Beauty and Blisters
I am for the first time in my life in a desert!!
Little did I know what to expect. Sure I read blogs of former thru hikers but nothing prepared me for this.
For one thing: the desert is not kind of “empty” as I thought. She is super divers! Here are rocks (lots of beautiful granite formations), trees, bushes, flowers, creeks, cacti (awesome cacti with yellow and white flowers) meadows, grasses, and lots of many unidentifiable other green and brown things which grow here.
And there are mountains here! And as thru hikers we have to climb them up. And on top of the mountains (2000 meter) the landscape changes again and it suddenly looks like we are in Canada! Pine trees forest and lovely soft earthy ground.
Climbing down, we are right in an enormous (!) flat desert again.
You know, I come from Switzerland, so I am used to amazing views, but hiking here beats everything.
There is so much scenery being thrown at me in an incredible speed (well, 2.5 miles per hour for that matter) that I feel like in a wonderland.
But it is also very (!) hot and very (!) sandy. Everything on my body (and probably inside too) is covered in sand. (A delicious mixture of sand, sweat and sunlotion.) And I have not showered in 5 days…. This is OK during the day, but crawling into my sleeping bag together with this cocktail on my body is (trust me!) NOT NICE!
Not something everybody can endure I am sure. And I begin to smell really bad. Sticky and smelly, that’s what I am. And sore!
Have I mentioned yet that the sand and sweat mixture particularly sticks to my feet and in between my toes. I thought I knew everything about how to prevent blisters, I prepared well, read blogs, googled best practices, and read many helpful articles. But apparently, theoretical knowledge means nothing out here. If you have hot, dirty, sweaty, and sandy feet at all times while hiking, you will get blisters.
Yes! I have many little and big fucking bubbles everywhere on my feet. Next to toenails, on my heal, between toes, on the sole of my feet. Fuck!
Right now I take a zero day (which means no hiking at all) as I need to give my feet some care and attention.
A guy from Holland told me he uses baby wipes. Whenever he takes a break, he completely cleans his feet with them. EVERY TIME! (As soon as I find baby wipes out here I buy them and try this Dutch method.)
But anyway, I am not complaining at all! It is absolutely gorgeous out here. I am going to throw a couple of images at you next, so that you see what I am talking about!
Oh and, I did 110 miles in 6 days, not bad, heh!
Hallo! I love your blog and writing style. Will be following along. Yeah, sandy, sweaty sun lotion body makes for icky sleep! I live in this desert and my tips are yes, clean your feet, during lunch break too, and three baby wipes will clean you each night and make for great sleep! Worth it. Start washing your face, then arms. One wipe. Second for legs. Use both sides! Third for what remains. Good luck! Enjoy your great journey.
Awesome Griff! I will do exactly that once I get hold of whipes! Thanks for the help!!!
For the sand between the toes I take off my sock and use the very top part that’s normally around the ankle, and that stays kind of clean and dry during a hike, to “floss” between the toes and around the heels to remove sand. Then whack the sock against your leg or a rock to get the sand out. Less blisters that way. Usually ;-P
Will do that tomorrow! Thanks! Will let you know how it goes! :) Cheers! Heidi
Hi Heidi
You got a Swiss fan!
Good luck to you and …to your feet!!!
Keep well and please go on giving us news when you can. Keep on smiling, you’re free.
Kisses from ??
Cédric
Cédric! Thanks! How nice! Your comment put a big smile on my face!!
I guess you don’t need this to smile
Your comments are already full of joy, happiness and freedom
Keep safe Heidi and good luck for the Sierra in 450 miles!!!
Hi Heidi,
Wow, this looks beautiful. When you talk about your blisters and looking at the sand, I feel I would walk barefoot a couple of hours per day. Can’t you do that?
Hi Ariane! Uhhh, I rather not walk barefoot! The sand is very hot and there are cacti and snakes and rocks and lots of creepy crawlies out there on the path! I think I better just take pain killers if it gets really bad…
What they said! Really enjoy your writing and photos.
Thank you so much Jann!! That makes me happy! :)
Ohh Heidi, das ist natürlich großer Mist. Wünsche gute Wundheilung..tolle Bilder, weiter so :)
Bert
Danke Bert!! Die Wundheilung geht nur schleppend voran… Und es sind schon neue Blatern hinzugekommen…
Love it that you use all our American swear words … who knew? Nice that you can enjoy the beauty of the desert, so your entire journey should be totally amazing … just like you! Terrible blisters though, OUCH!! It is so much fun for us following your blog, thank you for sharing!!!
Glad you both enjoy my blog! :) It is surely my pleasure! And I have a feeling there might be much more swearing coming up…
Hope your feet are feeling better with the rest and a little TLC! The flowers and views are amazing! Safe travels and sleep well!-just remember to stay away from those boulders at night!
Hi Kathy! Yes! I will surely stay away from those boulders….. And thanks so much for your good wishes!
Hikers: Order TRAIL TOES – Ultra Extreme anti friction foot and body cream from Amazon. Send up trail to yourself. Works for body chaffing too. Clean feet with water and bandana/wet ones at night- apply night and morning-will have NO BLISTERS or cracking of heels ect.
Also change socks every two hours on trail.
Happy Hiking
Autsch, Heidi! Can I send you a care package containing baby wipes to your next supply post?? I am serious… I hope your feet get well soon and thanks for sharing your adventures with us.