[pct-l] Crampons for trail runners

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

I solved the whole microspikes rubber twisting thing by simply  
threading bootlaces through the rubber and tying them securely.

The Kathoola KTS do look a lot more sturdy than microspikes and it  
looks like they now make a steel version that is cheaper and quicker  
to attach although a couple ounces heavier.

Most of the time you're not doing any serious mountaineering. Just  
because Mather Pass might be really scary steep doesn't mean you need  
mountaineering gear. Mather Pass is the only place I wore my instep  
crampons and I think now that I could have done the front steep side  
without them. (I hiked in 2008, a regular snow year.)

The worst thing about some types of crampons (like my instep  
crampons, don't know the brand) is that they may be too difficult to  
put on and take off. If the snow is sporadic, you'll soon realize you  
can't walk over rocks with them on. Then you'll be faced with the  
unappealing thought of taking them off, putting them on, taking them  
off over and over, which of course you won't do.

You can walk on rock and trail in microspikes. If I had had  
microspikes for Mather Pass I wouldn't have slipped and fallen on the  
icy back side. But because I had instep crampons that were difficult  
to put on and hard to wear on rock, I had taken them off at the top  
and really didn't want to put them on again. At least my pants didn't  
shred on the long, exciting ride down.