It’s definitely starting to look like there could be some wet spells so I will be picking up some custard powder in Hastings this evening. I’ve always sworn by talcum powder to dry my feet but I’ve joined the revolution and started dusting my feet with custard powder. Ever since the Pulverbatch Plum Pudding Plod, it’s been custard for me every time

Reverting back to weather and wet feet: I’ve seen more cloud and raindrops in the last three hours near Hythe than in the last three weeks in NW England. Surely some mistake?!

As long as the post doesn't go on to also demonstrate Godwin's Law, I think we are fine!

This post has been great. Apart from the interesting subjects raised, it demonstrates the quantum theory of "topic entanglement"

Muddling back to the deviant part of the post...

The lotion for "higher up" regions as recommended by Mike C below has just arrived in the post. Knowing what was in the package, I got my 17-year-old daughter to open it. Her response: "How could you do that to me?"

It took two days to arrive, should anyone else be interested. Otherwise, I recommend a liberal douching with dew...

deviating back to the middle part of the post...
Sudocrem yes.
I heard of some chap though who, trying to be scrupulously clean "higher up", used the alcohol gel that often gets used on hands.
Apparently, that's the only thing it should be used for...

(and yes, "that chap" was me...)

maybe worth carrying a pair of gaiters, just in case......

Returning to the original subject of this discussion, if I am reading the information on https://www.wunderground.com/hourly/gb/folkestone/date/2018-05-27?cm_ven=localwx_hour correctly, dew is unlikely to be a problem as the temperature is forecast to stay above the dew point and the humidity below 100%.

However this forecast does suggest that there could be a bit of overnight rain, so still a chance of getting wet feet.

A friend recommended coconut oil for bum, boob or any other bodily chafing - on special offer at Holland and Barrett at the moment

Perhaps a bit more expensive, but surely much 'cleaner' for 'up there', both in applying (very simple, even 'on the go' - well, not quite literally, but no need to wait for a checkpoint / suitable facilities) and for any after effects on clothing etc, is Run Guard, which is an "All Weather, Any Distance, Anti-Chafe Stick". Available at sports shops (I bought in Sevenoaks) and eg RonHill website - £14 for a 2.7 oz stick. Intended for endurance athletes (so that rules me out!), available in at least a couple of forms, i) Unscented with Aloe Beeswax & Organic Carnauba (que?) and ii) as i) but with Shea Butter & Jojobo Oil (this version may be not unscented??).

Admittedly, I haven't road tested this much beyond 30 miles, yet.

Good luck to all this weekend.

Now we are getting to the bottom of a fundamental issue. This is what the forum is all about.

I can recommend Happy Bottom"Bum Butter": YES REALLY

https://www.charliethebikemonger.com/happy-bottom-bum-butter-vegan-cycling-chamois-butter-6781-p.asp


Available from specialist cycling shops. Works a treat, not sticky, fragrant

For chafing ‘higher up’ I recommend Sudocreme. It knocks the socks off everything else I have tried, like Vaseline.

However, as a preventative, I have found a quick washing out every twenty-five miles prevents chafing (caused by cotton fluff from the underpants) from becoming a problem. I use a 50ml squeezable hand gel bottle (Lidl do them, and probably most chemists) filled with water. I find 50ml adequate and the type that produces a jet of water from the middle of the top rather than the side easiest to use, as it squirts out less water each time.

The idea may seem a bit ‘yuk’ but if the alternative is miles and miles of agony …. A Hundred is hard enough without avoidable pain.

I'm hoping the faster people clear a path on the way to Burmarsh, through a tangled rape crop at 9.2 "...another fb. X large fld (355) (aim at white-walled house...) the path is visible but the crop is tall, and may be dew-wet.

BBC currently forecasts breezy at the weekend as it does for today but Beaufort would only call "light airs". Without more, grass is staying wet until midday. The 1st field after St. Margaret's will be particularly wetting with only a narrow path through the cereal crop; unless those in front have knocked the drops off for you.

On the Marshals' when I need to lie down to relieve my leaning back the grass was wet so tried the tarmac; and fell asleep in the road...

Simon, There is indeed a an effective product for 'a bit higher up'

See my email to you, just sent

mike

Cheers Mike. Just typing this before I apply the cocoa butter, recommended last year, and make my fingers too sticky for the keyboard.

I'll test the insoles. I can do spares because when I found a pair of shoes that fitted, I waited until they were discontinued and bought four more pairs (the last ones in the world, I think). Mice got into one of the boxes containing one pair of yet-to-be worn shoes. I washed them with another pair and now both smell of mouse wee.

Insoles and foot cream must indeed be full of interest for online eavesdroppers (can someone else do the Twitter for us?). Now, can you recommend any creams for applying a bit higher up...?

(don't worry: I did that one off-line).

Simon.

Cocoa butter works for me. Or Shea butter- from . Body Shop or Supadrug

If you want to go a bit more up market, Gerlachs GEHWOL Foot Cream is excellent and I like the fragrance of the natural botanical oils it contains. Like many German made products, it does wot it sez on the packet. Sudacreme is also a perfectly OK alternative although I find it a bit sticky.

Insoles can be tricky. In my experience, those made from an open cell foam (i.e like a micro sponge) are OK in dry conditions, but when wet can move about or slip in the shoe. The worst ones can actually roll up inside your shoe while in use. Good grief. Open cell foam (obviously) absorbs and retains a lot of water, becoming unpleasantly soggy and heavy.

If an (otherwise) really good pair of trainers comes with these horrible things, the insole goes in the bin and I use a closed cell foam replacement insole from my extensive portfolio such items. I always keep good insoles from old shoes. If you are not sure which type of insole you have in particular shoes, immerse the insole in water and if you have to (literally) wring them out afterwards to get the water out, it is an open cell foam. A quick test is that the under side of a closed cell insole is usually fairly smooth and NOT visibly porous.

It is not the time to experiment on a 100, but I have also used SUPAFEET insoles on several wet hundreds. I used the green ones, which (although firm) I have found to be surprisingly comfortable. They are an off the peg orthotic, which also holds the foot and prevents it slipping around in the shoe. However, I can also say (from other peoples feedback) that they do not suit everyone, and may not work or be comfortable for you.

Well - what an interesting life we lead when foot cream and types of insole is the top subject of our correspondence...

What kind of foot cream, Mike?

Spare insoles: makes sense. I have lots.

Everyone is different. What works for one person's feet may not work for another.

The combination of heat and hard dry rutted ground during the day was followed by very heavy dew on long grass and other vegetation at night. That will soak through almost anything. I managed without goretex (in any form) by changing socks frequently and applying foot cream. Waterproof socks may work for some people, but think the time for putting them on is after night fall. I suspect that during the day they will make your feet hot and sore...

Anyway, good luck everyone, it is a really great, wonderfully interesting, and scenic walk. And there are some surprisingly tough sections.. On paper, the route may look (relatively) undemanding in places, but you will need to keep your concentration and focus.

Let us hope for a clear night. we are getting a full moon ( it was booked in advance)

Spare insoles because the moisture gets in all round, and also if you change to dry insoles with dry socks, the socks stay dry a little longer. I use the 2-3mm thick insoles.
If you have an external net/mesh pocket on your rucksack, put the wet insoles in there to dry as you walk..

Thanks for this - a real problem for me on the Dorset because the wet grass soaked off the plasters over my blisters. I'm better at prevention now. I may buy some sealskins, but I'm puzzled: why spare insoles? PS Just checked the weather... no rain for days on end means we're presumably in for some seriously hard ground.

Experience on the marshals' walk shows that, though the main event weather (so far) looks to be dry, heavy dew will form on the grass overnight. Unless you have real confidence in your shoes' goretex lining, extra inner soles, extra socks and extra blister plasters are advisable. I normally use one or two blister plasters on a Hundred. This time I used five.