Hiking the entire Appalachain Trail from Georgia to Maine is no small feat. The journey takes enormous stamina and perserverance to keep at it day after day for the 5-6 months needed to cover all 2,175 miles.

That's why only a few thousand hardy souls have completed the trail since its inception in 1937.

Most, if not all AT thru-hikers do it with the usual gear: backpack, sleeping bag, tent, stove and... boots.

No so for Ron Zaleski, who I learned the other day is hiking the whole trail barefoot. Yes, barefoot. Maine to Georgia.

Zaleski is apparently no stranger to barefootedness, having done so for some 30 years since leaving the Marine Corps.

But still.

Ouch!

I just can't imagine hiking up and down Mount Katahdin without my trusty leather boots on. Much less through the 100-mile wilderness. Or the White Mountains.

Thems some kind of tough feets you got there Ron!

But then, given that Zaleski, a Vietnam vet, is hiking the trail to raise awareness of veterans issues, maybe that's what gets him by without hardly a wince.

Zaleski was about halfway along the trail in mid-Pennsylvania as of last week, still padding his way south. He plans to buck up on top of Springer Mountain, the trail's southern terminus, around Christmas.

Jeez, that's going to mean some kind of cold and snow through the Smokies and the Southern Appalachians, which range from 5-6,000 feet in elevation for hundreds of miles.

Good luck, my boy. Keep plodding. And here's hoping those thick callouses on your soles keep your tootsies warm.

Follow Zaleski's barefoot progress on his personal website.