[pct-l] Feet, Percentages, Heat, Etc

["David B. Stockton" <davstock@tiac.net>]

I'm (still) a PCT hopeful that gave it a solid try in '94.  I call now call 
myself "One of the 90" (percent).  Maybe this year I can become "One of the 
400" but having trouble coming up with the money.  My training is going ok, 
though.

I prepared very well for my trip, including two week-long Winter 
Mountaineering classes in the Adirondacks and Whites with the Adirondack 
Mountain Club, and long hikes throughout the Adirondacks, although my 
longest hike before the PCT had been about 120 miles.

I left the trail after about 350 miles -- right after Wrightwood (!!).  My 
feet were in agony.  I started off with Limmer Stock boots, size 10.5, 
custom-sized by Peter Limmer himself.  They seemed to fit fine.  After 200 
miles in Southern California, they were far too small, despite an 
over-night stretch in Idyllwild, and the soles were beginning to 
delaminate.  I laid-over in Big Bear for about 10 days, and ordered four 
pairs of new boots of two types and two sizes, and went with size twelves. 
 I endured until Wrightwood, stayed for a while and returned hospitality of 
the local folks by working on their plumbing, but my return to the trail 
didn't last long and I took the bus home to East Coast.  My feet troubles 
were not blisters -- I rarely get them -- but pressure on the ends of the 
two longest bones.  Nearly everyone that came through Wrightwood had that 
complaint and the complaint that their light-weight boots were falling 
apart.

It was two years until my forefeet stopped hurting.  A year after I 
returned home I tried again at home to make the boot thing work -- my 
proper size for a cramponable boot from REI with propo liner and 
medium-heavy wool socks was 13!  My key concern was to be able to use 
crampons on the snowy slopes.  I had met two fellow hikers (one who wore 
running shoes) that had fallen on Fuller Ridge and were forced to use 
ice-axe arrest.  Both were bruised and scabbed up all along one leg.  The 
running-shoe hiker had taken 30 feet to stop.

I am now working hard to make Ray Jardine's running shoe thing work and it 
seems to be fine on both pavement and in the Connecticut woods.  That plus 
a continuous calf and Achilles tendon stretching program seem to help for 
the 4.5 hour walks I've been doing every day.

Hopefully I can get up to the White Mountains soon to work on running shoes 
+ ice axe + snowy slopes.

After I returned, I came up with several major areas that I needed to fix 
before I could succeed.

-- Have a companion. This was actually a minor issue because I could have 
hiked with the others that I met on the trail (and did for short times) but 
my feet problems were slowing me way down.

-- Fix the feet problem.  I also have a foot condition called ligamentus 
laxitus which does not make for good biomechanics.  Although I had 
orthotics on the PCT, I have worked more with them now and have watched my 
foot motion much more carefully.

-- Do something about the heat.  The heat was a real killer. I had a white 
ball cap but the sun really affected me.  I am much more comfortable in the 
Adirondacks at -27F.  I have now used an umbrella in torrential downpours 
with minimal clothing underneath with no problem.  I am sure that the 
reflective Mylar would do the trick for heat.

-- Eat more effectively.  My Power Bars gave out too quickly.  I only 
realized after reading Ray's book that much of my sheer exhaustion was due 
to not enough food.  I have read that calorie-forcing is a key ingredient 
in climbing Everest.  I have just received a 10lb box of CORN PASTA and am 
going to work with it to see if I can tell any difference.

-- Lighten up.  I still was in a Winter Mountaineering mindset with the 
Sierras in sight.  Even though some other hikers had 10lb tents (did they 
make it to Canada?) and I had only a 4lb NF Tadpole, that was too much.

-- Do better with my mail drops.  My intention was to buy as I went, with 
the idea that that was more flexible, that it would help me adjust my 
schedule, and that it was more "natural."  But the problems I ran into were 
a) when I finally arrived in town, and wanted to just "pop" back to the 
trail, my mind was too fried by the sun to think properly; and b) the extra 
time it took to repackage, buy Ziplocks, cut oversize peanut butter jars in 
half for the drift box, etc, combined with post-office schedules, turned 
out to be a major momentum killer.  The next time (this year?) I would have 
a solid base of reliable food and supplement from the local store as 
desired.

Some things I know I did right --

-- I stayed hydrated.  My rule of thumb was 1 liter for every five miles, 
but that was excessive.  I usually had water left over.  Next time I would 
use a rule of 1 liter per seven/eight miles, and camel more at the sources. 
 The 7-liter water bag I used worked very well.  I used a Katadyn 
mini-filter but this time I probably would not treat and hope my system 
would adjust. My wife and I (now separated) traveled extensively overseas 
and essentially never filtered because of fear of offending our hosts -- 
occasional diarrhea but would have had that anyways -- filter or no.

-- I kept track of my position with compass and altimeter.  I always knew 
exactly where I was. This was helpful in the bowl before Idyllwild.

-- I practiced self-arrest before I left.  I am quite sure through 
conversation that many of my fellow hikers had never even tried it before 
they hit snow-bound Fuller Ridge.

Couple of last comments --

 -- I met some "Jardinites" and I did resent them, partly because my trip 
was failing, my desperation was increasing and my mileage was decreasing 
and they were doing fine (20+/day and going up).  And partly because they 
may have been a little contemptuous for the same reasons.

-- I now have Ray Jardine's 2nd volume and am studying it carefully.  Most 
of what he says, from what I can tell, is right on.  For those readers who 
don't know, it is entitled "The Pacific Crest Trail Hiker's Handbook" and 
is available from amazon.com.  This is an UNPAID endorsement!

-- Although I have had many experiences, the PCT is the hardest thing I 
have ever tried to do.

-- Good luck with your attempts this year.  Hopefully I will meet you on 
the trail.

-- Dave Stockton

David B. Stockton
davstock@tiac.net


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