“My shoes, damn fool that I am, were Mexican huaraches, plantlike sieves not fit for the rainy night of America and the raw road night.”

– On the Road page 12

“Montana Slim turned to me, pointed at my shoes, and commented, ‘You reckon if you put them things in the ground something’ll grow up?’ – without cracking a smile, of course, and the other boys heard him and laughed. And they were the silliest shoes in America; I brought them along specifically because I didn’t want my feet to sweat in the hot road, and except for the rain in Bear Mountain they proved to be the best possible shoes for my journey. So I laughed with them. And the shoes were pretty ragged by now, the bits of colored leather sticking up like pieces of a fresh pineapple and my toes showing through.”

On the Road page 27

These two quotes I highlighted when reading Jack Kerouac’s On the Road because it raised an interesting point; what shoes would you take on a huge road trip? An easy question at first but ultimately an important one. When I recently went to Peru back in the beginning of this year I ended up taking 3 pairs. The Solomon Speedcross 4 Gore tex’s for hikes, Nike Air Max Deluxe’s for getting about the cities and some LA Sportiva Approach shoes for any muddy terrain. The shoes I ended up undoubtably wearing the most were my La Sportiva’s because they were simply the most comfortable. Had I only been able to take one pair, I would have probably opted for the Deluxe’s simply for the fact that they would look good when looking back at any photos from the trip. In hindsight, what we wear on foot should be first and foremost comfortable.

With the recent knowledge I have gathered about minimal footwear and the benefits it has for the body, I would definitely consider a pair of Mexican Huaraches myself. Like the experience of the main protagonist, I would no doubt be the brunt of some jokes, but ultimately avoiding injuries by being more balanced would give me the last laugh. Not to mention I’d end up with some funky tan lines. It’d have my foot looking like that ridiculous foot tattoo that guy had of a Nike TN.