Day 81 | hard day in the heat & thoughts on hiking labels 

Whether you’re section hiking or thru-hiking, you’re still hiking and its an amazing journey!! And it's important to take care of yourself and do what’s best for you. I think you’re still a thru-hiker, but it doesn't matter what others think. Don’t take anything as an insult-just do you, Boujee! ❤

Hike your hike and don’t worry about anything people say. Just have fun and stay safe!

You’re a through hiker! Don’t let the judgmental people take away your joy. You’re doing great. I can’t imagine hiking in that heat and terrain.

I enjoyed your chatting, and pushing forward with your sore feet. Prayers for your feet!

I am a PT. It is plantar fasciitis. New shoes may help or an orthotic for arch support. You should be rolling your feet on a ball for massage- can just use the handles of your trekking poles, also can stretch you foot, look on RU-vid for plantar stretching.

You are doing amazing! Hike your own hike and listen to your body. :)

I would say thru hiker. Take care in the heat. Hope you find a remedy for your feet. Happy trails! 👣

You are a through hiker! If you are picky, you can come back and hike the sections you missed when the weather is cooler. It’s your hike, do what is best for you. That being said, I wish there wasn’t a stigma to being a section hiker. We sectioned the AT and in Maine, some young through hikers told me that I hadn’t really hiked the entire trail because I was a section hiker. Man, that hurt! My husband and I hiked the same 2000+ miles as they did. That was 30 years ado and it still hurts. I enjoy your videos. You are doing an awesome job!

BouJee, you got this buddy. Life shows us diversity, and will always challenge you no matter what we do. Its how you persevere and mentally push through the challenges that will guide you to feel so good about yourself further in life. Once you get to be teaching school, the students are going to challenge you as well. You will have days you want to quit, but it is how you push thorough the adversity and accept the challenges that god throws at us that will make you who you are. Hard times don’t last, hard people do. Nothing but a gut check You got this....Hike on my friend !!!

I find nothing to complain about you. Your amazing. People are nuts.❤❤. I have Plantars in both my feet. They have been killing me in this heat and it hurts so bad.Carry on.

You ain’t a hiker unless you’ve summitted Everest!! Nah it’s an incredible achievement thus far, and I’ve enjoyed your perspective all the way. Do what you gotta do, the journey certainly doesn’t end if you get off trail. Lots of healing vibes towards your feet ~

The heat really zaps your energy. Listen to what your body is telling you. Burney IS a nice town. We got stuck there once in a snowstorm and the town was without power. There was a restaurant with a grill and they were the only ones open. They would cook anything that could be grilled, so we didn't starve. Oh, and our transmission on our vehicle went out, but there was a transmission shop that fixed it for us. Nice people.

Boujee! You are doing great…stretch morning and night. Dipping in the water is a great idea. 🥾🥾🥾🙏🏻

1300 miles is no joke! You are on your own amazing journey! Go Boujee!

You are a thru hiker. Don't let anyone take that away from you.

Not even an issue...you are doing a good through hike...your hiking the PCT. Let it roll.

Lassen National Park needs to install a bear box in the middle of the hike where PCT hikers can camp without a bear can.

Good for you. Your body comes first

I think you may never be so lucky as to have another trail family like you have now and family is everything! You should enjoy every moment of the trail with them!

Maybe change your inserts? More cushioning and support.

❤ God's blessing!❤

The more the temperatures become extreme in each direction, it puts our bodies under much more stress to keep everything running smoothly. It is very important that each person/hiker takes notice of that and make adjustments. When things start hurting, that is our body telling us that something is wrong and needs attention. Several people have died here now recently mainly out West, due to underestimating the heat, losing the trail and then just running out of water. The last victims were father in his 50's and daughter mid 20's, so totally unnecessary. Your feet problems can be a whole host of things, over excertion, not enough rest, not enough water, or just plain overuse since you have hike sooooooo many miles. God says take care of your body, and put a side all those calculated daily milages that need to be done. Flexibility is the key and make changes as needed. Do not let anybody tell you that you are not a through hiker, if you need to take a break, what is it to them. Are you doing this hike to get a million dollars at the end like in the alone series, or are you hiking because YOU want to hike. Even if you quit right now over half way, wow what an accomplishment. Mentally coming to a half way point can be very rewarding, but then reality kicks in knowing 1/2 to go. So no sweat, half way there take care of your bodie's needs and that will help out Mentally as well to continue if you want. The absolute majority of long distance thru hikers will at some point have foot, leg, knee or back problems. Just take it easy and slow right now, and remember the hike should be fun. May God keep you safe.

Im 11 minutes into this video that I clicked to hear about ideas about hiking labels and it suddently hit me how all these hiking videos really are vessels for emotional venting more than anything else

The smell is sulfur. Normal for volcanic “water”. When I was a kid, we lived in Florida and my Dad had a deep well dug for yard stuff. It was artesian and smelled like you describe. In some places, that was all that people had to drink! Ewww!

Labels will drive you insane! 😅 I know I'm slow so I tell people just go ahead. If I die I die haha. Hike The Boujee way! Take in the scenery more and relax. I have flat feet so my arch pain is always 100% 🥲🔫 I use a spike ball and roll my feet around on it. The foot muscles are probably like....."excuse me? Sir, we are not used to this." If anyone tells you you're not a real hiker, slap the sh*t out of them.. mentally 😄 who are you proving to? You're doing hikes hardly anyone else is doing. Stay Boujeel 🏜💕🌌

Ouch! I’ve had plantar fasciitis and I know how bad it hurts. Stretching first thing in the morning helps a lot. Look up some stretches on RU-vid.

doing great

It is your hike.

You are thru hiking! You’ll go back and pick up those skipped miles at some point before you call the trail completed… but everyone in the middle of a thru hike still has miles to go… if they didn’t they wouldn’t be done and not on the hike because it is over! 😂

If you can find water soak your feet. That might be hard because of where you are. Good luck

Let's do the Bouj math. If your finish mileage is closer to 2562 miles then you are thru hiker, but if it's just one section = section hiker or a multi-section hiker. Also, there are "absolute" thru hikers and "season" thru hikers. That is if that season had closure that re-routed or stopped you, then you did the thru hike for that season. However, if you go back and re-do those skipped sections then you will be able to claim absolute thru hiking. Hang in there you completed the first half, which is the hardest part(deserts, Mt.San Jacinto, Sierras) Now it's low altitude mountains, humidity and bugs. Hopefully, you will get more forest coverage.

Could be B12! Depending on how your feet actually feel. If it is the whole underside which hurt then you need high dose methylcobalamin B12. If it is the arches then you need to strech and train your feet. Yes even though you are hiking. Hiking is an aerobic activity, it doesn't build muscle but wears and tears on joints. Next zero day in town look up information on foot massage, foot stretches and foot strengthening exercise and do them every day. Yes it is your hike the "section hike" commenter probably has mot hiked as far as you and felt a need to cut you down. It is not always posdible to hike the whole way because of fires, flooding and so on. It doesn't turn it into section hiking.

Volcanic water/hot springs smells like rotten eggs.

How many miles on the shoes? Do you use footbed inserts? Have you ever had your feet measured by an expert shoe fitter?

You hike your own hike and just because you don't hike the way other people think you should hike. Tell them to go pound sand. Because, you can't and shouldn't make everyone happy with what/ how you do things. Keep up your hike.

I assume you either have solved your foot issues, plantar or not, or you are already home preparing for teaching. But if you're still on trail with for problems, contact Blaze Physio, she paces the bubble and treats hikers along the trail, both online and in-person. Don't suffer needlessly.

You're not a thru-hiker unless you've pooped your pants at least once ;-)

I love sarcasm!! Your feet hurt so take a zero and don't do as many miles to stay with travel, my opinion only. Pray about it

I think you might be defining "thru hiker" differently than the person you were talking to. (Or, you are both defining "section hiking" differently.) Here is the definition of a thru hiker that AI came up with: "A thru-hiker is someone who hikes a long-distance trail in one go, from start to finish, and autonomously. Thru-hikes often involve trails that are thousands of miles long and take months to complete. Hikers may cross multiple regions or even countries, but some trails may be shorter and only cover smaller regions. The goal is to hike the trail in one or more connecting seasons." Here is the AI definition of section hiking: "Section hiking is a way to hike a long-distance trail in phases over time, rather than continuously trekking it in one go. Section hikers can choose the length of their sections, which can range from a weekend trip to months at a time. They can also pick the most scenic parts of the trail and hike in any order they like. The goal of section hiking is not necessarily to complete the entire trail, but some hikers may eventually do so."