Days 10 and 11: Arras

April 23-24 2019

Note: This is mostly about my feet. If you don’t want to read a lot of boring stuff about my feet, here are the main points: they were severely injured/blistered; I got help; they’re healing now.

It had become clear that something serious had to be done about my feet. I’d show you pictures, but I think I’d have to put an advisory warming on the journal if I did. Gnarly.

I had long, deep blisters on the pads of my feet just under (and in between the big toe and second toes on each), and I lost two toenails (both the second toes of each foot). By the time I woke up in Arras and the 23rd, I couldn’t walk. My left foot especially was swollen.

This frustrated me because I took great care to plan well. I tried different brands of hiking shoes and picked two I like. I walked hundreds (not an exaggeration) of miles in both pairs (note, I realize now I didn’t walk a lot with 25 pounds of extra weight). I have both pairs with me and I alternate between them. I also tried a bunch of socks and they are comfortable and moisture-wicking.

At noon on Tuesday the 23rd it was so bad I was seriously considering cancelling my next four stops and just catching a train to Laon to let them heal. The idea made me very sad, but I didn’t know what else I could do. I didn’t want to risk making things even worse, like getting a terrible infection, especially in a small village where I might not have access to resources.

I decided to wait to make any final decisions until the morning I had to leave. In the meantime, I decided to forgo any elaborate excursions in Arras in favor of procuring aid for my feet and helping them heal.

Here’s where I stayed (the top-3rd-floor in that center building):

Luckily there was a pharmacie two doors down, a boulangerie 1 block down, and a fromagerie 2 blocks up. 🙂 I was also right across from Arras cathedral (those bars to the left were for the cathedral park), and the bell tower was a 5 minute walk up.

Like I mentioned, on the first morning I woke up in Arras I couldn’t really walk properly on my feet so I wrapped them tight and used my hiking sticks as crutches and went shopping for supplies. I got disinfectant for the open ones, rubbing alcohol (to help the dry out), extra compeed, and gauze. I went straight back home and elevated them on the bed, changing the gauze and reapplying disinfectant and rubbing alcohol every hour. When I needed to get up I wrapped them tightly and used my walking sticks for support.

By Wednesday morning the swelling had gone down and I could put more reasonable pressure on them. I went over to the pharmacist and explained my predicament and asked what I could do to help (and prevent) them. He was super helpful. These types of blisters on the pads of feet at the toe line are often from carrying extra weight, causing (in some people) the pads and toes to curl/scrunch together to accommodate the extra weight. They’re often seen a lot in long-distance hikers and pregnant women (or people who gain a lot of weight quickly and are on their feet a lot). He said the best thing is to try to keep the area as dry as possible (because healing can be extra tricky in creases, as there are between toes). He recommended some rubber rings to put on my toes to help them land better, another spray disinfectant to prevent infection, and pain medication (like a heavy-duty ibuprofen) with directions to not take more than 3 a day.

I also took the chance while I was out to see the bell tower and the cathedral.