Wet feet! - Pacific Crest Trail

imported
#1

i’ve recently purchased a pair of asolo non-leather or goretex boots, and have been very pleased with them…except in the rain. an entire week of nonstop rain on the AT in october07 left me in blister hell, and gaiters didn’t help a bit. i can’t really afford new boots, and rather like the ones i’ve got. i am considering using my camp sandals as an alternative during rainy weather, but am just as concerned about blisters. i’m going on a 3 week stint on the pct in a month, and would love some advice or comments. has anyone had any lengthy hikes in sandals? thanks!

walkninfire

#2

My first question is do you use a two sock system? I have Asolo 530’s, and gortex or not, boots leak after a while. The two socks will let your feet slip and the socks rub. A wool sock and a thin liner. Using just one sock will tend to chafe. I walked most of the AT in them with pruned feet and with double socks blisters were not ever an issue. But yes, my feet are not your feet.

Bushwhack

#3

You didn’t mention what part of the PCT. Rain will probably not be an issue in So Cal, though this year don’t count on that. Most PCT hikers use trail runners. I personally didn’t see any happy sandal users out there. There are cacti. I didn’t see any happy boot wearers, either.

Have a great hike.

Garlic

#4

I was very happy in Chacos for the entire PCT, and I met others who were also quite content in their sandals. I also did about 1600 miles of the AT in sandals (both Tevas and Chacos), after my feet had been destroyed by every other thing I tried wearing. I was faced with a choice: either get of the trail, or try sandals. Luckily for me, the sandals worked.

As for the rain question, even when my feet are soaking wet, they don’t seem to blister when I’m wearing sandals. Cracking can be a bit of an issue in SoCal. I agree that prickly plant bits are no fun, but then again, they’re no fun regardless of what’s on your feet.

Footwear is really just a matter of figuring out what works for your own feet. You really just need to be willing to experiment.

Chipper

#5

If it is wet enough, what-ever you wear, you will end up with wet feet. But the frequency can be reduced considerably by:
1.

Kea

#6

To continue:

  1. Use an umbrella. This will stop 90% of the rain getting to your feet.

  2. Use gortex boots and calf length gaiters.

  3. Wear gortex overtrou; and wear over the gaiters.

Net result, most water will run down your overtrou, over your gaiters and off your boots.

And of course, don’t walk in streams or puddles if you can avoid them.

Both my wife and I managed the AT with dry feet; so it can be done.

Kea

#7

This is just my way. It is by no means “the way”. If you plan on hiking despite rain or through rain, try hydropel and non-gortex trail runners, no gaitors. Feet get wet when you hike all day in rain. There is no stopping it, even if people say there is. I’ve hiked through tons of rain, and yes I have had blisters, until I figured out a system that worked for me. And it surely didn’t involve keeping my feet dry when hiking in rain for 6 hours. Hydropel stops your feet from pruning, and ripping up into raw lumps. When my feet are toughened up I don’t use anything. I prefer trail runners and wet feet over more weight, less breathable shoes, and . . . well, wet feet. It you plan a trip where you refuse to hike in rain, and if it rains you’ll stop and pitch a tent on the spot, then you may have a chance at keeping your feet dry, assuming you’re willing to use no-so-breathable gortex and gaitors. Geez, that must have been long enough for you to never want to read one of my responses again. Have a great trip!

charlie brown

#8

I might be a bit biased but…Chacos work.

Sandals