[pct-l] Foot Expansion

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good evening, Rhiannon,

The foot-size-increase phenomenon just creeps up on you.  It’s not like you
wake up one morning and shout, “GREAT GOSH-ALMIGHTY! My shoes don’t fit
anymore!”  If you have reasonably loose shoes at the start you might notice
some change by Idyllwild or Big Bear; but then you can have a larger size
sent to Agua Dulce, Mojave/Tehachapi, or even Kennedy Meadows, which is
about a mile-limit for sneakers anyway.  A hiker is seldom more than a week
or so away from a place where larger shoes can be received.

After hundreds of miles my feet become noticeably thicker, and I’m not sure
why.  I don’t believe it’s just water retention or something serious like
edema.  Feet do not have a significant muscle structure that really
bulks-up during exercise. I do know that with extra thickness, and some
possible noticeable widening, the circumference of my feet around the
middle or ball is greater than when I’m not hiking.  They just look
stronger after I've hiked a while.  A shoe must accommodate this greater
circumference mostly with additional width.

One possibility is to start with larger shoes that have a generous width,
but install an extra insole -- like the standard, green Spenco – which can
then be removed later.  Additionally, one can start with heavy socks, or
two pair of socks, and reduce later to one thinner pair like many hikers
end-up anyway.

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/


On Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 2:07 PM, b j <xthrow at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I was wondering similar things as Mark on foot expansion!  I also wanted
> to draw on the wonderful wisdom of the crowd about the mystery of feet
> swelling.
>
> This will be my first through high and first desert hike so I don’t have
> experience with feet swelling.  How long does it take?  Hours? Days?
> Weeks?  I ask because I wonder if I should start out with my normal shoes
> or with my bigger shoes – I’ve got a great pair of normal sized shoes that
> would be great for the desert – white, mesh, ventilated, comfy.
>
> I’m also wondering what actually goes on when the feet swell – is it
> flattening, fluid, callus, muscle?  I’m also contemplating which superfeet
> to have ready for when my feet are bigger – for the swelling, do the feet
> swell in length between your arch and your heel?  I don’t imagine they do
> since that area is more bones and less soft tissue than the rest of the
> foot.
>
> Also, do your feet get smaller again going North after the desert or do
> they maintain the same size throughout the hike?  And after the hike, do
> they go back down to where they were before or are they now bigger and you
> can’t squeeze into your city shoes?
>
> I may be thinking this to death, but we all obsess about something or
> other before a big trip.  Right now, for me, it’s feet – a vital ingredient
> for the trip!  :-)
>
> Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences,
>
> -Rhiannon
>