[pct-l] Shoe size, type, yet foot expansion while backpacking?

Tue Jan 17 17:39:43 CST 2017

You may be onto something Ned.  It could very well be that the constriction
of your boots over the years have stopped your feet from growing the way
ours have who use lighter shoes.  Binding can cause bones and muscles to
grow or not grow in animals and humans when done for long enough.  I'm
thinking of the head binding of the Maya and foot binding of women in
China, and other peoples practices.  But, after spending the summer
trekking in Madagascar, where most laborers and common folk were barefoot
most of their lives, I got to see feet that were so amazingly wide, long
and muscular, that I started surreptitiously taking cel phone photos of
them.  They looked like Hobbit feet.  The toes had visible muscle and were
fat with it, and were spread apart like our fingers.  The fat pads, that
most of us don't have, were visible on the sides of their instep, balls and
heal, kind of squishing out as they walked.  They had incredible padding!
  I would argue that this is probably a much more "naturally human" shape
for a human foot.  These men and women had never had anything constricting
their feet all their lives.   We hiked through the jungles  along old,
rocky railroad grades, the rocks on which were so angular that they hurt
our feet after one day on them in shoes.  These native guys were hiking
miles, barefoot, carrying 150lbs of bananas!  They walked much faster than
me, Francis or Rejoice!  We couldn't keep up!

So, my point is that maybe it is the softness of our trail runners and wide
toe box shoes that are actually allowing our feet to regain some of their
true and healthier  shape.  I know that after all the thru hikes, my toes
have space now, I've grown 2.5 sizes and best of all..... I have no foot
issues!  No pain, no planters faciitus, which I used to suffer from, I hike
all day and am sore in places, but never my feet.  Slowly over the years of
long trail hiking, my feet look more like those lifelong barefoot folks I
lived with this summer.  Maybe not a bad thing.

Shroomer

On Tue, Jan 17, 2017 at 2:39 PM, Sabrina Harrison <troopharrison at gmail.com>
wrote:

> For what it's worth, I have had four children and my feet have grown
> slightly with each kid. No kidding! Who knows why. But I'm here to tell
> you, I'm not imagining it. I had to get rid of all my shoes after each baby
> and that ain't no joke.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Jan 17, 2017, at 2:31 PM, Jim & Jane Moody <moodyjj at comcast.net>
> wrote:
> >
> > My experience with foot expansion may be unusual. I thru-hiked the AT in
> '06, wearing Garmont boots most of the way. My feet were the same size at
> Katahdin as they were at Springer. In '10 I started a PCT thru hike, and my
> feet expanded within 300-400 miles, wearing trail runners. Maybe the heat
> is a factor. Both trails have lots of rocks and hard surfaces, so it wasn't
> just the rocks.
> > Mango
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> >
> > From: "Jay Bruins" <jbruins at gmail.com>
> > To: "Pct-L" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> > Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2017 3:10:51 PM
> > Subject: Re: [pct-l] Shoe size, type, yet foot expansion while
> backpacking?
> >
> > The super nontechnical explanation is that your feet flatten out
> (basically, rapid aging). This changes stress patterns on your bones and
> can cause fun. I suffered a stress fracture and the remedy was stiffer
> shoes and insoles with better arch support (recommendation by a podiatrist,
> not the internet).
> >
> > Coming off the trail, I had a pair of ski boots that didn’t fit. I went
> to the boot fitter and he simply formed some insoles (I previously had none
> in those boots) and the result was my foot box fit similar to how it used
> to.
> >
> > FWIW, my shoe size only increased by a half size on the trail. I have
> also backpacked at least a week a year for most years since I was 13 so the
> increase might have been less than someone who had no such prior use. Also,
> since the trail, unless I’m cycling or going someplace super fancy, I
> always wear my trail runners so there is no distinction in trail vs
> non-trail shoe for me :)
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Armstrong
> >
> >
> >> On Jan 17, 2017, at 10:34 AM, <ned at mountaineducation.org> <
> ned at mountaineducation.org> wrote:
> >>
> >> Mango, Shroomer, and everyone else,
> >>
> >> I don't understand why hiker's feet expand and lengthen over the course
> of a
> >> long hike. I'm having a hard time simply accepting this rationale, that
> it's
> >> going to happen to all hikers.
> >>
> >> As you guys may know, I log between 100 and 200 days on-trail every
> year,
> >> especially since 2005. I did the PCT and CDT. I typically carry between
> 65
> >> and 80 pound packs. I always use a leather boot that is one size bigger
> than
> >> my running shoe.
> >>
> >> Here is the source of my confusion, my feet haven't changed since high
> >> school!
> >>
> >> What is it I am doing that everyone else is not? Why haven't my feet
> changed
> >> at all over the years? Is it that I haven't bought into the assumption
> that
> >> my feet would swell and lengthen? Could it be that my boots have been
> >> supporting my feet sufficiently, thus preventing this common malady?
> >>
> >> Would someone please explain?
> >>
> >>
> >> Ned Tibbits, Director
> >> Mountain Education, Inc.
> >> ned at mountaineducation.org
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Pct-L [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Scott
> >> Williams
> >> Sent: Monday, January 16, 2017 8:43 PM
> >> To: Tom Weir <tom.weir at the-cabin-on-the-hill.com>
> >> Cc: Pct-L <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> >> Subject: Re: [pct-l] My first post since 2003
> >>
> >> Hey Tom,
> >>
> >> The Altras are all about the wide toe box and zero drop heal. Most folks
> >> should go with a bigger shoe as Mango suggests just because your feet
> swell
> >> and lengthen as you hike, but if you're main issue is the width of the
> toe
> >> box, this may be a good shoe for you. The zero drop heal sometimes takes
> >> some getting used to, so I'd recommend trying them as early as possible.
> >> You can always send them back if they don't work.
> >>
> >> Give them a shot and see if they fit your feet.
> >>
> >> Shroomer
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On Mon, Jan 16, 2017 at 11:34 AM, <tom.weir at the-cabin-on-the-hill.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> How do the Altras run in width? I wear New Balance mostly because
> >>> they come in 4E width. The Altras only have a maximum D width. I
> >>> suspect Altras might work for me because of the toe box design. I
> >>> need the 4E because of a wide fore foot, not because of a wide heel.
> Any
> >> thoughts?
> >>>
> >>> Tom
> >>>
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