[pct-l] My feet are killing me!

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

On Dec 3, 2010, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

>   Diane, you have suggested a wider shoe which makes perfect  
> since.  Can you recommend a wide shoe.  I currently wear the Osolo  
> brand.  Heavy but waterproof which works for me. I'm not rich so  
> can't afford a different brand for each season and I do a lot of  
> winter hiking.

I'm afraid I can't recommend a wider brand of hiking boot. I honestly  
do not think there is a hiking boot that is wide enough. All boots  
and most shoes have a horrible taper that scrunches the toes. Boots  
really hurt my neuromas because they are stiff and force my toes into  
a hyperflexed, upward pointing angle. This is the same angle my toes  
would be in were I wearing high heeled ladies shoes. Something I have  
not been able to do since I was 16 years old and first got the neuroma.

I found that my female duck foot fits pretty well into mens 4E  
running shoes. They have to be a model that has all that 4E width in  
the toe area and none of it in the heel or mid-foot area. The New  
Balance shoes I've tried seem more like the width is all over, not  
just in the toe-box. A pair of Brooks 4E width seemed to have all the  
width in the toe.

I have backpacked wearing Chaco sandals. This feels great for not  
causing any neuroma issues, but is even further from something you want.

Since I have had so much trouble with shoes, I've actually been  
trying to learn how to make simple shoes so that I can have shoes  
wide enough for my foot without having to be 4 sizes too long, which  
is what I ended up doing on my PCT hike. Wearing shoes 4 sizes too  
big works pretty well, so it's another option. You really do get used  
to having all that extra length. After a while, you don't notice it.  
Perhaps you can go with only 2 extra sizes.