Sore toe tips - Pacific Crest Trail

imported
#1

I recently switched to wearing thin coolmax liner style socks in my boots. I like the extra room and how they dry quickly after being washed but after doing a couple of days of mostly steep downhill trail, the tips of my toes became very very tender…I can’t remember this happening with regular hiking socks…is it from the “tightness” of the liner sock itself or is it from lack of cushioning in front of toes when they hit the front of my boots going downhill? Or is it something else? Has anyone else had this happen? I tried wearing two layers of liner socks and that make it even worse quickly…thanks

noknees

#2

Your hitting your toes on the front of your boots. The thicker soxs you had before may have been keeping your foot more placed toward the rear of the boot. I noticed this when I dropped the thick ones for liners only. You may need to lace the upper of the boot a tad tighter on down hills. Could also be that you feet swell some and the thicker sock was padding the toe some. If it goes on enough your toe nails will drop off like my pal Nuffy’s did.

Lace up your feets and do a running stop with both feet on a small hill on or on carpet and see if your toes touch. If they do easily your footware may now be too small.

Bushwhack

#3

The liner sock may be causing your foot to slip inside of the boot due to the tight knitting.

Another possibility is that your foot is to narrow in the boot with just liners, causing your foot to slip. How much extra room do you have on the sides of your foot?

Hotrod

Hotrod

#4

Believe me I can relate to this as I have very narrow low volume feet. Try a tongue pad to see if it will help hold your foot back in the heel. Thicker sox should help at the same time. Be sure that you have not “out grown” your boots, also.

Good Luck. :tongue

Lady Di

#5

nokenees. I just finished my '05 section hike and I lost two toe nails. I have tried different shoes, different socks, I have tied my laces tighter, I have loosen my laces, nothing seems to help my feet. Being a section hiker my feet are not real tough when I start out. But I think you have hit on an important issue, descends. I have looked over my journal notes and it seems after one day or several days of going downhill, my feet are shot. No matter what I did to prevent it. I have now come to the conclusion that I take the down hills way to fast. In fact, on my last section hike, coming down Pond Mountain,TN I was almost running. When I(we)do this our toes have no place to go but up against the boot/shoe toe box. You can wear whatever you want but when you descend to fast, it happens. For me I will try and make myself slow down on the descends. One of my toe nails has already grown back. Good luck with it, and if you hit on a better idea let us know.

Bilko

#6

you could go downhill backwards

Disco

#7

Disco. I have actually tried it. When your feet hurt, you will try anything. There have been times when I don’t even want to look at my feet. I thought about rolling down the trail on my next hike. I can climb all day long but those down hills, kill me.

Bilko

#8

I Noticed that I and a few other hikers on the AT last year suffered from sore and inflamed toes I tried a number of ways to aleviate the problem, then I spoke to one of the Boot Fitters in the outfitter in Damascus. He showed me a different way to lace up my boots to ensure that the heel was kept in the rear of the heel cup and also to prevent the foot sliding forward during downhill sections.
Result “Outstanding” No more sore toes. In Europe this method is known as the alpine method of lacing it worked for me and a few others.

The General

#9

One thing you can try is to coat your toes (and other potential hot spots) with tincture of benzoin. You can get this at REI. It’s ‘normal’ use is to aid the adhesion of bandage/tape to skin and to prevent reaction or rash due to adhesive. In sports, it’s affectionately called “Tough Skin” and repeated applications will produce a hardy texture (albeit somewhat brown)to the skin.

Silver Fox

#10

noknees-

see this article for how to lace up your boots to fix various fit problems
http://www.backpacker.com/gear/footwear/lacing/0,6669,,00.html

bullet

#11

I can relate. I lost 5 toenails after my Springer Mt. to Erwin, TN section hike.
I met a woman this year who uses toe protecting gel-pads that she found in a ballet dancing shop. The ballerinas who go en pointe use them. These pads are made of the blue wiggly stuff that looks like the same stuff Dr. Scholl’s heel pads are made from.
I have a very high volume foot (width EE). My solution to the toenail problem is to wear very thin liners, summer weight Thorlo socks, and boots that are very long. So, while my shoe size is 6 1/2, I wear size 9 Hi-Tech boots. Worked like a charm on my 300-mile hike in NH and Maine this summer. Not a nail became discolored - a first!
Good luck!
Two Hats

Two Hats