Robert posted another deep dive on how we can best hike safely:

HOW TO HIKE STEEP TERRAIN WITHOUT WRECKING YOUR KNEES

Good advice.

Most critical, for me with bunions, is having oversized shoes with a wide toe box. Especially for the downhill sections. I tighten up at the ankle. But have plenty of space up front so I can’t jam the toes.

Mine look somewhat like a clown shoe.

A.I. image

On my recent Balkan Trails hike, we had about 1000m of vertical every day for a week.

My feet were perfect up and down wearing clown shoes. Many in tighter hiking boots suffered.