[pct-l] kicks

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

Ok, I'll chime in about shoes. I tried Chacos from Fuller Ridge to  
Cabazon. The arch was too high for me but I enjoy wearing them around  
town otherwise. They worked fine in the snow. Having wet feet is not  
an issue with sandals.

As far as brands go, I don't care too much about them. I take my sore  
feet to the store and buy whatever does not hurt. I troll the sale  
aisle at one of these giant sporting goods stores, if they have one,  
and buy whatever is cheap. I got some nice NB for $40 that way.

On the trail I did not buy shoes in advance. I bought them along the  
way. My feet did change and when I got home I had to donate three  
grocery bags of shoes that no longer fit. Buying shoes along the way  
was the only way it would have worked for me, but the experience was  
hit-and-miss. I picked up a great pear of shoes in Cabazon at the  
outlet mall. They lasted 600 miles. I wore them into the Sierras.  
Later I bought some other shoes, La Sportiva, in Bishop. They hurt so  
I bought another pair of shoes, Montrails, in Mammoth (after hiking  
into Yosemite Valley). The Montrails fooled me. They felt good at  
first but they had too much stiffness and eventually my feet  
completely fell apart and I had to quit my hike. I learned my lesson  
not to wear shoes with a lot of support. I will now buy my shoes with  
the help of Roadrunner Sports whose catalog lists shoes according to  
what kind of support they provide.

I never took my shoes off to cross creeks. I just plunged right in.  
Sometimes I would go a whole day with wet feet. It didn't bother me.  
It was summer, for crying out loud. My shoes were between 2 and 4  
sizes bigger than what I normally wore as a cubicle slave. My feet  
did not slip around. It was the only way to prevent my toes from  
being squeezed and getting blisters.

I envied those who could wear sandals. I was always tripping over  
sticks. You know how you step down and a stick flips up to stab your  
other foot in the arch? That was me all the time.
~Piper