[pct-l] Camp shoes

[rogercar@pacifier.com (Roger Carpenter)]

I used to carry a pair of running shoes in my pack for weekend hikes, back
in the days I wore heavier leather boots.  After a day of hiking in the
boots, my feet needed something lighter and more comfortable.  For those
hikes I typically made camp around 5 pm, or earlier, so I enjoyed the 4 or 5
hours in camp with a comfortable second pair of footwear.  On my '96 thru
hike, wearing running shoes, I didn't feel the need to change to more
comfortable footwear after setting up camp.  On some days, after hiking 28
to 30 miles, no other shoes would have made any difference to my sore feet,
anyway!  The exception was in the Sierras.

In '96 I carried a pair of neoprene booties for fording creeks in the
Sierras.  The fords were frequent enought that having separate footwear for
fording made sense.  This kept my snow boots drier and lighter.  North of
Echo Lake the booties were no longer needed and I switched back to running
shoes.  For the few creek fords north of Echo I took my sock off, and
removed the footbed liners from the shoes.  After fording, with dry socks
and a dry liner back inside the shoes, I barely noticed that the shoes were
actually soaked.  This worked out real well.

What really blew me away was on my final day on the trail, September 12,
1996.  I had just finished with an hour-long stop at the Canada border and
Monument 78, taking pictures and all, and began the final stretch from the
Monument to the highway and Manning Park.  Being in a very civilized park, I
assumed I would not have to repeat the ritual of coming upon a bridge-less
creek, taking off my shoes and socks, pulling out the liner and pulling the
shoes back on my feet for the ford.  Then, I came upon the creek that flows
just north of Monument 78, with no bridge!  I couldn't belive it!  It was
the last creek I forded for the long hike.
Roger Carpenter
P.O. Box 651 
Vancouver, WA  98666
(360) 696-1746

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