[pct-l] Trail Shoes

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

I started the trail with some goretex shoes. My feet could not  
breathe. They sweated a lot. I have never experienced such a terrible  
foot stench. It was like rotting meat. I got terrible blisters. I  
traded the shoes out for some regular ones as soon as I could and was  
so much more comfortable.

Iin the Sierras you don't need goretex because the creeks are too  
deep. Your shoes will fill up with water and if your shoes are  
goretex the water won't drain out. You aren't going to have time to  
change your shoes to cross creeks because the entire trail is one big  
creek. Goretex might be nice for walking on all that melting snow but  
you have to cross so many creeks any advantage would be cancelled  
out. If you get a year like last year where you are walking over snow  
for hundreds of miles you might find goretex useful. But even then I  
think it would be optional as you might prefer real boots under those  
conditions.

Then in Northern California it's just as hot, even hotter, than it  
ever was in Southern California. Then in Oregon there's hardly  
anything worthy of goretex. You're not walking in melting snow  
anymore. The bigger creeks are deep like the Sierras, many of the  
smaller ones are bridged.

It's only when you get to the rainy country that goretex might have  
any value because as you brush against the wet plants the water  
drains down into your shoes. But I think even then goretex would have  
limited value if the rain runs into your shoes from the ankles rather  
than over the tops of them. Once they'd be full of water, the water  
would never escape and you'd be sloshing down the trail with prune feet.


On Mar 24, 2012, at 9:54 PM, Isabella wrote:

> Have you worn goretex in the desert, therefore having your own  
> research? Tell me more.  I'm always looking for new data.
> Mademoiselle
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Diane Soini of Santa Barbara  
> Hikes" <diane at santabarbarahikes.com>
> To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2012 6:38 PM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Trail Shoes
>
>
>> You may re-evaluate your love of goretex after a little bit in the
>> desert. In my opinion, goretex shoes are a misapplication of the
>> technology. For the first 2000 miles of the trail, goretex is at best
>> a nuisance and at worse a horrible mistake. Your milage may vary
>> however.
>>
>> On Mar 23, 2012, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>>
>>> I love Innov8!!  They have goretex and knarly tread and are light
>>> weight.  Water can run over the toe of my shoe and my foot stays
>>> dry!  I wear Dirty Girls gaiters with them and my socks stay really
>>> clean!
>>>
>>>  Zappos.com carries their complete line and shipping/return
>>> shipping is free!
>>>
>>> I see that more trail runners are being made in goretex.  I saw a
>>> Merrell runner in goretex.
>>
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