[pct-l] Another Question about Brooks Cascadia

[Bill Burge]

You can get shoes in Idyllwild and at the outlet stores in Cabazon (Merrell, Nike, Columbia, etc), but Big Bear has little shoe opportunities.  The sporting/hiking store is gone.  There is a ski shop with a few shoes and K-Mart.

SomeGuy
Bill Burge
bill at burge.com



On May 27, 2012, at 7:13 PM, Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes wrote:

> 
> 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.
> 
> 
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