Song of the post – “Missionary Man” by the Eurythmics
After completing a month of the PCT, I reflect back on what keeps me going. Is it something that’s tangible or intangible, Doing this takes a lot of heart figuratively and literally. I mean you certainly need a good ticker to tackle these climbs and these long distance stretches, and you need heart to wanna keep moving forward. Your head has to be in the right place to deal with the monotony of continually putting one foot in front of the other.
If I was forced to pick one thing, however, I would have to pick my feet. at least for the first month. I’m sure going forward I’ll have other trials and tribulations, moving me towards completing this track.
Since day one I’ve been dealing with podiatry issues. Almost from the moment I stepped on the trail, mile 1.5 I sprained my ankle, I’ve had some obstacles. I will admit that almost all of these obstacles were user error. Meaning, if I planned better, paid better attention, walked better I could’ve avoided almost all of these.
So, what have I learned?
- Shoe choice – Don’t wear what the cool kids wear
I bought my shoes, Altra Lone Peaks, because that’s what everybody on the YouTube videos for the PCT were wearing. I also went to REI and the very knowledgeable shoe person also said it’s what everybody was wearing. So why wouldn’t I wear them?
I’m a 53 year old man, and I’m perfectly aware that we’re all different. I know that our feet are all very different, it was just easy and lazy to wear what everybody else was wearing.
I take a little solace that I’m not the only one dealing with this issue. Remember me mentioning Hiker boxes several post back? Hiker boxes are these repositories of hiker castoffs along the trail. Well, these hiker boxes are often Altra Line Peak graveyards. Hikers are replacing these shoes, and leaving their old pairs behind.
If I were to make a recommendation to future hikers I’d say go see a podiatrist before heading out. Spend a couple hundred dollars on a clinician and get some good advice during your planning and prior to stepping on the trail. Even the most diehard hikers have rarely put this level of stress on their feetsie-weetsies.
And replacing your shoes on the trail can cause all kinds of other issues (BLISTERS). It’s actually kind of scary to start wearing a brand new shoe that you haven’t broken in and know very little about. I was lucky, and my new shoes have worked out really well. I’m now wearing TOPO Travelventure hiking boots.
