[pct-l] Weight Loss, Anorexia, and Sore Feet?

[Derek Fohs]

I used a pair of those barefoot like Vibram Five-Finger shoes on my section hike last year. It was Section A and I was weighed down with a lot of water. My feet were killing me on day two. Ankles were totally fine, but my pads and toes under the knuckle hurt. By day 6 my pack was lighter, I was moving downhill, and my feet were feeling better but it took a couple of weeks for them to recover. 
 
This was only 6 days. I figure my feet weren't conditioned enough for barefoot style hiking. I would think that a thru hiker's feet would get conditioned on the trail. Maybe they do to a point and then start to degenerate with weight loss. 
 

> Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:17:35 -0700
> From: melaniekclarke at gmail.com
> To: mark.nienstaedt at gmail.com
> CC: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Weight Loss, Anorexia, and Sore Feet?
> 
> Dear Mark,
> 
> I "discovered" those also at the "end" of my section hike. Because my foot
> really expanded on my JMT section hike, I bought those insoles along with a
> pair of trail runners 2 sizes too big for this year's hike. I went on some
> practice hikes and my foot was moving all around in the shoe. I think I
> overdid the size. So I put those shoes in my food drop for Big Bear and
> just wore my old hikers for the first part of the trip, hoping for some
> expansion. The balls of my feet were hurting so bad by Big Bear, I could
> hardly walk. My feet felt great, however, when I wore those new insoles
> with the new hikers. The shoes were still too big but I did not experience
> any more soreness on the balls of my feet for the rest of my section hike.
> 
> I AM going to try those insoles (smaller size) on my 2012 section hike (I
> can only do section hikes until I retire). I think those insoles might be
> the answer to keep us going. We need others to do more field testing
> though. I bought mine at Sport's Authority in CA www.yoursole.com
> 
> Toga
> 
> On Thu, Oct 13, 2011 at 10:47 AM, Mark Nienstaedt <mark.nienstaedt at gmail.com
> > wrote:
> 
> > Hi Everyone,
> >
> > I finished a successful PCT thru hike on September 26th. I'm also a 2002
> > AT
> > veteran and have other long walks to my credit. I'm habitually very fit
> > and
> > light weight. On the PCT this year, I weighed in at various points and
> > found myself as much as 23 pounds down at 137. If I normally carry 160
> > pounds on a light frame, this weight loss is significant, especially if you
> > consider that I train year round for masters elite level cross country ski
> > racing.
> >
> > Two weeks off the PCT, I still have sore feet. In particular, sore front
> > foot pads. I've experienced this on long trail hikes before. This past
> > week a friend of mine has offered me an interesting suggestion. He's had a
> > friend who experienced anorexia as a younger woman. He says she has
> > reported that she lost so much weight that she couldn't walk. Essentially,
> > when the body begins to metabolize fat, it grabs it from wherever it can.
> > The fore foot padding is significantly fat. Anorexics have difficulty
> > walking once their fat loss has reached the point where their un-fat-padded
> > feet become very difficult to walk on comfortably. The question is, could
> > there be a connection between hiker weight loss and sore hiker feet? What
> > do we think?
> >
> > Obviously, I can gain a little weight back and hope it excellerates my foot
> > soreness recovery. Beyond that, if it's of interest my experience is that
> > a
> > good solution if you experience footsoreness on trail is shoe inserts. I
> > did not find Superfeet helpful. They have inadequate forefoot padding in
> > my
> > experience. My much preferred product on trail was the blue insert
> > available at www.yoursole.com . I recommend it. Regardless of
> > weightloss,
> > I may have avoided footsoreness on trail had I used the yoursole blue
> > insert
> > from the outset of the trail this year. I only discovered it walking
> > Washington state at the trails end.
> >
> > I'm interested in other views on footsoreness.
> >
> > Buffalo Jump Sly!
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