Hike for a Hospital

Mile 179. We all slept in and style, merideth, steve climber, jackass, molasses and i walked the mile into town just before midday for breakfast. I had another bacon cheeseburger and bottomless dr pepper. It was delicious. Merideth ate all her biscuits and gravy as well as another breakfast. Well done Merideth.

We talked to jackass about the different foods we should be eating on the trail. The best foods to eat are grains, dried fruit and good oils - not saturated fats. Complex carbohydrates are the best for long burning energy wheras sugars and fats shouldnt be eaten before a big climb. This advice hit home as I was eating almost the opposite types of foods and struggling with my energy levels. This was compounded when I went to the gear outfitter and weighed myself. I had lost 20 pounds in 179 miles. At that rate I will be -ve 46 pounds when I get to Canada. Obviously something had to change. I went to the harvest market organic grocer where detour's girlfriend Katie works. I got dried papaya and mango, some granola and tortillas as well as dehydrated beans for protein. I hope the change from my patented candy, soda and burger diet will help stem the weight loss and increase my energy.

I have been having a lot of problems with my feet and I changed to "super feet" insoles at kickoff. Theese insoles are hard orthotics and they have stopped my blisters. However, I have been getting increasingly intense pain in the whole sole of my foot as the orthotics reshape my foot. Its like the feeling when you are standing all day on a steel rack cutting kidneys at the meatworks, but then when you walk, someone decides to hit your foot with a large wooden mallet each time you step.

On a side note, my foot problems are nothing compared to some of the injuries other people are walking on every day without complaining. Half foot sized blisters and infected calluses are examples of these.

I decided to get some new shoes as my north face trail runners had lost all cushioning in the heel. I tried some size 12 shoes on and they felt snug. This surprised me as size 11 ist normal size. I tried on some size 13 montrail sabinos and they felt perfect. From what I can remember from the books I have read, your stretched feet do not shrink back. I'll be real god at swimming once I am done hiking. I will be flipper - king of the ocean.

After going to the grocer for a couple of last minute items I started talking to a couple of hikers outside. They had a familiar smell and appearance, however these turned out to be professional hikers, who wear sweatpants and have shopping trolleys instead of packs. I had a good chat to them about new Zealand beer. I told them to be on the lookout for double brown.

Griffin sang monty python songs and told bad jokes. It was a good night.