Cold Feet - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

Not of the night-before-the-wedding variety, but literally, cold feet.

How do you keep your feet warm in cold, cold weather? And what do you do if they get that itchy, stingy feeling that makes you want to scape your skin off??

I went walking today in the snow that we just got in VA, it was about 18 degrees outside. I wore my hiking boots, Lowa Scouts, and hiking socks, but by the time I got back home, about 30 minutes-45 minutes later, and took my boots off, my feet were FREEZING and itchy and stingy. It made for a very unhappy 20 minutes as they thawed out.

Help!!

Joy

#2

That most people dont know is;CAYENNE PEPPER.I advise you to start out with a very,very small amount and gradually increase it until you find your right balance between warm and HOT.BTW cayenne pepper is one of the oldest chemical weapons used by man.

Newb

#3

You gots to GET USED TO THE COLD. Coastal Virginia is too warm, there is no substitute for the trail. At night my cat curls up on a down sleeping bag. She’ll never be a hiker.

Granite

#4

Did you have a hat on your head? Also arobic level will effect your heat output. Load up your pack and walk again for longer this time. Get some down booties for camp to wear in your bag at night. Most toasty.

BW

#5

Joy- BW has some good advise, in keeping your extremities covered, but especially in the arobic level. Do you participate in regular arobic activity? As you might know, it increases circulation in the extremeties, which, in turn, heats them. For example, it is common for thru-hikers to gain a whole shoe size from muscle and circulatory development, which come hand-in-hand. After three years of thru-hikes, my feet now bulge with vessels after a run or hike. I wear sandals in cold weather (but not in 18 degrees!). So when you get cold, keep moving those feet and toes! Enourage circulatory development with an excercise routine, and you will tell the difference!

Tha Wookie

#6

You have to eat more. Without fuel for the furnace, the body sacrifices the extremities.

Blue Jay

#7

the Highlands last trip? As I recall you had an entire bag of donuts holes yourself so you should have has some sugar. Shoot me a mail. Eat a good hiker breakfast; loaf of toast, brick of bacon, udder of butter and see if you hike any warmer.:girl

BW

#8

I’ve had that tingly feeling in my feet before. They tingle as they start to thaw out after being subject to severe cold. But I haven’t had it for a long since I started treating my feet right.

My recommendation: Gortex boots, 9 inches high, insulated and at least a half size too big so you can wear two pair of heavy socks also. This keeps your feet confortable and warm and dry in winter. Summer no problem as the two pair of heary socks absorb sweat as your feet do while you are hiking.

You can hike in tennis shoes or other poor footware if you want in cold weather. I don’t care what you have for breakfast or how much cayanne pepper you have, your feet will still freeze if it’s gets cold enough. So I’d go with the boots as suggested. But they are your feet and your hike so do it your way or take my suggestions. It’s your decision.

See you out there. :cheers

Maintain

#9

joy…

my hands are the same way. get cold as a mo fo. story of my life.

grizzly adam

#10

I’ve used plastic sandwich baggies (not the Freezer bags) over my socks.

Band Saw

#11

i dont know anything about your type of boots; but I am assuming they are waterproof right? but are they also moisture wicking? Its possible your feet got cold because they were sweating. Try using a liner sock; a good pair of moisture wicking hiking socks; and that might help the problem. once you get into camp; change your socks u hiked in to a new (or at least dry) pair of liners or socks; and then put on your camp booties; shoes; flip flops; whatever. alot of people also like to use gold bond powder at the end of the day to help get the moisture off their feet. just a little baggie of powder goes a long way.

and if your boots say they are waterproof but u haven;t treated them a couple times since u bought them; chances are they aren’t completly. nikwax products are great. i bump some to me at each town; footwear cleaner and waterproofer. i retreat my boots (all leather) every chance i get. they stay nice and soft and i slog through water no problem. between them and my gaters; my feet stay nice and dry and warm. now; if only they would invent skin waterproofer so the rest of me could stay warm and dry…

Big Boy

#12

I have an opinion on the matter.

As previously mentioned cold feet have almost everything to do with circulation. As BW stated, a hat is your first option. Then I would go with gaiters. In the cold, wear the high ones. They will keep everything below your calves warm and “dry”. The blood entering your feet will stay warmer if it stays in a warmer environment longer, ie the gaiters. I do have problems with my gaiters not breathing as well as they are designed, but haven’t had a major issue as of yet.

Gaiters have always kept my feet warm in all my hikes. I also have been using gortex Saloman running shoes. I used to think the only shoe for winter was a leather boot. That was until I had to put them on in the morning. brrrr.

peace out, see you at the chat tonight.

Ben Reuschel

#13

I was a very cold sleeper. Started 3/1. Used a 20 degree down bag, with a silk liner. Warm hat, gloves and socks are most important. Have a pair of socks just for camp, keep em nice and dry and warm. When it got real cold I used those instant crack hand warmers. I would put them in my socks and then take my goretex mitten covers and put them on my feet. It worked pretty well! The warmers are kinda stupid, but at just an oz or so each they were something funny to carry for a couple weeks.
Easting a hot meal and drinking a hot cup of something soon before you sleep is best. Even cold water will warm you up

A-Train

#14

though i am on the lightwieght tip, i usually carry a nalgene. boil a quart, throw it in the nalgene, throw it in your bag, warm for hours. saved my ass a few times. so if preventitive measures fail, you have a treatment.

milo

#15

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned yet. Make sure that you leave enough space for your socks to do their job.

Since it is actually the tiny air pockets captured by insulating materials that keep us warm, compressing those materials works against us. Too much sock stuffed into a tight space is every bit as bad as not wearing enough insulation in the first place. It can also impeed blood flow, which doesn’t help, either.

On cold nights, my feet are actually colder if I wear too many sock layers - each layer you add compresses the layers underneath.

As Bushwack said, a hat is critical and so is your activity level. At home, my feet are cold all the time, regardless of what’s on my feet. When I hike (which I do in sandals and socks) my feet are never cold, even if it’s quite cold and my socks are soaked. Hiking generates a lot of heat and lots of blood flow to your legs (and FEET!).

Hmmm, sounds like Dr. Seuss…

Chipper

#16

Keep your feet as dry as possible. Stop every so often and swap socks, putting the wet pair close to your body to dry them some and rub your feet with powder a couple of times a day if need be.

virginian

#17

Don’t worry about your feet. After three weeks you will not be able to feel them and thus it will be until you step in enough water to make all the calouses crack open…then you feel them again! It has been three months since I left the trail and still there are parts of my feet that I do not feel.

If you are anywhere near DC give me an e-mail

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