NJ->Pine Barrens->Batona Trail Thru-Hike FAIL 11/7/14

[SilvrSurfr]

Well, my Batona Trail thru hike didn't go as expected.

First day I did 21.7 miles in 7.5 hours (2.89 miles per hour) no problem, with five miles of night hiking. Aircoder was at Batona and gave me a ride back to my car. When we got back to Batona, Aircoder made some wonderful steak quesadillas and we chatted around the campfire till late.

Second day, Aircoder cooked bacon and eggs. What a way to start a hike! I left Batona and hiked three hours straight, about ten miles. After the break, my feet were stiff and just frozen up with pain. I could barely stand. I went from doing 2.89 miles per hour, to one mile an hour. I called my bailout buddy SilentOrpheus and he came and got me at Batso Village.

SilentOrpheus and NJRedneck cooked brats and grilled veggies for dinner. For breakfast njredneck made his world-famous sausage gravy over potatoes.

So overall, I did 22 miles on day one and 12 on day two. That's a one-day, and two-day record for me. I would have liked to have accomplished the entire 53-mile Batona Trail in three days (my original goal), but it was a fun experience.

Video and pics to follow.

[SilvrSurfr]

On day two I made a major error in switching to thinner socks, not the socks I usually hike with. They had decreased cushioning, and especially decreased wicking capabilities. My feet were much more moist and I developed blisters on the balls of my feet between the big toe and the next one, as well as blisters on the outside of my heels, approximately .5 inch up.

Still working out the sock thing.

[mrcheviot]

That's a respectable two day total!

Thinner socks same material? Merino? I think I'm finding the forefoot blisters like you're describing occur most frequently when the toe box of the shoe can't be snugged. I think a thinner sock is better than sliding around inside a cushioned one in avoiding them, but breathability and wicking are definitely more important.

Any ideas re: the foot pain?

[SilvrSurfr]

That's a respectable two day total!

Thinner socks same material? Merino? I think I'm finding the forefoot blisters like you're describing occur most frequently when the toe box of the shoe can't be snugged. I think a thinner sock is better than sliding around inside a cushioned one in avoiding them, but breathability and wicking are definitely more important.

Any ideas re: the foot pain?

I shouldn't have switched from socks that worked for me to thinner socks. That's all I can deduce from my experience.

[silentorpheus]

We kept the mockery to a minimum - after all, 34 miles in two days is still a solid showing.

Though we were informed that if he started talking crazy about heading out to finish the next morning, we should soft shackle him into his hammock until he came to his senses. He mustered some half hearted bravado around the camp fire that night about hiking the next day, but by morning common sense prevailed.

Either way, it was a nice night in the pines on Saturday. Low temp of 32 overnight meant that by 9 or 10pm it was much more enjoyable next to the fire than it was away from the fire. Moon was crazy bright (2 days after full) so headlamps were only needed for specific chores. Beautiful sleep in the Barrens.

[The Tree Frog]

Hey Silvr, sorry you didn't make it but that was a great attempt. Nothing to be ashamed of there. Nice to have a backup plan and a great group of people available to help out a brother.

[SilvrSurfr]

Hey Silvr, sorry you didn't make it but that was a great attempt. Nothing to be ashamed of there. Nice to have a backup plan and a great group of people available to help out a brother.

Yes, I greatly appreciated the support of aircoder, njredneck and silentorpheus. When I had four miles to go on Saturday, and knew that my pace had slowed dramatically, I started thinking about whether I could finish the day's goal. The answer was yes, I could have finished, but instead of finishing at 4:45 pm, I probably wouldn't have finished until 7:30 or 8 pm. After five miles of night hiking the previous night, I was just in no mood for night hiking especially with sore feets. I also started thinking about how inconvenient it would be for my support team to have to come pick me up so late, so it was an easy decision.

I'll take another crack at it one of these days - probably do a NOBO and save the 21.7 miles for the last day.

[FLRider]

That's definitely a respectable distance.

Lessons learned are always good, even if they're painful at the time.

Regarding socks: did you change the material they're made of or just the thickness?

[SilvrSurfr]

That's definitely a respectable distance.

Lessons learned are always good, even if they're painful at the time.

Regarding socks: did you change the material they're made of or just the thickness?

Thickness - I was using sock liners with wool socks, but occasionally got toe blisters. Then mrcheviot talked me into skipping the sock liners, and that worked well on the first day. So on the second day, I went to thinner wool socks.

So I think the blisters on the balls of my feet were avoidable. I'm not sure about the heel blisters - I've had an issue with blisters there all my life, and they're not really even blisters. It's something about the way my heel strikes the ground that causes compression of the tissue about 1/2 inch up the outside of the heel. A blister is from friction, and I get these compressions without friction. I've searched the Internet and can't find anything about what I'm encountering.

I do know that the tougher my feet are, the less I notice them. My feet weren't particular tough for this outing.

[aircoder]

Sorry to hear you didn't make the goal, but non the less you did pretty dam good. You broke two personal records and the most important part is you had fun in the piney woods. There are very few people whom can say they hiked 21.7 miles in one day. Besides you can always try again another time.