Re: [Philmont]: boots

Probably your toe-box is a little too tight. This is a fairly common
problem with anyone who uses orthodics, because your feet slide forward
into the toe box on each step. I know, because I have orthodics to
correct club feet, rather significant on my left foot. I usually lose 4
to 6 toenails on our 50/20 Hike every year, off both feet. [Just an
added pleasure, you understand.]

The problem is also aggravated by walking on a continuously smooth, hard
surface (like sidewalks). This is because the boot basically flexes
(pinches) identically on every step. Up and down trails tend to give
constantly varying stresses on your boots (that is also, your feet and
ankles).

There are some easy fixes. First, it is possible that your socks are
too thick, or that they are bunching up in the toe box as you're walking
along. Either has an easy remedy - buy thinner, better socks (a topic
of many a thread on this List-Serve). Another possibility is that
you're lacing the boot up too loosely, allowing your foot to slide
around too much. There is a happy medium between too tight and too
loose. You may wish to experiment with different lacing styles - one
common trick is to tie a square knot at some point in the cross-lacing,
so you can be loose on the bottom, and tight up the ankle, or vice
versa. You can experiment to see what (if anything) works. A last
possibility is that there is something inside the boot that is sticking
down and touching your toenail - boots sometimes warp into odd shapes
after being soaked and dried multiple times. Feel inside BOTH boots
(with your hands) and see if each has a knob above the big nails. If it
does, you can soak the boots and put those old-style shoe expanders
inside, and make them dry stretched out. Be aware, it will want to go
back to the old shape every time it gets wet, so you'll probably need to
bring the expanders along on your trek if this is the problem.

Finally, regarding your comment that you never had this problem before,
note that it's possible your feet are slightly bigger than they used to
be. This is one of the common results of aging. My feet are both
half-a-size wider now than when I was in college.

If nothing works in the way of a fix, you will probably need to go with
a half-size larger boot, or find a boot of the same size but with a
different toe-box configuration. There are many different configurations.

Hope this helps....

- Dr. Bob

ps-johnson@comcast.net wrote:
> I have been getting into shape by hiking around my neighborhood for
> four miles with a 40 lb. pack. After a few such hikes, I have
> noticed that my big toe on each foot appears to be bruised underneath
> the toenail. It does feel bruised when I push down on the toenail.
> Does this mean that my boots are the wrong size for my feet? Never
> had this problem before with boots....
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> Peter Johnson ASM Troop 52 Cranbury NJ
>

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Received on Thu Jun 2 20:56:39 2005