[pct-l] Asolo boots

[Eric Lee]

Nocona wrote:
>
I'll weigh in on the minority side, the side of hiking in boots.
>

I'll also weigh in on the minority side.  I have poor biomechanics in my
ankles.  They're very unstable and I tend to sprain them a lot if I'm not
very careful.  I tried doing a section hike in low-topped trail runners once
several years ago because that's what everyone was doing.  Severely sprained
my ankle about 30 miles into the 100 mile Glacier Peak section from Stevens
Pass to Stehekin.  I didn't have any convenient bail-out options so I taped
it up real good, took a lot of ibuprofen, and kept hobbling forward.

It took me most of a year and a fair amount of physical therapy to fully
recover from that injury.  My orthopedist told me in no uncertain terms that
if I pull a stunt like that again, it could very well be the end of my
long-distance hiking career.  Needless to say I've gone back to lightweight
boots (Lowa Renegades) that provide decent ankle support and they've
prevented any further disasters.

I'm not saying this to try to tell you that you need to wear boots on the
PCT.  You probably don't.  Most people don't.  Most people wear trail
runners and are very happy with them.  If that works for you, do it!  I just
want to point out that you should do *what works for you* regardless of what
conventional thinking might be.  If your body needs boots, wear boots.
Footwear is one of the most individual gear choices.

If you do wear boots, be sure to find a model that your feet get along with.
Boots don't have to give you nasty blisters but if you wear a pair that
don't fit, you can probably rip up your feet worse than you could with trail
runners.  This might mean going through several different brands and styles
before you find the right one.  If you're planning to start hiking in just a
couple of weeks, it's kind of late to be choosing a pair of boots.  It takes
time to get it right.

Eric