Why Your Feet Decide the Day

On a long day in the hills, it is rarely your legs that send you back to the car early. It is a hot spot on the heel, a toenail pressing into its neighbour, or a pair of socks that have been damp since the second hour. Feet are the only part of you in constant contact with the ground, and they take a battering on everything from Lakeland slate to Highland bog and chalk downland flint. The good news is that footcare is not complicated. A ten-minute routine before you set off, a proper stop at lunchtime and a short session at the end of the day will carry you comfortably through twenty miles of mixed terrain.

Start With Nails and Skin Before You Set Off

Most long-distance foot trouble begins in the week before the walk, not on the day itself. Give yourself time to put things right.

• Trim toenails straight across, leaving the corners just proud of the nail bed. Cut them too short and the nail edge digs into the toe on steep descents; leave them too long and the boot presses the nail back into the cuticle, which is how black toenails happen.
• File every sharp corner smooth. A jagged nail edge rubbing against its neighbour is one of the most common causes of misery on a long descent.
• Deal with hard skin days in advance. File heels and the balls of your feet gently over the week before a big walk, not the morning of it. Freshly filed skin on a long day is tender skin.
• Moisturise dry skin, but keep cream away from between the toes, where it softens the skin and encourages maceration — the white, wrinkled, fragile state that tears easily.
• Leave at least a few days between cutting your nails and a long walk. Freshly cut nails have sharp new edges.

Check your boots too. A shoe that has sat in a cupboard for months can have hardened leather or a collapsed heel counter, and laces that have lost their stretch will not hold a heel-lock lacing pattern properly.

Get the Sock System Right

One thick sock is rarely the answer on a long day. Two thin layers work better, because the layers slide against each other rather than against your skin.

• A thin liner sock next to the skin, in a synthetic or fine merino blend, moves moisture away and takes the friction.
• A cushioned outer sock in wool or a wool blend adds warmth and padding without holding water against the foot.
• Check the seams and the fit. A sock that wrinkles under the arch or bunches at the heel will rub, no matter how good the fibre.
• Carry at least two spare pairs on any walk over three hours, even in summer. Wet feet soften, and soft feet blister.

The Lunchtime Reset

This is the single most valuable habit you can build, and it takes ten minutes. Sit down properly, take your boots and socks off, and give your feet air.

• Air your feet for five to ten minutes. Dry skin is tough skin, and even a short break lets damp skin recover.
• Change your socks at lunch, even if the first pair feels only slightly damp. Your feet will notice the difference by mid-afternoon.
• Wring out the old pair, shake them and hang them on your pack to dry. Keep damp socks in a bag away from your dry spare.
• Check the usual suspects: heels, the base of the toes, the sides of the big toe and anywhere a seam or lace pressure point sits.

If it is raining hard, at least dry your feet with a small towel or buff and put on the fresh pair. It is a small luxury that pays for itself over the next ten miles.

Act on Hot Spots Immediately

A hot spot is that first warm, tender, rubbing sensation — the warning before a blister forms. The longer you ignore it, the more certain it becomes. Stop within a few minutes of noticing it, not at the next summit.

• Dry the area thoroughly before applying anything. Adhesive will not stick to damp skin.
• Use a blister plaster or a piece of zinc oxide tape over the hot spot. Round the corners of tape so it does not lift at the edges.
• For an intact blister, use a hydrocolloid blister plaster and leave it alone. Do not pop it — that turns a nuisance into an infection risk.
• If a blister has already burst, clean it, dress it and keep it covered. Do not put tape directly onto broken skin.
• Recheck it after an hour. If the dressing has rolled or moved, replace it before it does more harm than good.

Carrying a small foot kit — plasters, tape, a tiny pair of scissors, a dry cloth and a spare pair of socks — weighs almost nothing and has rescued countless long days.

Looking After Your Feet at the End of the Day

The walk is not quite finished when you reach the car or the bothy. Wash your feet in cool water if you can, then dry them carefully, especially between the toes. Inspect them in good light: look for red patches, maceration, black toenails and any broken skin. Elevate your feet for twenty minutes while you eat — it reduces swelling and eases the ache.

Change into trainers or sandals and let your boots dry away from direct heat, stuffed with newspaper if they are wet. Rinse your socks and hang them, so tomorrow begins with clean, dry kit. Treat any broken skin with a little antiseptic, and cover anything that could rub again. Then repeat the whole routine tomorrow morning — nails checked, feet dry, socks fresh, and the first hot spot dealt with the moment it appears.