One of the things that Annabel Abbs talks about, in her book “Windswept” about walking women, is how women walkers are simultaneously trapped by their female bodies and empowered when they push their physical limits. I feel this here. A vulnerability to the elements, to other people, and to my own frailties. However, I also feel my power. I feel addicted to the way I can travel. I want to go further, faster, steeper.
My feet have been the part of my body that I have to listen to the most. A Camino rule is to stop when you feel any twinge of a hot spot and address it before it gets bad. Two layers of socks, antifriction cream, moleskin, and silicone toe covers mitigate the blisters, but my feel themselves are bruised from carrying myself and my pack over elevation changes that would make any Floridian faint.
I am thankful for my walking poles, as they have saved me a number of times already from nasty falls down steep and treacherous rocky declines. Mom and I agree that we feel like we had been lied to about trekking poles. For years in Colorado they seemed excessive, and just one more thing to carry. Now, we have realized their immense value to stabilize our top heavy packs and recover from rolled ankles due to loose rocks.