Shoe-bedo or Shoe-bedon't

Pergrinos are obsessed with their feet.  There are long discussions on El Camino forums about footwear--hiking boots vs. hiking shoes vs. trainers.  Goretex vs. leather.  1000 mile socks vs. smart wool socks.  Should you slather your feet with vaseline each day?  Toughen them by soaking them in tea?  All this discussion is about preventing the scourge of all long-distance walkers, the dreaded blisters.

I have read accounts of blisters the size of bagels.  Getting blisters can be extremely debilitating. They are not to be taken lightly.  And since you have only your feet to take you up to 500 miles or more, figuring out the best possible footwear is a very important decision.

As the date of for my pilgrimage drew near (less than 2 months now!) I  started to fret about my footwear.  The last couple of weeks my fretting grew into a fullblown footwear crisis.

Most experienced walkers recommend well-broken in boots, so almost a year ago, I bought a pair of Keen hiking boots to wear on our hiking vacation in Rocky Mountain National Park.  They worked out pretty well--no blisters!--but were maybe just a wee bit snug.  (I have since found out that Keens run small). But I had successfully hiked over some pretty rigorous terrain, so I put my fears aside and decided the Keens were fine.

But the other consistent bit of advice about footwear is that you should get your boots a little large because your feet will swell. There was definitely no room for swollen feet in these boots.

Thus my footwear angst.  Should I stick with my old hiking boots that had worked out pretty well last summer?  Was my nagging concern about my boots being too small a legitimate concern or just a product of my anxiety about my upcoming trek?  

Good weather and my schedule finally coincided a couple of weeks ago and I was able to get out for a 7-mile hike with my backpack loaded up with about 11 pounds of canned goods (about 3/4 of the weight I will be carrying on El Camino).  The pack made a big difference--the boots were definitely too small.

So I was off on a shoe shopping venture--and I wasn't looking for cute strappy sandals or an adorable pair of red high heels.  I was looking for sturdy, comfortable, waterproof boots.  (Waterproof is very important--no telling when you will be walking in an all day rainstorm.)

I tried on a pair of Merrells that felt great, but a little research on the internet revealed that the waterproofing didn't hold up.  I actually bought a pair of Vasque boots that felt great in the store and had gotten great internet reviews, but just wearing them around the house resulted in hotspots on my feet, the precursor of the dreaded blisters.  Those went back to the store and I went back to square one.

After some more checking, I ended up with another pair of Keens, identical to my old pair, only a size larger and in a different color.  I went out for a 8.8 mile walk today with another loaded pack and they were great!  So meet my 
new best friends. 

The prophet Isaiah wrote, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news..."  I don't think my feet will be beautiful in these boots.  Let's face it--they're pretty darn ugly.  But if my feet are dry, comfortable, and BLISTER-FREE, that will be good news indeed.