I'm new to /out/ and am interested in these topics, but found no fitting threads for them:
1. hiking off-trail
2. hiking barefoot
combining 1&2
3. kneipp cure (= treading water barefoot)

In german countries there's an old form of hydrotherapy, named after its inventor, Sebastian Kneipp. It involves treading in ice cold water reaching up to the knees. I practice this for over 10 years, usually in an upgraded form, treading shallow rivers. Whenever I go to a hiking trail that has a river nearby, I instead of walking the trail will tread the river (except the waterfalls ofc). This is hard because the stones can make you trip a lot and the coldness in combination with sometimes sharp stones strains the feet, but you feel absolutely AMAZING afterwards.
I can't really run barefoot too often, since I live in a city and its bad for your feet to run barefoot on asphalt I think, but I only hike barefoot.
Hiking on paths is really boring, is there a discipline where you go going off path into the wilderness, through the bushes. Is there a name for that?
>inbefore "Are you a bear?"
I'd love to be.