I’ve always enjoyed hiking. As long as I can remember, I’ve always been out in the woods trekking around on trails or making my own when I was growing up and there weren’t any trails in the backwoods. I lived in a small town and had thousands of acres of woods behind my home. My two brothers and I pretty much explored every inch of those woods too, sometimes getting lost and ending up miles away from home and having to call Mom for a ride. When my parents divorced and we visited with our father over the weekends, he too would take us hiking around the local reservoirs and parks.
This year, something inside me changed and I decided to take my hiking a little more seriously and am looking to do distance hiking. My eventual objective is to hike the Appalachian Trail from bottom to top. I did a lot of research, bought a backpack and tried to get items that would be easy to haul. The lighter, the better. I’m no ultralight hiker but I can see why people like to press for it. I bought hydration reservoirs, collapsible Platypus water bottles, a water filtration system, lightweight cooking gear, a camp stove, a single person tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bags, and a whole lot more for when I make my first journey. I still haven’t been able to take that journey but that’s a story for another time.
Before getting started on my subject matter, let me start by saying this...there's a HUGE difference between
recreational hiking and distance hiking. While I do find distance hiking
to still be recreational, it does change the game and also how you
approach it. My first subject will cover this as a beginner going through trial and error, and a lot of it at that. If you're an experienced hiker and somehow happen to find my blog, by all means, feel free to provide some insight, correct me, call me an idiot, whatever. Your input as one with experience would be appreciated.
What I didn’t research enough and probably should have done first was one of the most (if not THE most) important aspects of hiking, the footwear. I thought to myself, well, I wear size 10½ shoes so I’ll buy myself a set of hiking boots at size 10½. This was one of my first mistakes (of many) and unfortunately, a slightly costly one. I didn’t take into consideration that when being abused and hiking several miles, feet swell and expand. I didn’t think about it at the time but having the right socks are pertinent to keeping feet dry. I didn’t think about the socks that I now use are more thick than your run of the mill cotton socks one would normally wear, thus creating a more tight fit in the shoe/boot.
Since buying my boots, I probably hiked a good 50-60 miles. No matter what I tried, at the end of the hike I would have blisters on my feet, or more accurately, my toes. Heels, ankles, etc. were all fine. At the most, I’ve been able to get in about 6 miles before my toes were in enough pain that I found it hard to walk. My toes would start to hurt sooner than that so I knew when it was time to turn back but it still doesn’t help when you have to walk a few miles back to the car.
In my efforts to prevent blistering, I tried the right type of socks, different sole supports, sock liners, you name it, I made just about every attempt at preventing blisters as I could to no avail. The only thing I didn’t try was moleskin.
So after all my trials and errors and not being able to resolve the problem, I went back to the drawing board and did some more extensive research on footwear. Safe to say, there’s information out there but it’s a bit on the sparse side and was/is hard to find. I did find some of what I was looking for and I guess the rest will be left up to more trial and error, hopefully not in the favor of several hundred more dollars before landing in the right set of hiking footwear.
Problem number one…everyone’s feet are different so what might work for one will not work for another. Along with this problem (or it could actually be a solution) is that there are so many different brand names and footwear out there that finding the right fit is made more complex and decisions difficult. There’s also the differences in the shoe types themselves and sizing. What one brand may consider medium width may not be the same for another. I thought I had a medium width foot but when hiking, I found out that might not be true (I’m still trying to figure this one out). That or it’s the brand itself claiming to be a medium but it’s really not.
This part is important in the front area of your feet and also where I made my mistake. If the shoe isn’t wide enough, your toes will get scrunched together. In my research, I read that you need your toes to be able to move freely and to be able to expand which will help with your balance. I hope and would assume the same applies to the blister part because my toes were scrunched together causing them to rub against one another leading to the blisters. Width in the back of the shoe is also important. If your heels don’t have a proper fit, they could start rubbing against the back of the shoe and once again, back to the drawing board due to more blisters.
Have I mentioned the laces and how the shoes should be tied? If you pull the laces as tight as they can go and your feet are still moving around, it’s time to move on and try a different shoe, brand, or size. They need to fit securely on your feet while still allowing you to be comfortable.
Another part is the sizing, do you really wear a size 10, 10½, or maybe even an 11? Do you have medium or wide width feet? This is dependent on the brand (and your feet) of course which adds yet another dimension of complexity. Remember earlier when I said the socks I wear are thicker than your run of the mill cotton socks? As simple as it sounds, this makes a difference and can add a half size to the shoe you wear.
Wait, there’s more. When researching, I also found out that it’s better to shop for footwear after you’re done hiking. Why? Because your feet swell and will be larger than they were at the beginning of the day. To find the right fit, your feet should be at its larger size so they can be tested for the above factors I’ve described.
Have I also mentioned the different styles of hiking footwear? There’s everything from heavy duty hiking boots to what’s called trail runners. What kind of hiking do you plan on doing? Are you going to be on a flat even surface or traversing hills and rocks while carrying a backpack? Did you know that for every pound a boot is, it adds an equivalent to carrying an additional 5 pounds on your back? Doesn’t seem like much but if you’re hiking 20 miles in a single day, it may be something to consider.
What about arch support? When trekking on an uneven surface, you don’t want to feel every rock you step on, do you? I don’t know much about this one but I did read about it so it accounts for something, right? More on this as I learn more...
Last but not least (for now), when you put your footwear on, do your toes hit the front of them while standing up? If so, again, move on to a larger size.
There’s more to this but I’m still in my learning stages and will be finding some of this out through more trial and error as I already have…as if I haven’t had enough already. I ordered another pair of hiking boots because the ones I own are too small in the front and were scrunching my toes together. For recreational use, they’re super comfortable but for distance hiking, not so much. I ordered the same type I have now except I went a half size larger and the wide instead of medium. We’ll see what happens. This is also one of the problems of shopping online for things like hiking footwear. If you plan to purchase online, it might be best to find a local sports store to try on several different types and brands to find the ones that fit you best, then make your online purchase.
Here are a few recommendations that I’ve read throughout the web as well. First, make sure to get the proper socks. I’ve mentioned this a few times already but have not been specific. Let me keep this simple, avoid cotton! They retain moisture and will lead to friction and you guessed it, blisters. I’ve also read about putting sock liners on as well. I tried this once and will probably give it another shot once I get footwear that fits properly. As I had mentioned before, everything I previously tried led to blisters so this will be another experiment for when the footwear fits as it should.
Note: I wrote most of the above about a month or so ago before getting my new boots. They have since arrived and I took them on their first distance test hike just yesterday. I wore them out once before but I wasn't hiking a long distance. I still got blisters on my toes but this time, in a different area than before. On the plus side, I didn't have nearly as many so I think I'm finally getting closer to finding the right fit. More to follow...
REI's website has some very good information on fitting and purchasing the right type of hiking boot. I wish I had found this before I had made my first purchase. Live and learn!
Hiking Boots: How to Choose
Also information on getting aftermarket insoles:
Insoles: How to Choose
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