Hit 100 miles on the Appalachian Trail before I realized my shoes were the wrong size

I started the approach trail in Georgia with boots that felt fine in the store, but by the time I reached Neel Gap my toes were numb and I had blisters on both heels. Turned out I needed a full size bigger to account for foot swelling and downhill pressure. Anyone else find out their gear sizing was totally off after a few days on trail?

2 comments

2 Comments

morgan.mary29d ago

Double down on the heel lock lacing trick. I also started carrying a second pair of insoles and swapping them out midday, made a huge difference in how my feet felt by the end of the day.

paulm9529d ago

Honestly, the shoe thing got me too. I had the same problem with foot swelling on the PCT, I ended up switching to trail runners a half size up and lacing them different for downhill sections. For the heel blisters, I started doing a heel lock lacing method that locked my foot in place, that helped a ton. It's wild how much your feet change after a few 20 mile days.