[pct-l] shoes

Gail - what shoes you choose may depend on late you start and how much snow 
is on the trail.  If you are after mid-June, there may not be much snow, so 
light trail shoes would be fine.  The trail through there is mostly good 
trail - not particularly rough and rocky (except the "cobblestones" in 
Yosemite :-(.  If there is a lot of snow, you might want heavier boots so 
you have better traction on ice and can kick steps.  In Montana we hiked 
with a friend who wore light boots and had a real problem with traction on 
the snow.  You are small enough that it will be hard to kick steps as it is 
-

My personal experience with running shoes was mixed.  We tried them out 
before we went on the PCT on dayhikes and a weekend trip on the Midstate 
Trail in PA (very rocky!) We were in agony. Jim decided against wearing the 
running shoes at all, and kept the Lowa Tempests that worked for him on the 
CDT. (He ended up breaking a toe and getting Morton's Neuroma on the other 
foot, I can't exactly say that they worked well for him!) I just decided - 
forget running shoes in PA, but I'll try the New Balance 802's on the PCT 
and see how it goes.  The first day on the trail, I sprained my ankle.  Not 
a good start.  My ankle hurt for the first ten days, then the swelling went 
away, and I was happy with my trail shoes for the most part.  I had to step 
more carefully, my feet got a lot dirtier, the bottom of my feet hurt every 
night, and for a while I turned my ankles a lot, but that stopped after a 
few hundred miles.  A lot of the trail is wheelchair trail - if your pack is 
light, light shoes/boots work quite well.  My NB's were pretty much broken 
down, though still looking okay, at Kennedy Meadows where I switched to my 
old broken in leather Scarpas.  The first few days with the Scarpas were 
miserable.  I wasn't used to the weight and I got blisters for the first 
time on the trail.  That passed pretty quickly though, and I wore them to 
Castella/Mt. Shasta City (about 800 miles), where I happily switched to 
Solomon trail shoes. Those fell apart within 100 miles, so I sent for my 
back-up Gore-tex Raichles.  They seemed much heavier than the running shoes, 
but protected my feet against the lava in Oregon better than the running 
shoes would have.  For the conditions, they worked fine.

Bottom line - depends on the conditions you're facing and what is 
comfortable for you.  As on any long hike, try before you go, but don't be 
afraid to switch if what you have isn't working.

Ginny
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