[pct-l] 80 lbs

[Scott Williams]

I was with her on Mt. Laguna, one of several crammed into the room she and
Gramma Lissa were sharing.  She's logged well over 4000 miles in crocs so
far, and this was her first real hike in the West.  She was blown away by
the beauty of the desert, the flowers and endless vistas, and plans to hike
more PCT in future.  I think she's aiming for optimum season for the
different sections, ie, JMT in late July or August, so hopefully she won't
be crossing snow in crocs.  I don't think micro spikes would work with
crocs, although if someone knows better, let me know and I'll pass it on to
her.  She's wonderful.  I asked her how she got her trail name, and she
said, very seriously, "just watch me on the trail."  I did, and now
understand.  A perfect name.

With all the foot issues you've had, if you can make something that stops
the pain, it would be worth it.  I started the hike this year with plantar
fasciitis which went away while living on the snow of the Sierra for 4 to 5
weeks.  It was difficult, but soft walking with relatively low mileage.  It
stayed gone all the way to WA, and then reared its ugly head again during
the last 2 1/2 weeks before Manning Park, and is still with me off trail.  I
think the 30 to 35 mile days across Oregon which continued as 25 to 30+ mile
days in WA simply were too much of a strain for my old feet.  I over used
them, and got a classic over use injury.

Good Luck in finding the right foot wear.  I agree.  Happy feet are simply a
must for me to remain happy on the trail.  Any trail.

Shroomer





On Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 5:40 PM, Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes <
diane at santabarbarahikes.com> wrote:

>
> On Oct 25, 2010, at 5:07 PM, Scott Williams wrote:
>
>  And then there's Amoeba, one of my favorite hikers his year who in her mid
>> 60's has hiked the AT twice in crocks, and hiked the deserts with us this
>> year in them as well.  A great lady who simply couldn't find boots or
>> tennis
>> shoes that let her hike pain free, and while fleeing the AT in severe foot
>> pain in her "camp shoes", a pair of crocks, found that she was pain free.
>> She's been hiking in them ever since.  If you are lucky enough to spend
>> time
>> hiking with her, she's is a really wonderful human being, and a thru hiker
>> to boot.  Imagine that.
>>
>> There are so many ways to do it.  Just try to find pain free foot wear
>> before you start or you may be walking out in your camp shoes.
>>
>> Shroomer
>>
>
> I met Amoeba on Mt. Laguna! She was really nice. I don't remember her
> wearing Crocs but maybe I didn't look.
>
> I wore Crocs a few times on the trail. I found they worked well if I put my
> Superfeet insoles in them. The plastic thing in the insoles made a sort of
> rock plate. I met a guy in Oregon backpacking in Crocs and carrying on his
> pack a pair of giant clunky boots. He said those were for climbing. He was
> climbing all the volcanos.
>
> I don't often recommend to the list the shoes I have been using recently. I
> usually recommend what most people use and what I used most on the trail,
> which are trail runners or lightweight hikers. Lately I've hiked in Chacos.
> I hiked 66 miles of the PCT near Chester and 80 miles in and around the JMT
> over Muir Pass (in August, NOT JUNE!!! They would not work in snow!) My feet
> were pretty happy.
>
> Lately I've been learning to make shoes myself. I plan to make my own
> hiking shoes if I can. I have had a lot of trouble with shoes, including
> trail runners. When shoes are too stiff or too "shaped" I get neuromas,
> numbness, metatarsal stress fractures, shooting pains, pains in my legs, I
> limp, I ache, I leave the trail in tears and go home. That's the reason I
> didn't even reach my section hiker goal in 2008 to hike the whole state of
> California.
>
> I've run a bunch of tests taking long walks in various kinds of shoes.
> Trail runners actually hurt me a lot more than moccasins do. But I can't
> quite hike in moccasins, although I've tried. Chacos are like a miracle to
> my feet, but man they have bad traction. You should have seen how bloody I
> was after hiking the JMT this summer. Still, I was darn happy with them.
> Happy feet = happy hiker!
>
> Diane
>
>