[pct-l] socks

[Donna "L-Rod" Saufley]

Excellent point.  Yesterday I packed up this season's discarded hiker shoes to take to the homeless shelter. One pair, which had been mailed ahead in advance, only had 25 miles on them (from Hiker Heaven to Casa de Luna).  The guy got a ride back, found his old broken-in shoes in the hiker box, and left the new ones -- they just didn't work.  

I always wonder why hikers don't mail home their (decent condition) shoes instead of discarding them.  They may not work for hiking, but would still work for every day runaround stuff.  Every year it's a monumental task to wash all the shoes, go through them to see what truly needs to be discarded, and then pack them up.  I don't mind the effort on my part, it just seems so impractical and wasteful (especially from the typically frugal minded hikers).  

L-Rod

-----Original Message-----
>From: Junaid Dawud <jdawud at yahoo.com>
>Sent: Jul 4, 2007 9:26 PM
>To: Brian McLaughlin <bmclaughlin at bigplanet.com>, pctl pctl <pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net>
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] socks
>
>I would add that buying 5 pairs of shoes before your
>hike is a bad idea though.  For many people, the foot
>will actually change shape, and theres little point
>gambling that yours won't.  Buy shoes that fit right
>and work for your needs, just don't assume too heavily
>that those needs won't change.  It didn't take me long
>(Big Bear) to swap out my 10.5 Salomons for 11
>vasques.  The Salomons were still in great shape, they
>just didn't fit any more.  By the time I got to Bend
>OR, I had to switch to an 11.5 Salomon.  Now I'm back
>to 10.5-11 depending on brand.
>
>yrmv------------Junaid
>
>
>--- Brian McLaughlin <bmclaughlin at bigplanet.com>
>wrote:
>
>> I know that a lot of hikers do buy their shoes/boots
>> in sizes larger than they normally wear off trail.
>> But
>> this bit of trail wisdom, like so many others,
>> varies
>> a lot from one hiker to the next.
>> 
>> My feet are small, high-arched and very bony. They
>> just don't swell up much, no matter what the
>> circumstances, as there just isn't much tissue in
>> them to do the swelling. For me, buying too-large
>> boots would be an invitation to blisters as my feet
>> shifted around in them at every step, causing
>> friction.
>> 
>> So, as with most advice, your mileage may vary.
>> Since your feet are critical pieces in any long
>> hike,
>> get to know them intimately before you hit the
>> trail.
>> 
>> Happy hiking!
>> 
>
>
>       
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