I’ve been thinking about which way to go for footwear: hiking boots or lightweight trailrunners, or maybe even sneakers. I would like to go with the lightweight sneaker-type shoes, but of course they are not waterproof. So, my next idea was that maybe I could pack galoshes, to go on over the shoes when it rains. Have any of you gone this route?
Jonna
The galoshes seem to be a bad idea to me. They would slip all about in the mud and weight to much. Footwear depends on your packweight to a large extent. Unfortunetely for me my anckles are way to flexible to handle shoes… this is rare however. I found waterproofing to be overrated. My biggest problem right now is to find a well ventilated boot that does not have goretex. Boots that are not waterproof will dry much faster so there is a trade off. Keep you feet damp for a few days or let em get wet one day and dry the next. On top of that, a majority of your hike will be in warm weather when you want your feet to breath as much as possible. If you have good anckles and a light(er) pack then try shoes if you want. The only way I would try the galosh thing would be Goretex socks which will keep you feet damp from sweat but not wet from the boot. I have Gtex socks and chose not to bring them last year.
TB
TurkeyBacon
Rain runs down your leg! fills the shoes or boots! Rain pants are too HOT! We used gaiters and our boots stayed dry most of the time. I think Turkeybacon is right they would be very slick on muddy hills. Never saw anybody wearing them.
Papa Smurf
At least I don’t. I think most folks find they get in a different mindset when backpacking and thru-hiking. Whereas it may seem necessary to shower daily in the real world, once a week may seem fine on the trail. A pouch of Liptons heated up on an alcohol stove becomes an enjoyable entree. Instead of needing to change clothes every day, the same clothes get worn day after day. For feet, most folks just decide that their feet will get wet at times, and they just live with it. I wore running shoes on the AT, and although they got wet fast, they also dried relatively fast.
Colter
I agree with everyone else, the galoshes are a bad idea for hiking/backpacking.
Keep on hiking.
Maintain
In the pouring rain . Your feet are going to be soaked,with boots are trailrunners. The trail runners dry faster. I personaly used boots though. I liked them for my needs, and my Vasque Renegades were only 1/2 lb.heavier for the pair than most good trail runners.
virginian
Last year I was hiking with Re’al and we got our feet totally soaked walking through the AT in grassy fields in PA. Our feet were suffering from the wet so badly that we had to leave the trail early that day to dry out in a motel.
Next morning it was still raining and we wanted to get moving again. Re’al had this neat idea. We put plastic supermarket bags over our boots. We wrapped electrical tape around them to provide some strength and to stop them flopping around. 1 long piece of tape placed across the top and under the toe and forefoot, then 2 strips wrapped around the foot.
The bags were knotted around the ankle and our gaiters placed over them to keep the run-off from getting into them. I found that a bag would last about 2 hours before it needed to be replaced. Re’al seemed to be easier on his as his lasted for most of the day. They last a long time when the trail is not very rocky, not so long when it is rocky.
Other hikers laughed at us when they saw us but the idea worked well and our feet and boots were kept dry. The bags are light to carry and the supermarkets didn’t mind giving us extras when we asked for them.
Downunda
I already posted “I agree with everyone else, the galoshes are a bad idea for hiking/backpacking.”
Now let me say this about wet feet. Your feet will get wet on the trail regardless of what you do. You see they will get wet either from the outside (rain, creek crossings, dew, etc) or from the inside (sweat). Now I don’t mind wet feet if I am in the tub or in the shower and the water and air temperature are warm. I do hate being out on the trail or outside anywhere with wet and cold feet. And you can get wet and cold feet on the high mountain trails in July and August (those mountain streams are really cold even in summer). It is not good to have wet and cold feet. That’s why I like insulated gortex boots and two pair of heavy socks----so even if your feet do get wet (from sweat–or from anything else), they will stay warm. The inner sock absorbs the sweat so your feet don’t ever feel wet, but when you take your boots and socks off, the inner socks are damp. Just hang them up and let them air dry. Or in winter, put the outer socks on first and the damp ones on the outside and let them air dry on your feet—if you hang them up in Winter, they will freeze and not dry.
Your feet will even sweat in tennis shoes. And your feet will sweat both in winter and in summer. Footware is a matter of preference, some like barefoot, some like real lightweight footware, some (like me) like heavy and substantial and gortex and insulated. It’s all up to you—how much do you want your shoes/boots to weigh and how much protection do you want on your feet/ankles? But wet feet you will get regardless—But do you want cold wet feet? I do not.
I have never had my boots get water in them during a pouring rain, but I wear 9 inch high boots laced snugly at the top, so the water can’t run down into them much. Also raingear keeps that from happening very much. Short boots could and I imagine would be more of a problem in heavy rain or extremely rainy weather----some of what many call boots hardly come above the ankle.
I hope this helps shed a little light on the subject of wet feet. TurkeyBacon is right about feet needing to breathe—they do. During breaks, it really helps if you take boots and socks off and let them and your feet air out—it feels so good. The heavy socks absorbing moisture (sweat) the way they do keep my feet feeling good even hiking in the hot summer----but taking boots off and airing out feet, boots and socks really does feel good and needs to happen especially when it’s hot. Also TurkeyBacon said “Footwear depends on your packweight to a large extent” and I agree as do the experts at REI (see their website). Heavy packweight, then you will need heavier more substantial shoes/boots and more protection/cushioning for your feet. Gaiters also like Papa Smurf said will help keep water out of your boots/shoes (and also rocks and dirt—and also help keep the poison ivy, briars, and ticks off of you somewhat).
So good posts by all, and I hope this helps and adds a little bit on the subject of wet feet. Keep on hiking.
Maintain
Can we stand one more on this subject? My son, as a scout, used to put the shopping bags INSIDE the shoes to keep their feet dry. The scouts all loved it. I’m not sure if they wore the bags inside the socks or the last layer.
Debby
Au contraire, Virginian. You must’ve never seen my sweat-soaked dawgs. I had to wring my socks out on the hotter days.
Cap’n
No ,I can say with a sigh of relief. I never did see your sweat soaked dawgs. That must have SUCKED! Hey ,your not Cap’n who thru hiked last year are ye?
virginian
Once out of the smokies, i found no need for boots whatsoever. Trail runners kept my feet dryer in the long run. Taking into account how fast they got wet (quicker than boots) and how fast they dried (quicker than boots), montrails, merrels, new balance, whatever floats your boat. My feet were always warm enough, (and i have poor circulation) although i don’t know if that would have been true during the cold wet days of march and april.
Enough rambling, the main reason i wrote was to say hi to turkeybacon,papa smurf virginian and all the rest. I’m living on an island this summer chasing seagulls for the state.
:cheers
-Homey
Homey