Feet

The one constant source of comment, complaint and conversation at anywhere I stopped was feet. How many blisters, how sore, how achy, how many bits were festering.....

I have never really had much of a problem with blisters or my feet and I was determined that I wasn't going to start now so I formulated a plan:

1. Clean socks every day which meant washing them each night as soon as I arrived at my accommodation. I took two pairs of Merino wool thick socks with me.
2. No matter how tired I was, I took the time to wash and dry my feet carefully each night and paid special attention to keeping the nails trimmed.
3. Gehwol extra foot cream from Bob and Rose at http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product200.asp?PageID=101 This is a fantastic product. Every night I took time to really massage it into my sore and aching feet. It has quite a nice smell and it's cooling and refreshing so really soothes your feet.

The tube was quite heavy to carry but it was worth every gram and every penny it cost.

I don't know if I was just lucky or if my plan worked, but I didn't get a single blister, hotspot or sore bit anywhere on my feet. Yes they ached at the end of a long day but apart from that I had no issues with them at all. If you are planning a long walk I suggest you invest some money in a tube and be thorough with your footcare every day no matter how tired you are - you won't regret it and it might make the difference between giving up and finishing.