Well my hiking buddy is down and out for a few weeks. He has a very sore toe.
Normally we take a three to five mile hike every day. A week ago he told me that after the previous days hike he inspected his toes and a stream of bloody pus shot from a problem toe. I suggested that he go to the clinic operated by his health plan and get the toe looked at. I thought at the least they would put him on an antibiotic.
I suggest that we cut our hike down, but he would not hear of it. I then suggest that he go home and soak his foot/toe in warm water and work the pus out of the toe. I told him that when I get a sore toe I make sure the toenail is properly trimmed. As I get older my toenails are starting to look like my parents at this age.
A few years ago I had a discussion with my doctor because my big toe nails are curling into a large “C” shape cutting into the meat. The doctor suggested that I file the top center of the nail creating a hinge. This works great. I make a point of doing it every two months or sooner if needed.
My toenails are tough to say they least. I use a large set of cutters to get the leverage needed to cut them. I always make sure my nails are taken care of before deer season and the proper clipper is in my camping gear along with a large nail file, and antibiotic ointment. After a hard day of hiking I will clean my feet and rub the ointment around and under my toenails.
My friend did not take care of his infected toe. The other day I saw him driving out just before dark. We later talked by telephone; he was on his way to the all-night medical clinic. His toe had swollen two or three times the normal size and was badly infected. The doctors had to split the toenail and cut along side each side of the nail to drain the infection from his toe.
My friend had greatly improved his hiking speed and distance the last few months. He even dropped a few pounds in the process. They stuffed the incisions in his toe with cotton to keep them from shutting so the infection could drain. It will be weeks before he will be able to wear a pair of closed toe shoes, much less boots. Hopefully the gains he made in conditioning will not be lost.
Taking care of your feet is important all year. A major toe infection can have a negative impact of your ability to hunt come fall or take part in other activities. The other day my grandson and I walked from a train station to his college campus, around the campus, and visited nearby business.
I had not planned on hiking to the campus when numerous city buses went to and from the station to the campus. But my cross-country running grandson told me he does not ride buses because the drivers are crazy and he prefers to walk. Admittedly after the train ride I was ready for a walk. I know how far we walked because I started the Trip Computer on my gps, after creating a waypoint at the station. I felt good because at the end of the day my feet were still healthy, and we put in nine miles on hard surfaces. I must admit the old body was tired and I slept good that night. We walked nine miles that day. He told grandma that if I went down he would have called 911.
Some time back I read an article written by a hunting guide regarding hunter preparedness. He described how an expensive hunt failed because a hunter had failed to trim his nails and they caused him grief of steep slopes. The hunter could not complete the hunt because of complications caused by the long toe nails.
