[pct-l] shoes

[chelin at teleport.com (Sharon & Chuck Chelin)]

Good evening, Wolfclan,

I do not remember what part of an inch is represented by a half size, but I
gage by the space between the end of my longest toe and the inside of the
shoe.  I can not get buy with less than 1 full inch.  With less than that my
flat feet will slide forward on a downgrade and I end up with pain and black
nails.  I can relieve the problem somewhat by overtightening the laces, but
that is just not comfortable.  I use running shoes, and NB 805 or 806.

For Oregon PCT I wore one pair (at a time) medium-weight wool blend socks,
but I did not like that arrangement.  They wadded up, and took too long to
dry after a creek or a washing.  Next, for the first 350 miles of Washington
PCT, I experimented and did not wear any socks at all, just gaiters over the
running shoes.  That was OK, but I was never pleased with the lack of a
friction buffer between my hide and the insoles, particularly when
perspiration made my skin a bit sticky.  For the remainder of Washington to
Manning I wore one pair of thin socks, either REI sock liners, or better,
thin men's dress socks.  Now that is all I use, except if I have to hike in
sustained snow, in which case I use a heavier sock but I don't really like
them.

Believe me, once you reduce your load from 75 lbs. to about 15-20 lbs. you
will find a whole new enjoyment on the trail.

Steel-Eye

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "George Ackerman" <gea5775@yahoo.com>
To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, February 14, 2005 4:47 PM
Subject: [pct-l] shoes


> I am new to the ultra light hiking, but I like the idea. When i did the AT
back in 78 my pack weighed in at 75 pounds at Pinkham notch in NH. I only
had two days of food left (it was about empty)! I did the last 1500 miles in
sneakers, had sore feet at times, well all of Penn. Last summer I did a
section of the long trail in VT. I plan on finishing it this summer, but
last summer, at the end of a week at 15 - 20 miles a day my toes hurt. I
couldn't figure it out. I now think my feet must have gotten longer. They
hit the end of my heavy leather boot and had no room to go. My big toe on
the right foot was numb for three weeks after the trip. I am now thinking of
using sneakers this summer and next when I start the PCT. The plan is to
section hike, 500 - 600 miles a summer. So
> What do you think about a sneaker that is a half size to beg and
> Do you wear two socks
> If so do you wear two liners or one liner and one heavy hiking sock.
> This is so nice to talk to others with hiking experience. Back when I did
the AT every one relied heavily on one book that Ed Garvey wrote. I think
the suggestion was to have your base weight or maybe total pack weight down
to 45 pounds. I couldn't do it. Ma camera and 300mm zoom weighed more than
most of your base weights.
> Wolfclan
> GAtoME 78
>
>
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