[pct-l] Re: Shoe Size

[charliethorpe@worldnet.att.net (Charlie Thorpe)]

Hello Joanne -

You said:

>...asking my climbing partner if his feet and legs
>continuously ached, and were especially sore on the looong days.
>Mystified, he said "no", as he proceeded to take off his soft boots,
>which were little more than high topped running shoes.
>...I was climbing in the sierras with running shoes (not on snow),
>sandals, or soft boots, and I can not remember the characteristic foot
>and leg pains which I got with my heavy climbing boots...

Hmmmm...I have been thinking along the lines that the softer "running shoe"
type hiking boots might themselves be causing some of the problems
mentioned in Ray J's book.  Not enough arch or side support...

I am absolutely convinced that many of us hikers (and many of the boot
fitters also) don't pay enough attention to well-fitted arch support when
we buy our hiking boots.  Before my distance hiking days, a short hike
(week or less) just didn't put enough stress on my feet to show how
important good support truly was.  Not any more...after a couple of
thru-hikes, I can feel the need for support after just a few miles walking
in town.

>What brand are these 2,000 mile boots that you have? Did you retire
>them after the CDT bash?  What is the sole like, do they have straight
>or round heels...and how heavy are they?

I used the same pair of Salomon Adventure-9 Ultra Lites on both 1500 miles
of the PCT and 400 miles of the CDT.  I plan to keep using these boots on
all future hikes until they wear out and so far they are looking good.  I
like the boot because of its relative light weight and its fantastic ankle
support.  I don't like its flat footbed, but I now know enough to replace
it with a footbed that better suits my foot.

I first started using the Salomon Adventure-9's on the AT.  My son and I
started with the Adventure-9 Trek's (brown lace cover, 4 lbs for the pair).
He walked through the soles of his by the time we hit the 700 mile point
(I was only at 600 miles at that point because I had replaced my boots with
a larger size at 100 miles).  Salomon was surprised that the soles wore out
so quickly (we had expected the boots to last the entire hike), so they
gave me a pair of the Adventure-9 Mountain Boots (green lace cover, 5 lbs
for the pair) to finish the hike (my son left the trail to go back to
college at the 700 mile point).

The Trek's had a rinky-dink rubber toe rand that came up to completely
cover your toes.  We suggested that it be removed to allow the leather
underneath to better form to fit our feet.  They must have listened to all
of us who didn't like the toe rand, because when the boots were
reintroduced with the (current) longer-lived sole, the toe rand was left
off.  The Trek's were a comfortable boot and I would have preferred them
over the Mountain's for another thru-hike because they were more flexible
and lighter.  The Mountain boots were a bit of overkill for trail hiking
(heavy leather, crampon shank, etc.), but I did enjoy the full Vibram tread
in the slush and snow on the southern AT in Nov-Dec.  The Mountain boots
had plenty of tread left after 1500 miles of the AT, but I didn't use them
anymore because Salomon wanted them back for testing when my AT hike was
done.

We wound up using the Ultra Lites (blue lace cover, 3 lbs for the pair) on
the PCT because Salomon wanted us to try them out on a thru-hike before
they introduced them in this country.  We planned to wear them as we hiked
the entire PCT, with time out for a stopover at the Reno Outdoor Equipment
Show to let Salomon show the boots off as they introduced them to their
retailers.  When we got to Reno, the French engineers from Salomon were
interested in using our boots for testing (we had identified a couple of
what we guessed were simple quality control problems)...they gave us each a
new pair of Ultra Lites to use for the rest of the hike.  I would have been
more than willing to use the first pair all the way, but they twisted my
arm <g>.

I was unhappy with the low-volume fit (already told you how I finally
solved that particular problem) and with some of the stitching at some of
the stress points in the Ultra Lites.  I understand that the stitching
problem was solved as soon as the engineers got back to France, but both
pairs that I used had to be hand-stitched at a couple of points on the
trail.  I had some concerns at first with the tread pattern on the Ultra
Lites (VERY environmentally friendly...I was concerned about having any
traction at all!), but the fantastic edge control and sharp heel more than
made up for it.  In fact, I would have to credit our good boots with
getting our buns out of deep yogurt a couple times during our PCT hike
(Trail Crest at Whitney and on the hanging glacier in Goat Rocks)...it
certainly was NOT our Alabama-honed mountaineering skills...or our
wonderful mountaineering gear (cathole trowel...).

When prepping for the CDT hike, I sent the Ultra Lites to Rocky Mountain
Resole.  I wanted the stitching to be beefed up by the pro's at a couple of
points and they went ahead and resoled the boots with the Trek sole. I
would guess that there was at least 50% of the tread left on the original
sole, but that was 50% of a pretty shallow tread pattern to start with.
The Trek lug pattern is deeper than that of the Ultra Lite and is shaped
more like the traditional Vibram pattern.  I knew that much of the CDT
segment that I would be hiking is above 12,000 feet and I expected some
snow (old and new) along the way.  As it turned out, I was quite happy with
the new soles and didn't mind the few extra ounces at all <g>.

>Could you please elaborate on the "airwashing" for those of us who have
>stinky feet hovering menacingly in the background.

I started thinking about the need for a soapless personal hygiene system
when I became a born-again "Leave No Trace" fanatic <g>.  I am NOT a fan
(major understatement here!) of the stink of unwashed humans (sweat is
fine, it's when it starts to rot that I start gagging...).  A couple of
fellow AT southbounders were so careless about keeping clean that they
would run us out of the shelter when they took their boots off and heaven
help us if they wore their rain gear up a steep hill on a hot rainy day.

Thick socks take forever to dry on the AT, so it became obvious that
constant rinsing wasn't going to work all that well.  Finally worked out
the "airwashing" system of soapless personal hygiene for myself.

First, I wear ZERO items of cotton clothing on the trail (cotton
kills...AND cotton stinks!).  My short pants and long-sleeve shirt are made
of 100% supplex nylon and I use Thorlo "Trekking" socks (that's all that I
use for a first layer...the outer layers are supplex zip-legs for the
shorts, a mid-weight polarfleece vest and a goretex mountain parka).  I use
a set of lite-weight capaline long johns, a thin polypro boggin, and spare
hiking socks as "sleep clothing" to extend the range of my sleeping bag and
to keep the bag clean on the long hikes (I wash the sleep clothing when I
hit town).  The sleep clothing is also a "reserve" if needed as an extra
day layer, but I have never had to use it that way on any of my
hikes...yet.

The supplex keeps nice and clean with simple daily rinsing in whatever
streamlet I cross (usually during a lunch stop or afternoon break when I am
hiking high...clothing dries fast and it's a LOT warmer than doing it in
early AM or late PM <g>).  I rinse the bod at the same time and try to let
a little UV hit nooks and crannies of my hide while the clothing soaks (not
too long...I quickly discovered that sunburn happens fast up high <g>).  If
I am lollygagging, I might spread out my shirt on the boulders so that the
inside gets a good dose of UV (I usually didn't do the shorts that way
unless there was unusual privacy, especially above treeline <g>).

I try  to take a sit-down break every couple of hours.  I take my boots and
socks off (even before I eat!) and let my feet dry out...holding my feet so
that they get a good dose of UV (spread my toes, etc.) and positioning my
boots so that max UV gets down inside.  I put on a "fresh" pair of socks
after each break and I hang the pair that I took off on the back of my
pack.  I carry 3 pairs of hiking socks and I rotate them...2 hrs on my
feet, 2 hrs hanging on my pack (inside out), and 2 hrs hanging on my pack
(rightside out).  I have decided that this technique helps minimize
blisters (dry skin) as well as odor.

I work on the theory that most crud that acts as a breeding ground for B.O.
does not penetrate into SOME of the man-made fibers (supplex nylon,
acrylic, etc.) and will rinse out with frequent vigorous swishing in
whatever surface water I stumble across.  I trust the UV to kill the
bacteria that causes B.O. and the general sunlight/breeze to dry my skin
and toughen it up.  Seems to have worked so far.

I wash my socks (and everything else!) with unscented detergent (bounce
box) when I hit town.  I add some unscented fabric softener to the wash
load every month or so to get the loft back up on the socks.  So far, 12
days is the longest that I have gone between town stops and the socks have
done fine for that long.  My shorts and shirt do get a bit musty when I
don't get a chance to rinse them out at least every couple of days or so.

Airwashing and frequent rinsing seems to work well for overall
cleanliness...I don't usually notice any obnoxious personal odors, folks
who join me on the trail don't cringe TOO often, and passers-by have even
questioned my being a thru-hiker ("You aren't dirty enough to have been on
the trail long!").  I like to use a white shirt and it does develop stains
from the pack straps over time.  The supplex material seems to last
forever...I am still using the shirts I used on the PCT (one for the first
half, another on the second half).  It took a couple of years of constant
wear and frequent washings after the PCT hike for the pack-strap stains to
wear away.

The Thorlo's also have done fine.  I used four pairs at a time on the PCT
(3 in rotation and one carried as a spare...they were mixed up in the
washer at each town stop).  I used one set of 4 pairs during the first 1100
miles and replaced them with 4 pairs that I picked up at the Reno show and
used for the last 1500 miles.  I am still using these socks around town and
on short hikes.  I picked up 3 new pairs to use on the CDT hike (used a
pair of coolmax liners for sleep socks instead of a spare pair of the
heavier Thorlo Trekkings).  I probably will carry the coolmax liners
instead of the Trekkings as sleep/spare socks on future long hikes (never
needed the spare Trekkings for anything other than sleep socks).

>Thoreau: The Universe is wider than our views of it.

I was a teenager in my sleeping bag on a COLD Alaska night and was really
enjoying the fantastic show of stars offered by that clean, clear, thin,
light-free atmosphere.  I still remember the exact moment that I came to
realize that JUST as many stars were behind me as were out in front!

Good luck on your field testing!

- Charlie II  AT (MEGA'93)
             PCT (Mex@Can'95)
     Chipping away at the CDT


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