Feet
Planning on to thru hike 2010, Anybody give some info on how to condition feet. Make em soft, make em hard, what to do ????
I walked barefoot on pavement, got some nasty blisters at home, but zero blisters on the trail.
Fixing Your Feet
http://www.fixingyourfeet.com/
John Vonhof is an excellent resource for all things foot-related.
my suggestion--hike on them a lot now.Originally Posted by bauer1283
... how to condition feet. Make em soft, make em hard, what to do ????
Easy. Wear the proper shoes when you hike. Look at your favorite shoe, is it a low top, a high top? Buy a hiking shoe that is not too different than your feet are already accustomed to. Wear the same socks that you plan to hike in when buying shoes. Make sure that it fits properly, a good shoe store will know how to properly fit a boot. Walk around in the store with your favorite pair, if they are uncomfortable in the store, they will be uncomfortable on the trail.
Now get out and walk. If the grocery store is a mile or less away and you only need some milk, leave the car behind. Going to school/church? Walk. Good hiking trails nearby? Go for a hike. The old adage, practice makes perfect is completely true.
To each his own, but I see no reason to treat your feet any differently than normal to toughen them up.
Make sure you have enough room in the toe of the shoe. I wouldn't trust any store that didn't have one of those ramps to stand on while trying on hiking footwear.
"It goes to show you never can tell." - Charles Edward Anderson Berry
The trail will harden out your feet soon enough. But make sure you have good trail runners (get fitted at a good store) and insoles. And plenty of good socks. And good duct tape (not the cheap crud that falls off).
I second this. Tape is your friend. Except I use 1.5" wide uncoated athletic tape instead of duct tape.
There's very little you can do to simulate a thru hike until you get out there. If you get used to 10 mile days at home, when you start doing 12 mile days on the trail it'll be different on your feet. You might toughen up the bottoms, then find you have a hot spot on the heel only when you climb a certain grade. And soon enough you'll be faced with a 20-miler for one reason or another and those extra miles will tear up your feet if you haven't learned to take care of them.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
Don't laugh, here's what worked for me.....I never got one blister!
A couple weeks out from your hike soak your feet in a strong tea solution twice a day for 30 minutes. Get cheap Dollar Store Family Size tea bags mixed say 4 bags per gallon. The tea acts like an astringent to toughen your feet. It's not an old wives tale, promise.
During your hike rub "Body Glide" on your feet each morning before you hike. Marathoners use it and the stuff works wonders to prevent chaffing. Of course properly sized shoes are part of the formula too.
Good luck!
"Fish Camp Woman.... Baby, I like the way you smell"
- Unknown Hinson
Join the Marine Corps in a combat arms MOS and spend a few years pushing various localities down a few feet in elevation. Your feet WILL toughen up.
In nearly 6000 miles of walking since I got out 10 years ago, I've gotten blisters maybe 4 times, and this was only after several days of walking in rain or snow.
Lesson learned: to toughen your feet, get out there and use them.
If people spent less time being offended and more time actually living, we'd all be a whole lot happier!
Seems a bit extreme to me. But it would toughen up your mind, too. Principles sound, though.
"It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss
tannins
I like the idea of the tea soak
i met an old guy about 30 years ago who was a pro bicycle racer during the 30's. Well he did 6 day races, 2 man team for 6 days 24 hrs a day, on a indoor wooden track the size of a hocky rink. he held the indoor cycling distance record for decades
I asked him about saddle sores. He said they would use tannic acid on their butts to toughen the skin.
My guess the tannins in the tea will toughen the skin on your feet.
lanolin based ointments are also used on bicycle butts.
Boots 1/2 size larger, I put Isopropyl alcohol on my feet 2x per day for 2 weeks before I head out, use panty hose as sock liners with BlisterShield = zero problems.
Hike alot now and do back to back days for the miles to get your feet ready.
1. Break in new shoes slowly and try to have over fifty miles in them before you start.
2. Try hiking on back to a back days for long miles.
3. Learn how to take care of hot spots before you get to the trail.
4. Walking barefoot helps but mostly getting used to hiking shoes and socks to see what works for you.
5. Anyways moleskin has been a life saver for me in the past and two pair of thin socks.
6. I hike all the time so my feet stay hard in certain areas but I have found that that the best way to not get blisters is to have your feet well prepared by hiking many miles before you begin your thru hike.
This is what works for me.
Bumping this up again to point out that calluses are not ALWAYS a good thing.
Last year I did the Hike across Maryland with the Maryland OUtdoor club. You hike the AT through Maryland in one day, about 41 miles.
The training hikes leading up to it were 20+ mile hikes every Saturday. I began to develop thick calluses on the bottom of my feet. That DID NOT help! The calluses were thick & in the middle of the sole, and it felt like I had something hard in my shoe whenever I was standing in my shoes. I had to actually file the calluses down so they wouldn't stick up into my feet so much.
Lesson learned: calluses are not good, at least not isolated ones.
"Katahdin barada nikto."
Calluses can also be a problem if they crack. Then you have raw flesh to deal with - easily infected and very painful. (Put vaseline on it and cover with moleskin. It will usually heal in a couple of days. If you aren't carrying vaseline - try chapstick, it's made of vaseline.)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
