[pct-l] Dessert part in Sandals

[Paul Mitchell]

Natalia, I'll add to Steel-eyes comments on sandals:

In 07 I hiked from Campo to just shy of the Oregon border in Tevas.  I
enjoyed them, and they didn't stink (the only time I've had Tevas that
smelled funky was after wearing them in the ocean) however, they were like
wearing a running shoe in terms of support - they're soft, so the arch
flattens and the shoes erode every 400 or 500 miles.

In subsequent years I've switched to Chacos and now I wouldn't wear anything
else.  I hiked 450 PCT miles in 2010 with them, and most days by the end of
the day I barely noticed them, I didn't suffer the kind of foot fatigue I
did in softer shoes.  I did wonder if softer sandals like Tevas gave me a
bit more spring in my step and may have generally made hiking a bit less
tiring, but my feet were very happy in Chacos.  

I hike barefoot most of the time, though if memory serves I sometimes wore
socks in mosquito areas mainly so I could add some bug-spray and promptly
sweat it off.

Barefoot in sandals kept my feet dry, so they didn't get funky and I didn't
get blisters.  Pebbles and little sticks often get in, so I wore the sandals
a bit lose so I could shake them out.  It's slightly irritating at times,
but it was a small trade-off for the benefits.  It would be worse with socks
as it wouldn't be as easy to kick out debris.

I did frequently stub my toes on sticks and what-not.  Once I tripped on a
rock and brought the other foot down at an unfortunate angle onto some other
pointy rocks and got a nasty gash on bottom of my big toe.  This was in
Tevas and I think if I had been wearing more sturdy chacos at the time I
would have been spared the little injury.

Donna Saufley has mentioned that the happiest feet she sees have been, on
average, in sandals; that some people in shoes do fine, and some people in
sandals have problems, but a greater percentage of sandal wearers have
happy, blister & problem free feet when they hit Agua-dulce.  

My vote, from personal experience, is bare-foot in Chacos.  :)

I'd actually really love to try bare-foot in nothing.  Sounds crazy, but
people have done it on the PCT, all the way from Campo into Oregon.

Cheers,
- Potential178