[pct-l] Another Question about Brooks Cascadia

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

On May 25, 2012, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> Another Question about Brooks Cascadia

I know I am late to this discussion but I just wanted to add my 22  
cents. I sense from the tone that there is some trepidation over  
committing to any particular shoe. Well, don't commit.

The PCT is not a trip to the moon. You will have an opportunity to  
purchase shoes in Idyllwild. You might even find some decent shoes in  
the hiker box. There are outlet malls in Cabazon. One of them was  
called Famous Footwear. They had Merrill Moab Ventilators and some  
kind of hybrid sandal/shoe you could hike in at the hardware store in  
Wrightwood. There are periodic rides to REI in Northridge from Agua  
Dulce. You'll have a better idea what works and what doesn't for you  
by then.

The same goes for other gear. It's not a trip to the moon. You can  
buy gear from the Internet and pick it up in the next trail town. You  
can make each section of the trail a gear testing expedition if you  
want. You can mail stuff to yourself, try it out, and mail home what  
doesn't cut it.

As far as dirt getting in to your shoes. There's not a lot you can do  
about that. If you require clean feet, the PCT is not the trail for  
you. There is plenty of dust fine enough to get into the finest  
fabric and your thickest socks. The dust can be like talcum powder.

I hiked from Hikertown to Snoqualmie Pass wearing Brooks Cascadias. I  
hiked from Snoqualmie Pass to Canada in some kind of Brooks street  
running shoes. My feet were completely black in some parts of the  
trail. The dirt never caused me blisters. They were adequately  
cushioned but I added cushioning insoles and sometimes a couple  
layers of cushioned insoles for road walking.

I wore shoes with goretex from the Mexican border to Cabazon. (What  
was I thinking? What an idiot!) I got the worst blisters I have ever  
had in my whole life. They didn't go away until the Sierras. I  
switched to mesh in Cabazon and things were much better, but the  
trail leans to one side for 20 miles at a time, then switches and  
leans to the other side. There's really no hope.

Nowadays, I hike in Chaco sandals with socks. My feet get really  
quite black but Chacos breathe well. They're hard as a rock and a day  
pushing 30 miles can get really quite painful.