[pct-l] Feet on the Grow, Doggie Shade, Everest

[Carl Mears <carl@remss.com>]

>Jonathan Ley said:
>
>I've often heard that people's feet tend to swell to larger 
>sizes after weeks & weeks of hiking. I'm looking at some 
>footwear (for example, some slightly more rigid boots for 
>snow) for certain sections of the PCT, but I'm not totally sure 
>what size will be right . I have size 11.5 (mens) feet right now. 
>I'm afraid that 12's aren't quite big enough, but those 
>13's are HUGE! 
>Has anyone had some real-life experience with this issue? 
>Can I expect most shoes/boots to slowly expand 
>with my feet? 
>

I didn't quite believe, and only got shoes 1 size bigger (10.5 - 11.5) I
had to slice and dice'm to make my feet fit by week 2.  (see earlier post
about my blisters between my toes) I'd go for the 13's. I found that the
swelling was the worst early on in the deserty sections, where it's so hot.
  Maybe this has something to do with electrolyte balance?? and could be
reduced by ingesting the right amount of sodium and potassium??  Anyway,
I'd go for the 13's, even if you just put them in the drift box.

RE:  doggie shade

I'd say that most of the Doggie misery in the desert is due to the hot
ground, so one would have to shade the trail a few miles ahead....  If you
hike the desert sections with a dog, I think you should be prepared to not
hike in the middle of the day.


>More people have climbed Mt. Everest than have thu-hiked the PCT. Around
>400 known thu-hikers vs around 600 Everest climbers.

There is one important difference -- On the PCT, the success rate is *much*
higher than the death rate -- they're about the same on Everest.

-carl


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Carl Mears

Remote Sensing Systems
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Santa Rosa, CA  95401

Voice:  707-545-2904 ext 21
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carl@remss.com
http://www.ssmi.com
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