Wk+ long trips on-the-trail feet fixes

Don't know what was making your callus painful, but for me it often happens when the callus is dry and cracking. Application of some sort of ointment to moisturize and protect from abrasion, sometimes along with a piece of Leukotape to protect it for a while has been the fix for me. If you have nothing else, olive oil can be helpful. Then, figure out what about your shoe is rubbing, and chop it out to remove the rubbing. It might be as simple as thinner socks to reduce the volume inside the shoe. Maybe your toe box needs wider volume, or if on your heels a different insole. Me, I'm going to be sad when I finally work through all the Hydropel I have stashed.

i have had callous's get so thick they tried to develop an opinion of their own, and thence make a very deep and long-to-heal blister far inside the foot. (several months until it grows out.. all bad)
to that end, i now remove them using a 36 grit sanding disk (unpowered). simply step out of the shower and sit down, the thing will be all soft'ish, and you can sand happily away, ridding yourself of lots of that dead white skin.
we have been thru this previously, but Do Not do this after you drink a bottle of wine and try to get it all the first time.
after a few showers and sandings, the callous will be appropiriately nice and thin, and move/flex as it is supposed to.

on a long trip, one might cut up into smaller pieces the rather massive 5" sanding disk in the name of ul.

that there will pre-trip fix overthick callouses. a few touch ups when washing the feets will keep them at bay during a trip.

many seem to have settled on Leukeo-P tape and tincture of benzoin as the one stop cure for blisters.
peter made a boot stretcher out of his McHale pack bayonet stays, and on occasion, this has been a useful tool.

Here is a site that might be helpful. But the most helpful thing to do is to consistently care for your feet. Stop calluses from getting too thick, keeping feet moisturized and pre taping hot spots.
Oh and getting shoes in larger sizes….

http://fellrnr.com/wiki/Taping

I don't get out on these long treks, but I do spend 12 hours on my feet at work and I have certain areas that develop painfully thick callouses. I just take a long snap-blade razor knife and shave them down. I guess it depends on how thick they get, but it's pretty obvious where the callous stops and the skin starts. And boy does it feel good to walk again!

The only remedy for foot problems that I've found to consistently work is resting your feet so that they can heal.

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it's the only real solution that I've found.

Once the problem begins, you're pretty much going to have to let it heal. Now you can do your best to prevent problems in the first place by using proper fitting shoes and keeping your feet and socks as clean as possible throughout your trip, but once things get going I've found it's hard to get it resolved without simply giving your feet time to heal.

With all that said, you can try and "walk through" the foot problems, maybe by subjecting your feet to lighter days for a stretch, but know in advance that this isn't going to be a fun process.

If your feet are really bad then you can try changing things up by hiking in your "camp shoes" (if you brought any), but that is usually just a temporary fix, as you will most likely develop secondary foot problems from hiking long distances in your camp shoes.

I once did a very ambitious and epic 11-day Appalachian bushwack with a good friend, and his heel blisters got so bad over the course of the trip that he walked the last 3 miles barefoot. It was bad, but ended up being better than the alternative for him.

Having foot issues on any extended backpacking trip is just not fun. No way around that, I think.

Thanks for the responses, so I will bump to see if there's any other advice out there. Just some specific responses …

Having foot issues on any extended backpacking trip is just not fun. No way around that, I think.

That's what I was worried about ..

… i now remove them [callouses] using a 36 grit sanding disk (unpowered)…on a long trip, one might cut up into smaller pieces the rather massive 5" sanding disk in the name of ul. …that there will pre-trip fix overthick callouses. a few touch ups when washing the feets will keep them at bay during a trip.

many seem to have settled on Leukeo-P tape and tincture of benzoin as the one stop cure for blisters.

Will do both, thx

http://fellrnr.com/wiki/Taping ….. [reversed] and getting shoes in larger sizes….

Great link and I will need to bring a large piece of tape that large. The larger shoes are a little problematic though, as the last time I tried it with an extra 1/2 to 1 size (and thicker socks) … it felt like wearing clown shoes.

Then, figure out what about your shoe is rubbing, and chop it out to remove the rubbing. It might be as simple as thinner socks to reduce the volume inside the shoe. Maybe your toe box needs wider volume, or if on your heels a different insole

There wasn't much to chop as it was the surface of the insole where the balls of the feet meet. Should have looked at your other solutions though (REI here I come).

I just take a long snap-blade razor knife and shave them down. I guess it depends on how thick they get

Not quite that bad but yikes. My problem was the location of a small callous, .. right where my foot strike started. Could have done a different strike I guess but that would've lessened my daily mileage anyways.

this is an repeat of an old subject, but if you have a hot spot, and wish you could stretch it out of your shoe, this is the tool that yee seek.
pic is the business end of the Bunion Stretcher tongs. you shove whatever you want stretched between that hole and the ball, squeeze the handles, and anything in there gets bigger. is a cobblers tool. the background is the awesomely accurate RotoTrim paper cutter (from B and H).

I get callouses on the sides of my feet that end up pushing into my foot causing a good deal of pain. I started shaving them down with a cheap Bic razor and that eliminated the issue. I just wish I would have discovered this prior to my thru hike, it would have saved me considerable pain.

Also, I found that it is much easier to shave them when your foot is very dry vs. right out of the shower or having wet feet.