The most common question:
How many pairs of shoes did you need
for the walk across Canada?
The answer is four.
They weren’t shoes exactly.
They were hiking sandals.
Each pair lasted between 1,400 and 1,900 kilometers.
After I finished walking across Canada,
the fourth pair was still good for hiking.
At least for a few more weeks.
Since I had a jogging stroller,
and didn’t have to carry
the extra weight on my back,
I always carried fresh pairs of shoes,
each pair identical in brand and size.
As one pair was coming to the end of its life,
I would start wearing a new pair
for a couple of hours each day to break them in.
Then I would switch back to the old pair.
This helped, I think,
to reduce the number of blisters
I got with the new pair of shoes.
Even then, there were always
fresh blisters with a new pair of shoes.
Always blisters,
blisters,
blisters.
