[pct-l] Insole-nt Question

[Carol]

Scott, that reminds me of Grandma Gatewood hiking the AT in Keds. I tromped all over Europe in them back in '86. The PCT has got to be a lot softer than those massive cobblestones at Versailles, right?

Carol

Sent from my iPhone

> On Feb 6, 2014, at 3:38 PM, Scott Williams <baidarker at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> That's a good bit of my story as well Professor.  In 2010, I'd been
> training in light trail shoes all winter with no problem and a month before
> setting out on the PCT I decided to try Superfeet.  I had plantar's
> Faciitis within a few days.  I pulled them out, but suffered with light PF
> all across the deserts.  The 5 weeks of snow in the High Sierra in seemed
> to cure it.  The pace was reduced drastically and the swelling was helped
> because it was as if my feet were on ice for much of the day, which in fact
> they were.  Walking wet also chilled 'em out.  I blasted up the northern
> Sierra and across Oregon hiking 30 to 35 mile days for weeks and did just
> fine.
> 
> Then came WA and a tougher trail again, but we kept up the high mileage for
> the first week or two and bam, the PF came back gangbusters.  I padded and
> cushioned everything I could and  lived on vitamin I all the way to Canada.
> Then the worst was that even off trail it didn't go away.  By mid November
> I was getting ready to see a Dr. when I read "Born to Run" and heard  of
> the importance of not cushioning your feet so that they can strengthen
> naturally.  I pulled out the heal pad.  Instant relief.  A few days later I
> pulled out the arch support.  Even better relief.  Within the week I had
> pulled out everything including the insert!  That fast, the pain that had
> been plaguing me for 3 months was gone!!!
> 
> So, over the next year, I trained with light shoes with no insert at all
> and then headed off on the CDT in 2012 and hiked the whole darn thing with
> no pain.  Rocks, scree, snow, roots and being lost in total disasters of
> overgrown vegetation and downfall, and my feet felt great!
> 
> I've been training for the AT for the past year and all this winter in the
> oldest trail shoes I have.  They're like walking on thick paper they're so
> thin.  They're about to come through in several places and have no traction
> whatsoever, but I love them.  They cause my foot to become tough and my
> ankles strong.  Having to adjust for slippery slopes and rocks makes you
> become more observant of what you're stepping on and how you're supporting
> yourself.  Not relying on tread makes me conscious of walking with care,
> and I'm still fast for an old goat!
> 
> Since 2010, I've come to love the feel of all the rocks and roots.  It's
> like getting a foot massage whenever I hike.  Going without an insole at
> first can be kind of scary, and your feet may even get a bit bruised.  For
> this I still carry a simple, flat foam insert to provide a cushion if I
> find I need one.  But I haven't had to use it since the CDT.  At the GGG a
> few weeks ago, Ken Powers told me he also carries a simple foam pad for
> hard rock sections.  He'll put them in when he needs them and then take
> them out when he's back on softer trail.  He and Marcia hike in the
> lightest "slippers" I've ever seen and they've done huge distances in them,
> and they're feet stay healthy.  We can build strong feet in spite of all
> the years of cushioning and padding we've done to them previously.
> 
> So, if you can persevere, stick with the lightest shoes and insoles you can
> manage, or so insoles at all.  Don't hurt yourself, maybe keep the insoles
> in your pack at first.  I carried mine for the first 1,000 miles or so of
> the CDT and only threw them out in Colorado when it became clear I wouldn't
> need them, but I still keep a foam pad, just in case.
> 
> Good luck, I think you're on to something!
> 
> Shroomer
> 
> 
> On Thu, Feb 6, 2014 at 1:03 PM, Michael Slusser
> <michael.slusser at gmail.com>wrote:
> 
>> Here's the short version of my story (no, really):
>> 
>> About a decade ago, I started having trouble with heel, toe, and knee pain
>> and swelling (plantar fasciitis, metatarsalgia kinds of issues)--not
>> constant, but too often. I tried out Superfeet and had a good results with
>> only occasional bouts of trouble, maybe once a month. As I started prepping
>> for the thru-hike this year, the incidents started to worry me more, so I
>> tried out half a dozen orthotics. A trip to the orthopedist later, I still
>> hadn't found a great solution. I've had Montrails, Solomons, New Balance,
>> and Brooks, all of which performed about the same.
>> 
>> In frustration, one day I took out all the trappings and walked around in
>> shoes with no insole at all.
>> 
>> That was four months ago, and since I haven't had a single issue. I'm
>> afraid to be hopeful that this is a solution, but I'm willing to try it
>> out.
>> 
>> The only concern is that, without an insole, I feel a lot of the rocks and
>> other detritus on the path. So the question is, does anyone have a good
>> suggestion for some sort of very, very thin padding to take the place of
>> the missing insoles?
>> 
>> Muchas gracias,
>> 
>> Professor Errant
>> 
>> --
>> *Quid sum? Nil. Quis sum? Nullus. Sed gratia Christi, quod sum, quod vivo,
>> quodque laboro, facit.*
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