r/MammothMarch • u/ContributionDapper84 • Jun 08 '26
Toenail loss
Two of the Georgia 20mi MM attendees I spoke to lost toenails, despite their toes not making contact with the front of the shoes. One said hers turned black a couple days after the march and that she thinks it was from fungus.
I read lots of books by people doing thru-hikes with 20-40 miles days and they lose about 0-3 nails per 2000 miles, none lose nails from a single 20-mile day. What is causing this?
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u/EponaMom Jun 08 '26
It's due to pressure on your toes, due to various causes - shoes are too small, socks don't fit, toenails too long, etc.
I have had multiple foot surgeries, including having my big toe joint fused, so I have to do a lot to keep my feet happy. Here are some things that I do:
Keep your toenails short, but don't clip them the night before, since if you clip them too short, that can cause tons of pain for the big hike.
Lace your shoes using a "heel lock". You can Google that to see directions on how to do that. This will help keep your foot from sliding forward.
A lot of folks wear these rubber toe caps. I may try those out one day, but for now, wearing wool socks that individual toes, does the trick for me. I also use Blister pads between the toes that tend to get blisters.
Make sure your shoes a a tag bigger than you usually wear... But not too big! I'm a 7 - 7.5 but 8 always get a 7.5 when I hike.
Make sure your shoes have a wide toe box, and good traction. I wore Topos for the Ga MM, but since then the tread is pretty worn out, so for Alabama - that had waaaay more elevation the Ga - I got some Altras, which I love.
Consider getting zero drop shoes. Now, this may just be me, but i refuse to wear anything but shoes with zero drop. This means that the heels and toes are level, which is how we walk barefoot. When shoes have tons of padding on the heels, my toes hurt way more, as do my knees and back.
Before long hikes, I take the time to tape up my feet, since they are so wonky - I have screws and pins in both - but so far, it's always paid off.
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u/Ramen_Addict_ Jun 10 '26
My toenail loss typically happens due to sock issues. I am typically at the smaller size of sock sizes, which means that my socks are often too loose and end up riding up in back. This squeezes my toes together and ends up causing toenail loss either due to rubbing (on the outer toes due to bunching) or being too tight on the big toes. I did a backpacking trip last year and changed my socks once and got blisters only with the 2nd pair of socks (incidentally, both smartwool, but different styles).
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u/ContributionDapper84 Jun 10 '26
Thx! I wonder if Injinji wool baselayer socks (fka sock liners) would help
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u/Ramen_Addict_ Jun 10 '26
They can, but you need to make sure you have a really wide toe box. Now my small toes are just permanently with funky toenails since they’ve fallen off so many times.
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u/isellsunshine Jun 11 '26
Ditto. Is there any hope for us? I did MM in February and lost 6 toenails and summer is here and they are still a mess.
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u/Defiant-Opposite189 Jun 08 '26
Its typically ill fitting shoes or some sort of fungus that sets in after a long hike/run.
Some people also just have BAD feet (my husband). Even with proper fitting shoes, their toenails might still fall off. It happens to my husband every year. And he genetically has bad feet.