Date: 2010-03-12
To: Quick, name your ugliest body part.
Miles today: 0.0

Right about now, a great many hiking adventurers are redressing their blisters with duck tape and such. More than a few toenails have started their descent towards blackness and will dangle for a week before they plop off in the sock to be found like the prize in Cracker Jacks. Most everyone¢s big toes are starting to get a touch numb, a numbness that will likely grow greatly and hold on a good three months AFTER you summit Katahdin.It¢s amazing how the wrong shoes can turn an otherwise happy sole into a hobbled, throbbing mess. The search for the correct shoe is one that continuously evolves since the feet are subject to change with all the foot travel. Where one year the size and brand are a perfect fit, the next year they¢re at odds with one another.I thought for this hike all was copacetic with my shoes and feet, that¢s when a particular bunion started complaining, ¢You really aren¢t going to take me out onto that demon of a trail and drown me in rain again, are you? Need I remind you who the boss is¢¦how¢s this feel?¢ Of course my response is ¢OOUCH, sh t, mother¢¦¢ and then the next thing I know is I¢m ordering lots of different trail runners over the internet, experimenting with sizes, widths and styles hoping to find a good companion for my complaining foot. Locating that golden egg laying goose seems easier at times.I would love supporting my local gear store (REI) but most just don¢t have the size choices, so the internet sites are it. Thankfully, there¢s free shipping on returns and if you're shopping shoes by mail there will be returns. I¢ve now ordered six pairs of possible trail runners to see if they and my feet can have a happy marriage. I¢ve already returned five of the six with four already credited back to my account. I¢ve netted out on my New Balance 875OR¢s; they come in a 4E extra wide width. Their Web Express is pretty awesome; unfortunately that shoe is already sold out if you¢re curious. Montrail used to make wide versions of their popular Hardrock, but no longer, so they lost my business.I wish they were Gore-Tex even though it means my foot won¢t breathe as well, but fit and comfort trump dryness. Wet socks here I come. (Frankly, there¢s zero chance to keep your feet dry on a rainy day anywho, so the heck with it.)You might want to move on to some other journal entry right now if the finer points of shoe adjustment don¢t interest you, I¢ll understand ¢ no hard feelings. It's an acquired interest.Getting the right shoes is really just the start of the marriage, next comes the lacing techniques I¢ll use and extra inserts to take up volume both under and above my foot to hold it snug. Amazingly, I¢ve never gotten a blister on the AT. Got one on the PCT thanks to the sand, but never the AT and I¢ve got a few miles there. First off, I don¢t have a PhD in foot care. My knowledge comes from the School of Hard Walks, but that being said, your feet are cantankerous at times and require much effort to get them and your shoes to find romance. To do so, anything goes in my book. Yep, I¢ll skip lace holes, or do double backs in others, I¢ll add a stiff insert to prevent foot fatigue and toss a cushion under that to add move comfort. I¢ll slide in a tongue insert under the laces and on top of the shoe tongue to keep my toes from bagging the toe box on the down hills and switch out to new socks every month for more fluff on a long hike whether they¢re worn out or not and almost always wear sock liners under them. Early on I often wrap a toe or two in paper tape to avoid rubbing until all the tootsies acclimate to the journey, nothing is off limits when it comes to avoiding foot pain, blisters and wimpy progress. Of course, you could just lace them up as is and hike. But who¢s that lucky?Might be wrong on this, but I think the bad days of blisters were more attributed to stiff leather boots or hiking shoes that required ridiculous breaking in periods, which almost never happened? It seems as more hikers chose trail runners and their very flexible structure, the shoes don¢t resist the stride of the foot as much and hence fewer blisters. Some hikers have resisted the move to trail runners under the guise they need the ankle support. Well, if you¢re carrying anything over 35 pounds that may be true, otherwise, I don¢t buy it. Trail runners give you more nimble feet that won¢t wear you out so fast in the hiking day, that freshness helps you avoid mishaps. You can turn your ankle in mid-highs and full up boots, no footwear is perfect. But since many loads are in the 35 lb or less area, I council going with trail runners ¢ provided you can get ones that your feet will accept. Additionally, making sure that the shoes have a ¢rocker¢ sole profile will also be vital in allowing the shoe to flow with your stride. A rocker design is one where the forefoot curves up and the heel curves up, letting the shoe ¢rock¢ like a rocking chair. Most trail runners have this since they¢re patterned partially after running shoes. At the very least, you should go with low hiking shoes, did my first hike in them. (See photo of flowers planted in shoes in my photo section, they were Lowa¢s)The illustration is of my hiking buddy Jubilant John when he joined me for a week during my ¢06 hike. His feet and shoes did not enjoy each others company, fought the whole trip.