{"id":476,"date":"2018-10-12T19:25:22","date_gmt":"2018-10-12T19:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/makena.org\/?p=476"},"modified":"2025-09-13T16:11:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T16:11:33","slug":"its-all-about-the-feet-maybe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/makena.org\/?p=476","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s All About the Feet- Maybe"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
THE SHOES<\/b><\/div>\n

As we previously mentioned, over and over (more than \u201cweather\u201d, more than \u201celevations\u201d, more than \u201cweariness\u201d) we heard and read about those for whom this trek was ruined by \u201cBLISTERS\u201d; BIG, nasty, painful BLISTERS. So we decided, early on, to spend plenty of time trying to ensure that we took every reasonable action to limit or eliminate \u201cBLISTERS\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"<\/a>It started with the shoe selection.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Once again we looked and looked. We got lots of opinions and tried on lots of shoes. One thing we found out for sure, there were PLENTY of opinions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Many opined that \u201cHiking Shoes\u201d were the way to go, others said tennis style shoes and others said runners. Having never participated in this type of hike we decided to speak to someone who had.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following a lecture from Bill and Sue Holzer, a couple about our age, who had hiked the trail we found that they were not bashful about giving their opinion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

NO HIKING SHOES! As avid hikers they knew well the many benefits of hiking shoes for \u201cmountain and wilderness hiking\u201d; the El Camino is neither. It was their feeling that, since the El Camino was primarily worn trails, cultivated land and small towns and villages, \u00a0the weight, tread and high ankle was unnecessary. For the same reasons they believed that tennis style shoes or \u201csneakers\u201d didn\u2019t typically have enough tread and support for the periodic \u201crough spots\u201d along the trail.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Holzer’s believed they found the best alternative which provided all the attributes necessary to handle the varied terrain as well as provide support and comfort; the Altra Lone Peak 3.5 \u201cTrail Runner\u201d style shoe.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Altra Lone Peak 3.5 offers drainage holes to keep feet dry, a 4-point gaiter system to keep dirt and rocks out, and mesh upper for enhanced durability. Although at first look the Altra looked as though the \u00a0\u201call terrain\u201d tread on the bottom would be heavy and possibly uncomfortable I decided to try them on and was very pleasantly surprised.<\/span><\/p>\n

To start, the shoe is VERY comfortable. It has a wide \u201ctoe box\u201d to keep your toes from rubbing against each other which combined with excellent insole and arch support make them as comfortable as your \u201cworn in\u201d favorite sneakers. Once on I found that the distribution of the tread surface was so perfect that, when walking, it was impossible to tell there was any tread at all!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0When I combined the fact that they were comfortable and the all terrain tread made them multi-surface friendly with the fact that they only weighed 1 \u00bd pounds for the pair it seemed like they were right; they\u2019re the shoes I chose.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE SOCKS<\/b><\/p>\n

\"<\/a>We have often walked and hiked 10+ miles a day and have never had a problem with blisters, however we have rarely done so day after day. Given this history I wasn\u2019t really worried about blisters until we heard about it being such a huge problem, even for experienced hikers, on the El Camino; so we sought preventative measures.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

LINERS<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

Liners. Never used them\/never thought about them\u2026now I have them and I like them.<\/span><\/p>\n

We decided on the Injinji liner. Consider them \u201cunderwear\u201d for your feet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Underwear acts as a barrier between you and your outer clothing, fitting tighter than your outerwear and reducing chafing, rubbing and uncomfortable contact with seams etc., sock liners do the same and more. The Injinji liner fits each toe and helps defend against toes rubbing together (read \u201cBLISTERS\u201d) and moisture buildup, keeping feet dryer and more comfortable. We selected the lighter version since the weather was moderate and we can add additional warmth if necessary with a heavier sock on colder days.<\/span><\/p>\n

SOCKS<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

\"<\/a>I don\u2019t consider myself cheap, but I come from a middle class family and (I guess) on some things \u00a0I have middle class tastes (this doesn\u2019t include my wife ).\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There are a couple of items of clothing I can honestly say I have never paid over $20 a pair for; specifically underwear (story later) and socks. If anyone would have ever told me I would spend the better part of $40 for a pair of socks I would have said they don\u2019t know me very well, I guess things change\u00a0.<\/span><\/p>\n

The socks we settled on were the X-SOCKS\u00a0 Trekking Extreme Light. I can\u2019t do a better job of describing them than the manufacturer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEXTREMELY LIGHT, EXTREMELY CONVINCING: BEST IN TEST TIMES TWO. The foot that sits snugly in a shoe warms up quickly and starts to sweat. The X-SOCKS\u00ae<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Extreme optimally transports warmth and moisture away. Special features: The AirGuide\u2122<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0functions as a spacer and is placed along the AirConditioning Channel\u00ae<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0to facilitate continual air circulation. The patented AirCool Stripes\u2122<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0under the soles also allow temperature-regulating fresh air to circulate. Manufactured with a light touch but still technically perfect, it creates a typical X-SOCKS\u00ae<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0\u201cbare foot\u201c environment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Every word of the above quote accurately describes the feel and impact of this sock, great feel, \u201cair conditioned\u201d and dry! Awesome socks and worth the price as the \u201cgo to\u201d sock for hiking.<\/span><\/p>\n

OTHER FOOT PRODUCTS<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Other items we are packing just to be safe include Gold Bond Foot Powder and several sizes of \u00a0Compeed \u00a0Blister Plasters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gold Bond is an old stand by and worth the extra ounce or so to carry and Compeed is new to both of us but comes highly recommended to limit the damage should a blister start.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Compeed Blister Plasters uses\u00a0hydrocolloid technology which is able to absorb moisture from the blister which helps to create a better environment to prevent further damage and promote healing. These plasters are advertised to stay in place for several days, preventing rubbing and protecting the healing skin; I honestly hope I don\u2019t have to validate these claims during our trek!<\/span><\/p>\n

NEXT BLOG \u2013 Brenda on equipment<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE SHOES As we previously mentioned, over and over (more than \u201cweather\u201d, more than \u201celevations\u201d, more than \u201cweariness\u201d) we heard and read about those for whom this trek was ruined…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-476","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-makena-blog"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/makena.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/makena.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/makena.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makena.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makena.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=476"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/makena.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":914,"href":"https:\/\/makena.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions\/914"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makena.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/makena.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makena.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makena.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}