Well after 350 odd miles it is time for another blister update. Or not. Anyway, I switched from sandals to Crocs about 50 miles ago. The sandals were okay but I kept having to stop to dump the gravel/rocks. The Crocs have a closed toe so they don’t gather rocks as much.
My feet feel better now than any time in the last three weeks. I actually came pretty lose to dropping out a week ago because of the blisters. Hiking is not fun when every step hurts. About half the other hikers I talk to have had serous blister issues so it is fairly common. I met one guy in Julian (Stefan from Germany) that had a blister that covered the entire front bottom of his foot. Wish I had taken a picture! I saw his buddy (Roel) yesterday but not Stefan – hope he didn’t drop.
I have gone through about 6 sheets of moleskin and countless bandaids (usually the first thing I resupply when I hit town).
And I had to show what that first shower does to your hotel towel….
Butterfly just showed up (Saturday morning). He did not hook up with his host Angel yesterday afternooon and ended up sleeping under an overpass with a couple of female hikers who had the same problem. Night before last he slept in the spare bedroom of one of the largest houses in Wrightwood. Mansion to overpass! Life of a hiker on the cheap!
Next section is 85 miles which is 5-6 days for me. We keep heading west through the Angeles National Forest for 50 miles or so before turning north again. We are basically 60-70 miles east-northeast of Los Angeles.
Met a couple of other hikers at lunch (Orange Blossom and White Sage) and we discussed the Endangered Species detour. They were going to do the Guthook detour but I said I was going to take the detour recommended in the water report (modified Halfmile detour) – it bypasses Mount Baden-Powell but avoids walking for 5 mile or so on the highway, which I hate. It is a 20 mile detour but I think adds no more than 1 or 2 miles.
Our Adventures 