[pct-l] minor aches and pains after six days; could I have ever been a through hiker?

[David Hough on pct-l]

In 1976 I was planning/fantasizing about a northbound through hike in 1977.     I went to work to pay off
my school debts instead, and missed my chance to join the class of 1977 immortals.

Since then, six days is about as long as I have attempted, while getting older and remaining employed full
time, and each time I have been in such bad shape afterward that I wondered if I could have finished 

a through hike even in my salad days.

I managed to find a combination of pills and procedures to avoid the digestive problems of my last long trips,
but this time the worst after-effect is the pain in my fingers and hands and feet from cracked calluses
and disgusting bloody news from my nose.     I don't dare take any aspirin for fear of encouraging the nose
or even worse the hemorrhoids.       Yet people, even old people like me, do through hikes every year.

So any suggestions about the nose problem?    The Rough Fire smoke probably didn't help, but the problem
persisted after I was out of the smoke.


For dry skin and calluses, there's lots of potions one can apply, and super glue for cracked callus
emergencies, but in a dry dusty environment I hate to
do anything which helps the dirt stick better to my skin and gear.   I need to do something though.
My thumbs are so cracked that it's painful to type this.