[pct-l] sandals on the trail

[Dave Osborn]

Hi Gretel, 

I've thru-hiked the PCT twice in sandals.  They are slowly becoming more popular among thru-hikers, but the vast majority of PCT hikers use running shoes.  Footwear is a very personal gear choice & different types of footwear work well for different people.

There are a number of advantages and a few disadvantages in hiking long distance in sandals.  I'll start with the advantages...

(1) Weight:  I hike in Teva ('Hurricane 3') sandals that are lighter than most running shoes. (However, Chacos, which are very popular among sandal hikers, are fairly heavy)

(2) Blisters: I've never ever even had the slightest blister issue hiking in sandals (5 thru hikes & many other shorter hikes)

(3) Water:  Just forge ahead in any water situation - that's what they were really built for.

(4) Camp Shoe: No need to carry any type of camp shoe (like Crocs) since sandals are perfect camp shoes.

(5) Sub-freezing temps:  Never have to worry about stuffing your foot in a frozen shoe & the the brutal thaw afterwords.  (Just be sure to pack warm socks, like neoprene)

(6) Heat:  In desert sections, like a lot of SoCal, sandals are divine - can't beat the ventillation

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Disadvantages:

(1) Stubbing the toes once in a while.  If you backpack with sandals you'll learn to always take at least a glance ahead on the trail and avoid kicking rocks/roots.  Its inevitable that you stub your toes once in a while, but hey, pain is temporary.  

(2) Ventilation:  This is a huge advantage, as mentioned above, but also a problem in the long run (after maybe 500 miles).  Most sandal hikers feet (soles) dry out eventually & start to crack a bit (especially the heels).  If this isn't taken care of, it can become a nasty problem.  Solution: wear some type of sock to keep the foot moist & carry a petroleum based moisturizer (i have found that 'Bag Balm' works great).  A tiny .5 ounce container of Bag Balm lasts me 100's of miles.

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Other considerations:  Deep snow is not a problem with sandals if you wear thick neoprene socks or even wetsuit booties.  I found a pair of 6mil wetsuit booties in the Kennedy meadows hiker box in '05 and found them to be incredibly effective in keeping my feet warm in heavy snow travel and stream crossings.  In fact, comparing notes with hikers wearing boots & trail runners, I found that my feet were much more comfy cozy than theirs.

Good luck with whatever footwear you end up choosing.

Happy Trails,
freebird