[pct-l] Wide shoes?

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

Chacos are great. I didn't know this until recently, but they  
actually make them in wide widths. The wides are hard to find. The  
wides solved my blister problems in my heels. More room for my heel.  
If you wear them with socks, you can hike and hike and hike in  
comfort. However, the end of a long hiking day will feel pretty  
painful. So if you plan high milage days, you might be in pain (of  
course, who isn't?). Crow alternates between Chacos and New Balance  
shoes each day to keep her feet happy for her big milage days.

I wore them on the JMT last summer between Bishop Pass and Duck Pass.  
They do not work very well on snow. Snow collects under the toes  
making it hard to walk.

I also had trouble with falling down often. I don't find the traction  
of Chacos to be very good. I'll just be walking along and then woosh!  
Suddenly I'm on the ground. I looked pretty scary cool with all the  
bloody scrapes on my legs, but otherwise, didn't appreciate the  
experience. I've considered having my Chacos resoled with Vibram  
Kletter soles. I seem to be the only person who suffers from the lack  
of traction. Others think the traction is good.

Diane

On Mar 2, 2011, at 8:52 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>
> I've been experimenting with Chacos as an alternative to NB running
> shoes. Once in a while I get annoying pebbles underfoot, but I love
> the fact that there is simply no way to get blisters on my pinkie  
> toes.