traces wiped away.
I am used to filling a kettle with water, boiling it, and making tea or coffee. I played with Moka pots to make coffee and with kettles and moka pots I saw a build up of Calcar. With water treated by the CWT Vulcan system the kettle and Moka pot clean themselves thanks to the treated water.
When you use Brita filters you need to shake them in water, and then you need to flush water through them twice, and then you can use them for a month, before repeating the process. With CWT Vulcan devices, once it’s installed you’re done, and you get softer water.
When you’re washing dishes, or rinsing glasses water drips from the glass or other container and leaves traces. With the Vulcan treated water there is no deposit left behind. Before the Vulcan water treatment system leaving a drop of water to evaporate would leave a trace of rust coloured calcar behind. I’m convinced of the value of this system within two or three tests and the company suggests six tests.
One of the tests is the rusty nail test. The problem is that I don’t know where I can find a rusty nail. The closest I come to a rusty nail is a rusty double edge shaving blade. Upon consideration I could test it with a wok that is several decades old by now. It has traces of rust, when you forget to oil it before storage.
And Finally
What I appreciate with this system is that it requires two watts of power and it does what it’s designed to do. You don’t need to replace filters every few weeks, or months and there is little to no waste. I love gadgets so I’m convinced by this solution. Originally I thought it was moronic to spend thousands of francs on a system that would then require thousands of francs per decade to keep running. With this system once it’s installed there are no, or fewer costs.
Broken Stones, Good Weather and Autumn
Today as I looked at the ground I saw broken stones. The one in the image below is especially beautiful. I don’t know why there were more broken stones than usual. It seems that the conditions were right to bring the stones to the surface and for the farmers’ machinery to break them all to pieces. It’s impressive to see the size of some of the broken stones.
The leaves have started to turn, as various plants give up on feeding their leaves. They are turning from green to orange, yellow and red. The temperature is comfortable for us, humans, but nature knows. I also looked out of a window earlier and I saw plenty of birds and insects flying around. I don’t know why there were so many insects. Birds were happy to have so much food.
In a shopping centre I saw that you could buy Raclette sets that use tea candles to melt cheeese and I found the idea interesting. Today I googled these things and I finally bought one. For 20 CHF there is little risk. The advantage is that once you have one of these you can have an instant and easy meal. Buy the right cheese, a little pepper and you’re ready.
And Finally
I still have not used YouTube. I used to spend two to three hours a day watching content on YouTube because I liked what I saw but recently I have felt that the sensationalism and ability to put up with rubbish is to a high a price to pay for using the network.
I did consider using Vimeo because this is a network by people with a passion for the art of video, film and cinema, rather than just a suplemental income. The one drawback is that this content requires focus, attention, and a certain amount of concentration. It feels more like studying than relaxation. I also haven’t found the content I want to watch yet.
Three Hundred and Sixty Kilometres in Trail Glove 7
Since the Seventh of May 2023 I have walked more than 360 kilometres in the Merrel Trail Glove 7 and the experience has been good. For a long time I enjoyed wearing normal shoes but recently they started either to rub the front of my feet, or the heel would get worn away to bare plastic and I’d consider protecting the heel from friction damage when walking.
[caption id="attachment_9338" align="alignnone" width="300"] global wear on trail glove 7 after 60km[/caption]Not Goldie Locks
The first Merrel Barefoot shoes I tried were the Merrel vapor glove 6 but they felt too thin. I could feel too much of the road’s surface, especially on weather worn former tarmacked roads that were breaking apart to become mud paths once again. Stepping on stones would be painful so I chose to experiment with the Trail Gloves. The soles are just a little thicker but I found them very comfortable to walk in. So comfortable that they became my every day shoes. I thought that the soles would wear out because of the thin indentations that had little material, and they have.
The Wear
[caption id="attachment_9386" align="alignnone" width="225"] 137 kilomètres later[/caption]The wear and tear has occurred under the heels and under the front of the shoe, where the most pressure is applied when walking. The center of the shoes are still fine, with little to no sign of wear and tear. The inside and sides of the shoes are also still fine. I think that I can get them to five hundred or more kilometres, despite most of the walking being road walking.
[caption id="attachment_10581" align="alignnone" width="225"] Three hundred and sixty kilometres later[/caption]Experimenting with Trail Glove 6 and Meindl Pure Vision
Trail Glove 6
Because I was so happy with the Trail Glove 7 I decided to try the Trail Glove six shoes and Meindl Pure Vision shoes. With the Trail Glove 6 I found that they are very tight around the part of the foot that gater straps would hook under. I was worried that they would give me cramps as a result. So far this hasn’t been the case. They felt okay on ten kilometre walks, although they’re annoying to put on.
I also get the impression that with these shoes I tend to hit the ground too hard, with my heel strikes, so the heel begins to hurt very slightly near the end of walks.
Meindl Pure Vision
The Meindl Pure Vision shoes use a system similar to Boa for lacing. You tighten and loosen the shoes by sliding something on thin cables. These are marketed as secondary shoes for hiking, cycling and more. I believe that they are meant to be used as an alternative to wearing hiking boots during hiking breaks, for example to catch trains, buses or go shopping and to restaurants. I don’t think that they’re intended for long distance walking.
We often read about people taking crocs on long hikes for camps or town days. I believe that barefoot shoes are both lighter, and more versatile, so more interesting to carry as spares. The pure vision shoes come folded in a bag that you can attach to your bag with a carabiner, for when you are tired of wearing hiking boots.
One Hundred Days Later
Yesterday I checked my feet and they seem better than they were when I started the experiment. The damage that other shoes seemed to have started to do to my feet is gone and they now feel good. These shoes are extremely comfortable to wear, light, and compatible with the style of walking that I am used to. I do feel that the way I put my feet down has changed a little. Rather than heel strike I now tend to put the side of my feet down first, before rolling the entire foot to the ground. Near the ends of walks my legs do get tired and I sometimes heel strike.
I don’t know whether the slight pain I feel in my heels is because the Trail Glove 7s have worn so much that the base no longer provides the heel with adequate protection or if it’s because I played with the Trail Glove six shoes. The Trail Glove six feel less forgiving of my walking style, as do the pure vision. That’s why I wear those two shoes when I walk with people, rather than alone. People walk slower than me, so I can afford to wear less forgiving shoes as my strides are shorter.
I recently read First Steps while walking with various shoes and it’s interesting to learn about how the human body has had to evolve to enable walking upright/bipedally. Since beginning this experiment with “barefoot” shoes I have worn normal shoes for walking just once. I have tried one run, and felt fine.
More Tiring
I alluded to it before but I want to make it clear. I think that these shoes make walking more tiring because they require a different technique. I like to walk fast, and fast walking requires striding., but striding, with barefoot shoes results in violent heel strikes. If I am not careful I will damage my heel bone. That’s why I think that three pairs of barefoot shoes are fine when I’m walking with others, and the last is better suited to me walking alone.
And Finally
I tried barefoot shoes out of curiousity. I didn’t want to get back to basics, and I didn’t want to resolve any theoretical problems. I was inquisitve and spontaneously decided to try such shoes. I consider the experiment as a success. I like the Trail Glove 7 best. They forgive me for my walking style.