Mel's Taking a Break from the Trail

Taking a break from the Trail

I am going to be taking a break from hiking the Pacific Crest Trail to attend to my feet issues. I have struggled with recurring blisters and severe foot pain since I left the Mexico/California border. Nearly every step I have taken from the border to mile 900 has hurt me (that's over 1,800,000 steps and 150,000ft of climbing uphill over mountains). I’ve struggled for months to try to resolve my foot issues, including trying new shoes and all kinds of blister remedies.  Nothing seems to be working and I’ve been taking 800-1,600mg of ibuprofen daily so that I can continue to hike.  Sometimes I have to take more than 2,000mg a day just so I can tolerate being on my feet. Over time the pain has gotten worse (even w/out a pack on) and Nick and I have been puzzled as to what is going on. Is my pack to heavy? Am I just not built to hike? Whatever the problem is, I knew I could not go on much longer like this.  My daily mileage is dropping (when it should be increasing) and I’ve put Nick at risk of not making it to Canada before the snow storms hit the Cascades.

What’s wrong with me?

Recently, while making an unplanned stop at the Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR), I met a man who was hiking the John Muir Trail (JMT) with his wife.  I had first said hello to them a day earlier when we crossed paths at Seldon Pass and exchanged a few words.  The wife saw me at VVR and called me over to her.  I walked over to her with a slight limp and she asked me what was wrong.  I had explained to her that I had developed another large blister on my left foot coming into VVR and that my feet were hurting me and sore in general.  

Picture of my latest blister beneath my left big toe (about the size of a quarter). I created this beauty in about 4hrs. It was 2 blisters on top of each other with one having blood in it. Nick and I have started calling myself the "Blister Maker".

The wife then explains that her husband is a foot specialist and told me to sit down next to them and to take off my crocs.  The husband inspected my feet, did a few tests on them, asked me some questions, and then explained to me what he thought my problem was.

The peroneal muscles in both of my legs are extremely tight (restricted) which is causing the outer edges of my feet to pull outward and my inner edge of my feet to roll inward (pronate).  It’s so severe that the bones in my feet are getting pulled out of alignment so when I walk the bones are not in the place they should be which is causing the severe pain.  It feels like the bones in my arch and ankle are breaking when the pain is at full force.  In addition, he said this muscle imbalance is the cause of most of my blisters on my feet because my feet do not sit in a neutral position. The pain in my bones and the blisters are all related.  This is why changing shoes didn't help, nor did the wool toe socks, thicker wool socks, 2 pairs of socks, and the slew of other remedies. To make matters worse, the peroneal muscles have gotten much stronger and tighter from all of the hiking I have done over the past 900 miles which is causing me even more pain. He also said if I don’t resolve this issue, the bones in my feet may become deformed. As a profession he creates special boots/braces to correct deformities in the feet and legs of patients and he is renowned for his unique design. Thanks goodness my issue has not come to the point where I need a boot!

I did read online that peroneal muscles are often neglected by athletes but they are very important muscles and need attention.  I also read that wearing high heels can contribute to restricted peroneal muscles and I wore high heels for several years to work every day.  I’m not sure how I got here, but it’s time to fix me.

What’s next?

So what now?  The foot specialist at VVR gave me a stretch to do and told me to do it when I wake up and every 30 minutes while I am hiking, but also told me that he can’t guarantee that I will be able to get the muscles to release on my own.  I also pulled up the “Muscle Medicine” book that I downloaded from Amazon on my phone before I started the hike and looked up some additional stretches for my peroneal muscles (active release technique). When I left VVR the following day, I tried the stretches and I did get some relief but not much. I am still in quite a bit of pain.  I can’t seem to resolve this muscle imbalance on my own so I am going to seek out medical attention when I get home. I’m going to give Dr Justin a call at Premier Sport and Spine and have him manually release these tight peroneal muscles for me.  I’m afraid though...this is going to hurt and I bet metal tools will be involved!  I’ll need to develop a regimented stretching routine after this to keep myself healthy.

What about Nick?

Nick will continue to hike on without me.  He is under pressure now to hike a minimum of 22+ miles a day (on average) from here until he reaches Canada if he hopes to have a chance of making it before the snow closes the trail.  He is ~3 weeks behind schedule now and has to hustle to make up lost ground. 

When will I be home?

Right now I am estimating I will be home around July 26th.  I want to finish the entire John Muir Trail (JMT) before taking my break to fix my feet. I started the JMT at Mount Whitney and it finishes in Yosemite Valley. The PCT and JMT overlap for a large portion of the JMT trail.  I believe I can muscle my way through the pain another week to accomplish this goal.  In Tuolumne I will separate from the PCT/JMT trail and move solely onto the JMT to drop into Yosemite Valley.  I’ll have to obtain new permits to do this and hope I don’t run into any issues at the Ranger Station since it will be first come first serve.  

My twin sister Miranda will be picking me up in Yosemite Valley. Thanks Sis!

Will I resume the hike?

Assuming my muscle issues are sorted out, I will rejoin him on the trail for some “must see” sections (e.g. Tahoe, Mt Shasta, Crater Lake, etc) and I’d love to join him in Washington to finish the hike together. I will also come find him on the trail periodically for some “trail magic” and I’ll be his personal sherpa!