[pct-l] Camp Shoes

[Bighummel@aol.com]

I carried an old pair of track shoes that originally had spikes on them.  I 
had the spike soul replaced with a thin leather soul.  The shoes were made of 
the thinnest leather and hardly weighed much, basically a leather sock 
really.  I didn't weigh them.  They were so great for laying around in and in 
town.  I like protecting my feet, after all they are the part in contact with 
the ground you cover.  So many thru hikers are thwarted by injuries to their 
feet that I wouldn't cut corners here.  The thin neoprene water shoes sound 
interesting.   I have been looking at them for ocean kayaking, but weight 
isn't a concern there.

A woman in '77 was injured in Yosemite while barefoot playing frisbee with a 
dog on a rope.  The rope wrapped around her naked ankle and caused a deep 
rope burn.  She went home to heal it since she couldn't get the foot into her 
boot without tremendous pain.   She never returned, to my knowledge.

In regard to boots; maybe I'm clumsy but I stumbled and stubbed my toe many 
times on my thruhike.  I would be looking up at the scenery and catch my boot 
on a rock.  I sure wouldn't want to do this in a running shoe!  Without the 
protection of the toe box and sturdy soul my toes would have been injured 
several times with potentially devastating consequences.  This isn't related 
to weight carried either, as I have done this day hiking also when I wasn't 
carrying anything more than about ten pounds.   

Has anyone who has used running shoes had any problems with this?

Greg "Strider" Hummel
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