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Hi all,
All of a sudden my trek is only about a fortnight away (I'm doing the 19th June trek) and I'm starting to get a little nervous while hundreds of questions start popping into my brain.
Will I be fit enough? All the more worrying when I read the training other people have been doing. I did a 5 hour walk with my pack yesterday which went ok at the time but I found that I couldn't keep my eyes open after 7:30 last night and woke with legs that have soreness in muscles which I forgot I had. Can I do that and more every day for over a week? Maybe I'll need to hire a massuer rather than a porter.
There's many questions on euipment that come to me (usually when I'm trying to get to sleep) but the biggest one I have is regarding keeping my feet dry. I've always been a bit of a minimalist when it comes to equipment and to my girlfriends disgust have always had a "she'll be right" attitude when trekking.
However I know from previous experience that there's not much worse than walking all day with sopping wet feet. Could anyone pass on any advice whether it's advisable to have fully waterproof boots? Mine are of the synthetic water resistant variety. Will these be okay if I've got a pair of gaiters as mentioned in the equipment list? I'm expecting areas of mud but will we have to walk through sections of water?
Any info greatly appreciated. Look forward to meeting you other 19th June trekkers.Cheers,
Andrew” border=”0″ alt=”smile.gif”/></p></div></div><div
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class=bbp-reply-post-date>04/06/2005 at 2:49 am</span>
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Andrew,
sounds exciting… <img src="http://developer2/board/upload/style_emoticons//biggrin.gif” style=”vertical-align:middle” emoid=”:D” border=”0″ alt=”biggrin.gif” /> remember that you have to walk for about 4-6 hours a day every day, up and down hills…. (not flat).
Regarding the wet feet, most advice I've heard is get the BEST pair of boots money can buy. Normally they are only about $250-$300ish. Get the best pair of socks too – they're from the hiking store and costs about $40 a pair.
Problem is you need to get used to a pair of boots for about a month or two… otherwise you might get blisters.
Also what I heard is that you will walk through water for about…. more than people can remember…. approximately there would be about 20-30 river crossings I think. What they would normally do is walk without the boots (take them off), then dry the feet before wearing the boots again. But the porters / guides will tell you what best to do and they'll help you.
In some areas you need gaiters, or what Gail found that she prefers to wear trousers, but this is personal preference. Either way, there should be something that covers your legs to avoid getting scratches from the grass and other things
<img src="http://developer2/board/upload/style_emoticons//biggrin.gif” style=”vertical-align:middle” emoid=”:D” border=”0″ alt=”biggrin.gif” />
Hi AndrewDon't worry, we all go through these thoughts of 'What if … etc?', but I believe you will survive OK.
It will be a shock to the system initially, but you will get used to it and you don't have to be the fastest and first in each night.
Re your concerns over wet feet, I to worried about that, as the thought of having damp/wet socks chaffing my feet did concern me. Obviously you do try and not to get them wet but minor accidents do happen and when they do, you just keep plodding on.
Also on some mornings you do put damp socks on (not very pleasant at 0630) and the same goes with shirt and shorts but within 30 mins they are the same temperature as your body and you don't give it a second thought.
You can try to dry them over the fire of a night/morning but doesn't always work due to time constraints and everyone else is thinking the same thing.
I/we did take of our shoes on occasions when crossing some rivers but this only happened a few time and when we crossed the Goldie River on the last day just before climbing into Owers Corner, 5 of us crossed the River with shoes on and squelched our way up the hill.
My best advice for feet, is to cover them with a good covering of vaseline (in and around toes and heels), which helped me considerably, as I didn't suffer blisters the whole trip, which was an initial concern.
Good luck and I'll be reading up on your progress.
Cheers
Warren (Trek 83)
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