Looking down, I see the history and future of my adventures. My feet take me so many places. A decade ago I walked 20 miles per day for 3 days. It was transformative. I learned something critical to all my new adventures; prep your transport.

Walking seems an easy start. It’s amazing how trashed the most important transport can get. Most care for our feet comes after the damage. Reclassify the feet to “amateur athlete” status and the approach to care changes.

You can do lots of reading and you might consider the “Fix your feet” book. Shoes and insoles are critical basics of footcare. The right shoes for a purpose are critical. Think of it as good tires on your car. Multi-day long hikes make feet swell up – up to 1.5 to 2 shoe sizes. Simple things can make a huge difference. Lacing your shoes differently can save your feet. Additionally, time and effort as you hunt for the “perfect shoe”.  Socks that have liners keep blisters to a minimum, anti-chafe cream like Glide or moleskin avoid blisters.

Those are external things. However,  you need to keep the mechanics of your feet and legs in shape. Consider exercises like a squat matrix (for stability and hiking up/down), heel & calf stretches. After over 20 years of being a professional office sitter – many of my muscles were dormant. A gift of inactivity. Key – go slow and build up. When you use dormant muscles overdoing it is way too easy.

So we are headed for our long walk starting late May 2018. About 19 days of 12-20 miles per day. I started video blogging last fall as we began our 6 month prep. Enjoy our intro video and I’ll be posting more soon!