Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Overdoing it

I am scheduled to day hike Whitney on Thursday,June 24th.

I just got back from a 17-mile round trip training hike (3,500 ft elevation gain)......and my feet are killing me!! I didnt really take any long breaks.....just wanted to get it over with, I guess, to be able to get back to the family.

My training has been to walk on the treadmill with the incline all the way up on the weekdays and to get out and hike on the weekends.

I feel like my stamina (lungs/cardio/etc) is great! I fully expect my feet (and just about everything) to be sore after Whitney!!

I guess my question is: Do you guys back away from your training regimen when you get really close to your scheduled Whitney climb??

I am thinking that it might be wise to back off on the treadmill next week, maybe get a light hike in next weekend, and then take it easy the week of the hike.

Do you guys have any advice or suggestions????

Hey Rob111, avoid any 17 mile hikes the week before. I climbed the White Mtn 4 days before I made it up Whitney last August and I think that even that 14 miles was too much. Your exercise regimen as stated will be enough to give you a shot. Start early and avoid greasy food a few days before hand and you will be ret to go. Enjoy the adventure.

Wut?!? Why? My eating regiment has been to eat burger/pizza before, during and after a climb.

so the only issue here is sore feet

need more information on age/condition of those feet and type of shoes or boots.

If I'm not in my best shape to begin with, I work hard on conditioning, including long hikes, up to the 2nd week before a Whitney dayhike, then the weekend before the hike I back off and do something less strenuous. This saves the feet from being too beat up for the day of the Whitney hike by giving them two weeks to recover from the harder training hikes. In other words, don't do your hardest training hikes the week before a Whitney dayhike, do easier ones the week before your Whitney attempt. So, yeah, backoff the week before, unless you're in super good shape to begin with in which case, nevermind, you won't have a problem anyway no matter what you do.
My traditional night-before-a-dayhike meal has been a nice big ol' cheeseburger and fries, usually from the Portal Store. Never noticed any ill effects from one of those.

My hard training ends two weeks before a big trip. I do this for a couple of reasons...one being injury.

If your feet are killing ya after 3,500' over 8.5 miles of descent, good luck doing 6,000' over 11 miles. Do yourself a big favor, stop and dunk your feet in Lone Pine Creek at Trailside Meadow. This will reduce the width of your feet by one or two widths and make the last 3,000' down a lot easier.

It's not good that you have painful feet. Whitney will be much worse. It may be too late for you to adjust footwear, but that would be a consideration. Replacing the insoles (the ones that come in boots are basically worthless) with some that cushion would help a lot. Taking hourly breaks *where you get off your feet!*, will make a huge difference. Changing your socks to dry ones every few hours, soaking your feet when you have the opportunities, both will help.

Painful feet is true misery.

There is a great book on the subject: "Fixing your Feet"

Rob, you should pick up a good book or article on training for long endurance events such as a marathon...the training concepts and nutrition will be similar. The practice of decreasing your training before the event is known as "Tapering"....you need to become familiar with it, as well as the concept of "Overtraining"...it will save you a lot of unnecessary pain and wear and tear on your body.

Ligament/tendon overuse or injury should be respected as scary things, but if you get blisters keep in mind that 1) simple duct tape over the blister will keep the skin on for several days (while being simpler and more effective than mole skin) and 2) the pain diminishes after a couple of hours of walking. Soreness is normal after a nearly 20 mi hike... just be wary of PAIN and nagging soreness.

I am 32 years old.

Yesterday, I was hiking in my low top Merrill hiking shoes. I wish I would have worn my LaSportiva Trengos that are high tops with great ankle support. Actually, this is the first time I have ever had this type of foot pain (lateral side of my arch). I have gone through blisters, rubbing, all the normal stuff in the past.

I talked to my doctor last night and described my situation. He thinks I have a minor plantar fasciitis and told me to take it easy the next few days. He said I should have had my high tops on to help prevent. Anybody else had this before??

I know everybodys feet are different. For me, I am going with the La Sportivas. I cant believe some can summitt in just running shoes.............and heaven forbid the dudes in their barefeet all the way to the summitt......lol

to explain, my doc thinks that the ankle support from high tops would have reduced the pressure placed on that lateral side of my arch. My wife tells me I walk like a duck

see Ken's good advice about midsole support.

A very common problem in athletes, military, and long distancers is "nutcrackering" the navicular or other midfoot bone, with pain on the dorsum (top) or lateral side (as you described) of the foot below the ankle. This is NOT the same as plantar fasciitis which is on the plantar (bottom) the foot. (Note for clarification: lateral side of the foot actually means the little toe side, Did you mean that? Medial side of the foot is the big toe side)

The location of point tenderness noted by the examining foot specialist, Xray, bone scan, or MRI can all be used to identify the dx. When all is said and done, try Ken's advice. On a personal note, I've even been known to stuff a folded handkerchief under someone's insufficient mid-arch support as an emergency aid. Worked pretty well, actually. Harvey

Harvey, thank you for your comments. In lateral, I mean the little toe side. The discomfort is in the arch (not the side of my foot).......the most lateral aspect of the arch.

Lots of ice and ibuprofen.....the pain is still there, but has subsided quite a bit since yesterday.