[pct-l] (pct-l) buying shoes along the trail

[Linda Bakkar]

Diana, thank you for your list.  I have a problem that someone else might 
also have.  My feet are extra wide, and very few hiking shoes are made for 
women with EE feet.  I found a store in Seattle (Shoreline Wide Shoes) that 
has a few options for me, and they are willing to send shoes anywhere I 
request, with just a phone call and a post office address.  I can request 
shoes of a larger size if needed.  There may be other stores on the west 
coast that specialize in extra wide shoes, and if anyone on this list has 
that problem, I hope you are as lucky as I am to find such a store.  For 
years, I used the widest shoes that REI or other stores could provide, but I 
still had foot problems from the tightness in the forefoot.  Extra wide 
shoes have helped to solve the problem for me.

Good luck and I hope this helps if anyone out there needs the info.

Lindy

(from Diana S.)
 >
>Here is my surely incomplete list:
>151.3 - Idyllwild - Outfitter with limited shoes (montrail, inov8, golite? 
>- maybe 6 styles, mostly narrow and heavy- I would NOT recommend using 
>golite shoes- people I talked to said they are absolutely brutal on feet 
>and fall apart very quickly). I heard there was a store that sells running 
>shoes, but I never found it.
>209.6 - Cabazon - Nike store at the outlet mall. Possible hitch down 
>Highway 10 towards LA to find other shoe stores.
>265.3 - Big Bear Lake - There is an outfitter or two here in the big town, 
>but they mostly sell ski/bike stuff, I think. There may be a shoe store- I 
>didn't look.
>454.4 - Agua Dulce/ The Saufleys - You WILL go to the Saufley's house.  
>They have cars heading out daily to nearby towns that have almost anything 
>you could ever want. I bought shoes at the Sports Chalet. Probably the most 
>shoes I have ever seen in one place.
>744.8 - Lone Pine - I didn't go there, but I am pretty sure there is an 
>outfitter.  There may also be one in Bishop.
>906.6 - Mammoth Lakes (from Reds Meadow) - Great trail town. (Get breakfast 
>at The Stove!!) Several outfitters (the folks at Mammoth Mountaineering are 
>awesome!), and possibly a shoe store.
>1094.5 - South Lake Tahoe - Huge town, several outfitters, shoe stores. 
>(Best Thai Food Ever at Orchid's Thai)
>1155.8 - Truckee - Some shoes at Mountain Hardwear. However, I would 
>recommend going straight from Echo Lake/ S.L. Tahoe to Sierra City and not 
>stopping into Truckee.
>1335.8 - Chester - There MIGHT be a couple of pairs of shoes to buy in 
>town, but I wouldn't count on it.
>1415.9 - Burney - There MIGHT be a couple of pairs of shoes to buy in town, 
>but I wouldn't count on it.
>1506.5 - Shasta City - Outfitter that has a decent selection of (heavier) 
>trail runners. There is also a store that sells some lighter sneakers, but 
>they were not super high quality.
>1726.6 - Ashland - Two outfitters (the one that has the PCT log book is 
>better stocked) and one running shoe store- Rogue Valley Runners.  (Morning 
>Glory in Ashland is tied with The Stove for best breakfast on the trail. 
>Timberline's breakfast buffet is also not to be missed.)
>1989.5/ 2006.9 - Sisters - Shoe stores and an REI in Bend- about a 20 mile 
>hitch from Sisters.
>2155.0 - Cascade Locks - Go into Portland for anything your heart desires.
>2401.7 - Snoqualamie Pass - Hitch into Seattle for shoes/ gear.
>2476.3 - Skykomish/ Stevens Pass - Hitch into Seattle for shoes/ gear.
>2593.8 - Winthrop - Hitch east from Rainy Pass.  I wouldn't recommend 
>heading into town, as it is a long ride and you are almost to Canada, but 
>if the weather forces you to bail out, Winthrop is great- a wonderful 
>outfitter with a very good shoe and gear selection and (the owner Rita is 
>amazingly awesome), nice hotel- the Duck Brand- with decent prices and 
>possible PCT discount. The brownies at the little coffee stand in town are 
>even better than the ones at the Stehekin bakery.
>
>This is what I know of along the trail. There are also a few other options 
>if you want to try and hitch to San Diego early on if your feet feel like 
>they are going to fall off if you don't get new shoes asap. Also, there is 
>a Sports Chalet in Lancaster, CA that you can get to from maybe Mojave or 
>Hiker Town.  If there is only an outfitter in town, expect only 
>outfitter-type shoes (heavier, stiff trail runners and boots).  I can say 
>for sure that there are NO other options for buying on-trail from Truckee 
>till Canada other than what I listed (I would probably just ignore the two 
>MIGHTs).  I prefer buying shoes locally so that I can support local 
>businesses, but there will most likely be a time when you need new shoes 
>(or a specific type that is not easy to find) and are in a place that you 
>can't get them. I used a total of 6 pairs of shoes along the trail, but 
>could have gotten away with 5 if I had started with larger ones. Zappos.com 
>is a pretty good resource, and they often
>  offer free overnight shipping.
>