[pct-l] footwear, blisters

Mon Feb 28 20:17:42 CST 2011

i have found blisters have less to do with mileage and more to do with weight... 

... think of training as investing in a bank ... the pain you feel on your feet 
during training... is pain you won't feel on the PCT...  we used this mentality 
in cross country a lot.  the more you invest in before the trail, the less you 
suffer on the trail.

i wish i could do barefoot training here, but the ground is still a sheet of ice 
: / 

~Paul

________________________________
From: Jason Moores <jmmoores1 at gmail.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Mon, February 28, 2011 8:45:52 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] footwear, blisters

Over the past two summers the worst blister cases that I saw were ones that
began as small issues in the first 100 miles and progressed into major
issues. Trip ending issues for some.

Do everything that you can to find a shoe that works for you, socks,
powders, potions and lotions. If you arrive at Campo with "city" feet, none
of these things will matter. What matters is how much training you do before
you begin your journey. The more time that you spend walking with your full
pack on before the trip, the less likely you are to deal with foot issues on
trail.

The majority of hikers have very little "foot" problems after a few weeks on
the trail. Their feet "break-in" to the trail, callus and strengthen. Deal
with your pain and blisters before you step on the trail, your hike might
depend on it.

Jackass

On Mon, Feb 28, 2011 at 5:33 PM, Kevin Cook <hikelite at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'll second the powder routine. I added that to my foot care regime a
> couple
> years ago, and my feet have never been happier. Every morning I put some
> in,
> and some days at the mid day break.
>
> Also, it's been said many times, but probably can't be said enough, when
> you
> stop for a break, take off your shoes and socks and let everything dry out.
> If it's too cold to sit barefoot during the break, swap out your socks for
> the dry pair you should have. That's what has worked for me. YMMV, HYOH,
> Batteries not included etc etc
>
> On Mon, Feb 28, 2011 at 2:43 PM, Kimberly Sorbello <ksorbello at hotmail.com
> >wrote:
>
> >
> > I've been reading the dialog in response to Chrystal's footwear
> questions.
> > For what it's worth, my husband was a foot-care fanatic, and it paid off.
> On
> > hikes where previous known hikers and leapfrogging co-hikers had serious
> > blisters (e.g. across England and on the JMT) we had none.
> >
> > Everyone is different and we have to hike our own hike, but maybe someone
> > preparing for the PCT could benefit from considering my husband's (our)
> foot
> > care:
> >
> > 1) Prior to the hike, we walked 3-5 miles every evening barefoot. This
> > toughened our foot skin and strengthened our feet arches and ankles.
> (When I
> > met him he was taking college tennis and running - barefoot!)
> >
> > 2) We wore our real trail boots for many trail miles in training on
> > weekends and he had to try three pairs before he found ones that were
> "just
> > right" on the trail and not just on the store ramp or the sidewalks.
> Mostly
> > he kept having to go larger and larger as "perfect fit" boots turned out
> to
> > give him turf toe carrying a 22-pound pack downhill. Key factor? ROOM.
> They
> > should not "fit" right out of the box; they should be VERY comfortable
> right
> > out of the box, but feel a bit too big. Our footwear was very different -
> I
> > am little but have large duckfeet.  I wear a men's EE width boot and am
> > clumsy. I have worn the same Vasque mid-high tops, mostly leather goretex
> > for so long I can't believe it. They're so wonderful for me, that it's
> not
> > been worth trying something new even to shave off a few ounces. They fit
> me
> > perfectly and their stiffness, regardless of "research", have kept me
> from
> > turning my clumsy little ankles frequently. They just plain don't let my
> > ankle go far! So ins
> >  tead, I fall down! But I'm not terribly far from the ground and I'm
> > falling slowly so I can usually catch myself with my hiking poles, or my
> > arms. No sprains or breaks, and bruises never stopped me or slowed me
> down.
> > (We both swear by hiking poles!) But my athletic husband had normal feet
> and
> > settled on mostly-fabric lower-mid Merrill Continuum goretex (really bad
> > ankles so basketball-sprained that they can roll all the way down with no
> > notice and no damage!)
> >
> > 3) We ALWAYS wear two sox - a thick, padded pair and a thin wicking
> liner.
> > (We carry one extra of only underwear and these socks and liners. One to
> > wear, one to dry hanging off our packs with small safety pins as we
> hike.)
> >
> > 4) Every time we put on our socks we sprinkle in the sox or on our feet
> and
> > between our toes, a 50/50 combo of a generic equivalent of Dr Scholls
> foot
> > powder and Quinsana Plus Anti-Fungal powder with 1% Tolnaftate, mixed
> > together in a travel-sized Dr Scholls footpowder sprinkler. (We send
> extras
> > ahead in our resupply.) The combo of powder and liners is amazing.
> >
> > 5) Mid-day as we stopped for lunch we removed all footwear and hung our
> sox
> > inside-out on our poles in the sun and whenever possible we soaked our
> feet
> > in a cold stream or lake etc., and elevated our feet when we finished our
> > lunch, as well.
> >
> > 6) For stream crossings that were too deep to go across in our boots and
> > stay dry, we went across in our sox (the dirtiest pair) to protect our
> feet
> > and feel the bottom. Again thankful for poles!
> >
> > For what it's worth, it really worked for us!  He died very suddenly in
> > August (in only a couple of minutes went from perfectly well to a coma,
> then
> > died) and I miss him! We had just returned from hiking the Lost Coast and
> am
> > SO thankful it didn't happen there caught between a cliff and low tide!
>  I
> > hope his foot-care legacy will help someone doing the PCT this summer!
> (I'm
> > jealous!)
> >
> >
> >
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