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Wearing
The Wrong Socks,
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Or
Boots With Sharp Teeth?
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Next morning we set off at 7 45 am. It soon grew into the baking hot day we anticipated, as we climbed steadily towards Khandbari, the administrative centre for the region. We had very long rests today, as it was uncomfortably hot for the porters with their full loads.
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Rest stop: and none too soon judging by the faces |
I cursed the cycle of events that began with the foot and mouth outbreak in the UK. Just before the outbreak I had used my trekking boots in land where animals grazed. Worried about contamination, I bought a new pair of boots. There wasn't time to wear them in properly, but they fitted like gloves... Half an hour before our lunch stop I began to feel some uncomfortable rubbing in my heels. When we stopped for lunch I saw that I had already worn away several layers of skin in both heels. |
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Pat said it was because I had worn the wrong socks. He swore by good old-fashioned 'Wellington socks' - none of these modern wicking socks for him. Tim gave me a blister kit with 'second skin' in it. Despite this, I was soon in real discomfort, as the 'second skin' rolled to one side and exposed the sensitive skin layers underneath. |
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At the end of the day, at Mane Banjyang, my heels were an absolute mess; there was no way that I could wear boots tomorrow. My only other footwear was a pair of carpet slippers, for use around camp. If the porters could walk almost anywhere using flip-flop sandals, then surely I could do a day's walking in slippers. |
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Next Mane Banyjang Back Slippers Before The Snows
