[pct-l] Sandals in the Sierra, Ursacks in SoCal?

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Allison,



Diane is entirely correct:  Keeping shoes dry is pretty much hopeless for
the reasons she states.  Gore-Tex, by the way, does an excellent job of
keeping the water in.  If, by chance, you still want to wear something
different when wading Tevas are OK except mine weigh 22.2 oz. which is about
the weight of my summer sleeping bag.  Yours might be a bit less in a
woman’s size



A better choice might be something variously called “wading shoes” or “water
shoes”.  They are usually ankle-high and made of spandex and closed cell
foam with rubber soles.  Mine pair weighs 8.6 oz. and I bought them from
REI-Outlet for $10.  I don’t carry them on the PCT either.



I sometimes carry a Ursack outside the ‘can area, but not often.  A bear
could get in, but the sack has a stout tether rope and I figure I’ll hear
him wrestling with it and have time to get up, scold him sharply, and send
him on his way before he can finish.   I almost never have a problem with
the little four-legged folks.  I probably smell too bad for them.



Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT -- 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye


On Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 4:33 PM, Allison Johnson <matreia at msn.com> wrote:

> Two more questions I'm hoping experienced PCT hikers can help me with:
>
>
>
> I've been reading Yogi's book, and she strongly suggests that you should be
> walking through streams in the Sierra with your shoes on. While going
> barefoot seems inadvisable, if not downright dangerous, constantly wet
> shoes
> and socks also seem unpleasant. I was considering carrying gaiters and
> Gore-Tex trail runners for the passes and lightweight Tevas for the
> crossings. Is that crazy? Would I be spending all of my time changing
> shoes?
>
>
>
>
> I'm planning on carrying a carrying a bear canister in the Sierra and a 7
> oz. bite-proof Ursack and odor-proof Opsack outside of the canister zone.
> (So as to avoid those evenings where you're exhausted, unable to find a
> tree, or you hit yourself in the head with your counterbalance weight or a
> broken tree branch whilst trying to hang your bag.) In your experience do I
> need to be carrying the Ursack in SoCal, or would just the Opsack do for
> keeping out smaller critters? Should I just pick up my Ursack at KM when I
> get my  canister (since the food prolly won't fit in the canister), or
> should I get it earlier?
>
>
>
> Thanks so much! You guys are indispensible. You should be subsidized by the
> hike tax.
>
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