[pct-l] Seeking Advice on PCT footwear and other stuff

[CMountainDave@aol.com (CMountainDave@aol.com)]

If sneakers are so great, then how come 4 out of 5 people using them have raw 
hamburger feet by the time they get to Idyllwild? And in spite of all the 
advice on what brand to wear, insoles to use, and socks to wear it will be 
the same old sad story again this year. Yeah, just go ahead and blame the 
heat or believe that blisters are just a fact of life. What do I care? Better 
bring all the second skin you can find because it'll all be sold out along 
the trail! My feet did just fine  going 2600 miles in hiking boots so don't 
you think it would be rather stupid of me to fix what ain't broken? As far as 
weight goes, my feet are quite used to boots because I wear them daily for 
work. And I'll take hiking boots ANYDAY over sneakers in snow. But go ahead 
and believe that wet feet are inevitable when hiking in the mountains. No 
skin off my feet! And Jim Bridger and the other mountain men didn't wear no 
stinkin' sneakers or shorts or have soft pink yuppie hands or smell pretty ( 
Okay, so at least thru hikers stink, too)
   Just got back from a week of cross country skiing at Mazama. Had a great 
time and skied for 5 days straight. Snowpack is still quite low in WA, about 
60% of normal. Had only a broken window to show for the earthquake. My 
computer bounced off the desk but seems O.K. A couple of my beer glass 
collection broke, too, and some furniture was 6 inches out from the wall.
     Thanks Tin Can Man for the alcohol stove. I tried it out on a quart of 
water with about 3 ounces of alcohol. It took 10 minutes to boil and boiled 
for another 10 minutes. I'm going to use it on trips of 4 nights or less, but 
continue to use my Zip stove on longer trips because it weighs the same as 
the pint of alcohol necessary (for me) on a 5 day trip and I don't have to 
worry about rationing or finding fuel. I'm hanging on to my MSR stove but 
probably won't use it much due to it's weight disadvantage.
   Looked at the Weather Channel and it seems like that 10% chance of normal 
snowpack in the Sierras will come to pass with the latest storm. I'm guessing 
110 % of normal by the end of March in Ca.
   Peggy Wiggins - You were one of my favorite characters on the entire PCT. 
Language of a Boatswain's mate and a heart of pure gold and pies to die for!
    Great story in the latest National Geographic on a 1200 mile trek across 
Africa.
    I'm betting on Rodger, Elizabeth, Colby and Tina for the final 4 in 
Survivor 2
   Where's all the water coming from on Mars and where did it go? Some of 
those pictures in the last N.G. look exactly like the Grand Canyon and some 
show strong evidence of very recent gully washers.
   Finally, I missed the gun thread but can Monte recite the the first 3 
words of the 2nd Amendment?