wet rotting feet

[JP]

Check out www.fixingyourfeet.com .Lots of good info there.

[kanga]

! i like to tell people they are edible chocolate eggs left for them by the easter moose

Oh! I love Easter Moose!

[JAK]

Wet and hot is a bad combination, but wet and cold is not so bad as long as it isn't too prolonged. Oiling your feet might help more than powdering feet in wet and cold conditions. Hope we do get lots of rain this summer though. It has been very dry so far, up here that is. I'm guessing Maine has been similarly dry, so far. This week is wet though. Lots of rain in the forecast.

Trail runners that drain well are very important.
I like thin wool dress socks for most of the year, or the thinnest of the smartwool.
Nylon or polyester dress socks might be better in really hot weather. Not sure.

[warraghiyagey]

Wet and hot is a bad combination . . .

Doesn't sound bad at first blush. . .

[JAK]

You've been catching those feral movies again.
You need to give yourself a good bath and scrub in cold lye water.

[warraghiyagey]

A good wind chill would probly help too . . .

[Anumber1]

Your feet will never be dry or clean enough for baby powder to be effective.

Take off your shoes/boots and socks everytime you take a break and let your get some much needed air.

At night, or when you're done hiking pull out your insoles and let the air get into your footwear too.

[JAK]

A good wind chill would probly help too . . .

Yes indeed.

It is good to stop for a cold or hot drink every hour or two, and take your shoes and socks off. Just the act of checking for blisters will help prevent blisters. Sort of like watching a pot boil. I usually put my socks back on the other side in. When in a hurry or in the zone I stop less often, but it is good to have some forced rest, even before the feet get sore. You can usually hike a longer day this way.

[sbhikes]

I've heard that as long as your feet dry out completely once a day (like when you sleep) your feet won't actually rot. Seemed to work for me hiking the PCT in Washington. Wet all day long, dry at night, no problems.

[Bear Cables]

I hiked in my non waterproof hikers for a week last week and they were always wet. I used Hydropel daily and never had a problem. I will swear by it. So I would say, use the hydropel, dry out your feet daily and air them out in camp with sandal or crocks. I would also say keep your feet clean! Bacteria can cause alot of foot crud.

[Lemhi]

I must have set some sort of record for the worst feet in the 100 Mile Wilderness last year (mostly self-inflicted). Thankfully, there were some really sharp folks hiking in the vicinty (they hike the "Wilderness" every year). My first thoughts were "you've got to be kidding", but they proved themselves right. I wish I could remember their trail names, but can't at the moment. Here are a few successful ideas from them and ones which I borrowed and found worthwhile.....finding it out sooner would've made my trip that much more successful and fun. This is obviously not the last word on the subject, but I was impressed with their experiences and hope it helps.

1. Trail runners vice boots no matter how lightweight the boots are.
2. Trail runners NOT waterproof....they dried faster (or as dry as shoes in Maine ever get).
3. Sealskin socks: I used these alone and with a light sock; both worked well, but better with a light sock. I had a lot of open sores/blisters and this at least kept the obvious crud out of them (most of it).
4. Sandels: I made the HOMERIC mistake of using Croc Flip-flops as camp shoes to save weight. I found them almost useless once my feet were in bad shape and downright dangerous (slippery). At one point I literally duct-taped them to my feet. Croc sandels would've been better, but I went for Keens and found them ideal. While heavier, I could've walked out of the woods in them and that's important if your feet swell as badly as mine did. I could barely get my boots on and my back-up plan of Croc-Flip-flops was absurd in the extreme.
5. A couple of these hardy souls wore sandels (Keens, Teva, etc) with Seal-skin socks and motored past me like I was standing still. We spent several days in the same area and I never ceased to be amazed at their mobility.
6. Lighter socks which dry faster.
7. In the evening get off your feet, clean them up and dry them and enjoy your sandels.

Hope this helps. Good Luck and tell the folks at Whitehouse Landing hello from Lemhi and thanks.

Lemhi

[Yukon]

I hiked in my non waterproof hikers for a week last week and they were always wet. I used Hydropel daily and never had a problem. I will swear by it. So I would say, use the hydropel, dry out your feet daily and air them out in camp with sandal or crocks. I would also say keep your feet clean! Bacteria can cause alot of foot crud.

Are you putting the Hydropel on just the bottom of your feet or the whole foot? I have just recently switched to breathable trail runners and I have wondered about using Hydropel. I have a couple of tubes of it already.

[JAK]

Olive oil will help sometimes. Alcohol will help other times. Hiking in barefeet is also very helpful sometimes, especially over pine and spruce needles, and with sticky tar and gums and stuff. A more coarse wool sock can help your feet also sometimes, to get rid of some of the dead skin.

[vonfrick]

I must have set some sort of record for the worst feet in the 100 Mile Wilderness last year (mostly self-inflicted). Thankfully, there were some really sharp folks hiking in the vicinty (they hike the "Wilderness" every year). My first thoughts were "you've got to be kidding", but they proved themselves right. I wish I could remember their trail names, but can't at the moment. Here are a few successful ideas from them and ones which I borrowed and found worthwhile.....finding it out sooner would've made my trip that much more successful and fun. This is obviously not the last word on the subject, but I was impressed with their experiences and hope it helps.

1. Trail runners vice boots no matter how lightweight the boots are.
2. Trail runners NOT waterproof....they dried faster (or as dry as shoes in Maine ever get).
3. Sealskin socks: I used these alone and with a light sock; both worked well, but better with a light sock. I had a lot of open sores/blisters and this at least kept the obvious crud out of them (most of it).
4. Sandels: I made the HOMERIC mistake of using Croc Flip-flops as camp shoes to save weight. I found them almost useless once my feet were in bad shape and downright dangerous (slippery). At one point I literally duct-taped them to my feet. Croc sandels would've been better, but I went for Keens and found them ideal. While heavier, I could've walked out of the woods in them and that's important if your feet swell as badly as mine did. I could barely get my boots on and my back-up plan of Croc-Flip-flops was absurd in the extreme.
5. A couple of these hardy souls wore sandels (Keens, Teva, etc) with Seal-skin socks and motored past me like I was standing still. We spent several days in the same area and I never ceased to be amazed at their mobility.
6. Lighter socks which dry faster.
7. In the evening get off your feet, clean them up and dry them and enjoy your sandels.

Hope this helps. Good Luck and tell the folks at Whitehouse Landing hello from Lemhi and thanks.

Lemhi

this story sounds familiar. you the one that split the 'shuttle' with kanga?

[vonfrick]

4. Sandels: I made the HOMERIC mistake of using Croc Flip-flops as camp shoes to save weight. I found them almost useless once my feet were in bad shape and downright dangerous (slippery). At one point I literally duct-taped them to my feet.

hahaha...i just had this vision of thousands of trojan soldiers in croc flip-flops....if only they had the right footwear it would have changed history

[Marta]

Ditto to the advice above:
Breathable trail runners
Quick-dry socks
When you stop for 15 minutes or more (and it's not actually raining), take off your shoes and socks. Lay socks and insoles on a hot rock, and open up the shoes to air them out.
Crocs for fording and camp wear.
Rinse socks at the end of the day and hang out overnight. They won't be dry in the morning, but they'll be a bit cleaner.
Take shoes apart and let insoles and shoes air out in your tent overnight.

What I haven't seen anyone else mention:
I usually washed my feet at the end of the day (water, but no soap), then dried them with Purell. That will kill anything that's trying to rot your feet. Then I put on clean socks before I got into my sleeping bag--more to protect the bag than for my feet.

[vonfrick]

What I haven't seen anyone else mention:
I usually washed my feet at the end of the day (water, but no soap), then dried them with Purell. That will kill anything that's trying to rot your feet. Then I put on clean socks before I got into my sleeping bag--more to protect the bag than for my feet.

i also clean my feet at night, but with an alcohol prep pad to kill any cooties and get them really dry. one a day is usually sufficient.

i have a pair of thse extra snuggy slipper socks, you know, the ones that look like they're made out of muppet fur, that i only wear to sleep in.

[Lemhi]

this story sounds familiar. you the one that split the 'shuttle' with kanga?

Yep...that's me and you and your friends were the ones I was referring to in my post. I hope I got most of the details right. If not, please correct me. If I had met you folks sooner I'd have had a better time of it. I got sorted out in Bangor and then finished VT, MA, CT and then back to NH and some of southern ME (talk about a flip-flop).

You folks made it look easy!

Best,

Lemhi

[Lemhi]

BTW, as I recall the details... I did actually start using Purell on my feet in the evenings to clean/disinfect. Whether it helped or not I can't say, but it made me feel better about their condition.

I still have no feeling in 6 toes...the medical guy in Bangor said he'd never seen feet in worse shape.

Next time will be different.

Looking back over my posts I hate to sound like a "one man how NOT to do it" show, but if it helps someone get it right....sooner...then please feel free to chuckle and shake your heads at my misery. I do.

Lemhi
West Africa

[kanga]

this story sounds familiar. you the one that split the 'shuttle' with kanga?

haha! lemhi! my cloud blazing buddy!