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

[ronm@fallingwater.com (Ronald Moak)]

Dave writes >> Valerie - Didn't mean to sound too mean. It's just that I saw
so many fine
people suffer because of blisters that I feel somewhat compelled to tell
people what to expect from wearing random footwear. Don't you agree 
something is amiss when such a large percentage of people trash their feet?
I'm just
saying the only way to remedy the problem is to try a new approach, or
perhaps an old one. <<

The operative word here being "Try".  Yet Dave, you dismissed the use of
lightweight shoes as being hamburger grinders. So you're not advocating that
people try different things. You're advocating that they do it your way!

>> What would really help is for people who have been there
and done that to tell future hikers what did and didn't work for them. Many
people didn't wear hiking boots simply because they weigh more than 
sneakers. <<

Seems to me that's what people have been doing here. It's just you don't
like what they are saying. 


>>I'm just saying that weight shouldn't be the deciding factor. I think the
real problem is that many hikers start out committed to basically untested
unbroken in footwear. Perhaps the answer is simply more hiking experience
before attempting a thru hike to get a better feel of what works and 
doesn't work for each individual. <<

Hikers start out where they start out. I don't believe you can prepare for a
thru-hike except to do one. Doing a hundred 2 to 5 day hikes doesn't prepare
you all that much. 

Education cost! Both physically and mentally. There's no way around it. Some
people are lucky and their selection of footwear has little impact on their
hike. Others of us aren't quite so lucky. Our education is much more
painful.

When I thru-hiked in '77, I did so in traditional boots. My feet got wet in
Maine from days of rain. They had blisters, healed, had more, healed and on
and on for a 1000 miles. On top of that my feet ached so much every night
after arriving in camp, I was useless for at least an hour. In the morning
it took a half hour to pound them numb again.

In '97, with lightweight Gore-tex boots, not trail runners, I had blisters
and major pain in my arches again. I still hiked through it.

In 2000, well that story is well known. Anyway I finally resolved my
footwear problem when I acquired the right kind of trail runners. 

I don't care if you want to wear boots,  sandals,  tennis shoes or go
barefoot. If that works for you fine. For  the PCT I'd still recommend that
people use lightweight trail runners. And if they aren't working at first,
try out a different pair. Some will and others won't work for you.  

Ron
------------------------------------
Ron "Fallingwater" Moak
http://www.fallingwater.com/