Rachelpel - Stopping blisters in their tracks since 2013!

There is so much planning that goes into getting ready for a trip of this magnitude. Organizing gear, planning mail drops, getting our maps and guidebook information organized by each section of the trail. And making foot salve. When Hydropel, Ben's favorite ointment for blister prevention, was discontinued, we figured we would just try to make it ourselves. We were able to figure out the ingredients and their proportions without too much difficulty, and I went to work in the kitchen. It is actually just three ingredients: petroleum jelly, dimethicone (which is a type of silicone used to prevent friction and create a water resistant barrier), and a hydrophobic starch powder (which is added to prevent the ointment from being too greasy). It is actually a lot of fun to make!

Since we will be wearing light-weight and breathable trail-running shoes during our hike and will be in wet conditions a good amount of the time, having a water resistant ointment is imperative. We've been using our "Rachelpel" on bike rides and day hikes, and it seems to be keeping our feet in good shape. We are also sending a sample to our friend Ryan to field test, he is hiking the PCT northbound as we speak!