Frozen Boots - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

Any tricks for keeping your boots from freezing at night. Will handwarmers work? Thanks.

BennytheBull

#2

If your bag is long enough and you can stand it put them in a trash bag and stash them at your feet. Second, hold them over the stove for a minute, carefully, like we do until they get warm and steamy.

Bushwhack

#3

At night, boil water and place in Nalgenes. Insert in boots and cover. This is fuel intensive, but on freezing nights, provides unfrozen water for the morning. Handwarmers would prove to be expensive and heavy for repeated applications. At the very least, make sure the boots are wide open at night so that you can squeeze the feet in when frozen.

alligator

#4

Putting boots in a plastic bag inside your sleeping bag at night really does work, although it’s a little uncomfortable to sleep that way.

Better solution is to wear running shoes, not boots. Running shoes thaw out way faster than boots. When everyone else is banging their boots on the shelter walls in the morning, you’ll put on your running shoes and be on your way.

frozen boots

#5

Thanks, the problem with putting them in my bag is that I already have most of my clothes in my bag, boots would make it an even tighter squeeze. One night I did use my bivy and put my boots in that, which worked, but I do not think that it was as cold that nitgh. Thanks again but i will continue to run in my running shoes and hike in my hiking boots. To each his own. How many pairs or running shoes goes it take to hike the AT?

BennytheBull

#6

I lay mine on their sides and place them under the top of my therarest as a pillow. On unlevel ground place them on the low side at head, waist,or knees. The warmth of the ground with your body will normally keep them from freezing hard.

Earbo

#7

There is a reason you don’t see people wearing leather shirts and pants anymore, unless you’re a biker (it works well when you’re sliding along the pavement at 60 mph). It is heavy dry, more heavy wet, it stays wet a very long time, when it freezes you might as well be wearing concrete. I believe it to be an obsolete material for hiking, and I still use an external frame pack.

Blue Jay

#8

It was painful reading Bonnie Scotsman’s journals last night and not being able to tell him that if he just got some gaiters his boot problems would be over. No ice forming around the collar, no frozen uppers, and when the gaiters freeze you just bang them on the wall a couple times and they are ready to go.

In 2001 we had three good March snowstorms between Springer and the Smokies; with OR knee-high gaiters (Velcro closures), REI Spirit (Raichle) GTX boots and Smartwool socks I never once had wet feet and never had a problem getting my boots on in the morning.

As for running shoes, they are swell if you have the right trail and/or healthy young ankles. For me it’s wear boots or limp home.

Joel

Joel

#9

Just put them on and start walking. They’ll be fine in 30 minutes to an hour. Probably quicker than you can “boil water!?” I wore the all leather Sundowner by Vasque and never had the first damp sock or problem with my boots. Cold when I put them on, Yes, but with Gortex, Smartwool, and Gaiters, no problem. The mud when the trail started thawing was heavy. Leather or no leather, muddy boots are heavy. At some point, your feet will hurt, your knees will hurt, your tired, wet, cold, hot, nasty, stinking, got chaffing, got jock itch, black toenails, the runs, cuts, scraps, sprains and … are having the best time of your life and loving it!!! I wish I was out there now!!! Happy Trails

Papa Smurf