Friday, May 01, 2020

the price of walking

I wore a biker's fingerless glove on my right hand to avoid blistering from my trekking pole. As a result, the sunburn pattern on my right hand and wrist is strange. I wore the glove only on the first day of the walk, which is why you see two shades of sunburn on my right hand and wrist. Funny: I took the glove off for Day 2, and there was no blistering. I still don't understand how my body works.


My left hand, by contrast, shows the normal pattern:


I somehow managed to kill two of my right toenails in two days, and this was after tugging at the toes of my socks to make the fabric press on my toenails less:


Finally, here's what's causing the most pain. I've circled the blisters that cover about 60% of the bony ridge just behind my toes. The large blister on the ball of my foot hurts like a son of a bitch, but that's also because of the bone bruising:


Put a gun to my head, and I could conceivably walk long distances in this condition. Barring such extremity, though, I'd much rather rest.





3 comments:

  1. I guess I've been lucky in my walking "career" to have not had blistering issues. When my feet hurt though it is right where you have the blister on the ball of your foot. So, in that sense, I can truthfully say that I feel your pain. I guess it just goes with the, um, territory. For me, it starts around 8k. Next time I buy hiking shoes I'm going to look for a more cushioned insole.

    Hope you heal up quickly so you can move on to your next adventure!

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  2. If you want to feel the pressure my feet feel, you'll need to carry around 80 pounds' worth of rocks.

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  3. Haha! It's funny but true. When I wear that backpack with food and candy to hand out on my hikes I can feel the difference. That's probably only 10 kgs at most (and it gets lighter as I go).

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