[at-l] Wet feet

[WenchAT03 at comcast.net (Teresa)]

LWOP,

Which do you prefer?  What I mean is, you are the one that has to wear them
all day, so you have to do what you think is best.

I'd never worn Gore-Tex anything before my hike, so didn't buy anything
Gore-Tex (usually more expensive than without).  After the wet year last
year, I still won't set out to buy Gore-Tex shoes/boots.  (If there's a
great deal, and they feel great, I might.)  It was so wet that I don't think
anything would've helped.  When the water is over the shoetop/boottop, it
will get in anyway.  I'd prefer something that breathes more.

I started with leather boots (Vasque) and in the snow, they eventually got
soaked.  However, while hiking, my feet stayed warm enough and I changed
into dry socks and camp shoes once I stopped for the day.  Some hikers
wearing trail runners put plastic bags over their feet inside the shoe and
swore by it.  I tried it once or twice and didn't like it.

Hiking in VA through PA was quite wet last summer, and at that time I was
wearing a pair of Salomon hiking shoes.  I didn't have much trouble with
blisters (not more than when dry anyway).  In VT, I had to get a new pair of
shoes and I bought Lowas.  They didn't have as much mesh as the other pair,
and I started having problems with not blisters, but raw, red spots on my
feet.  I believe the Lowas don't allow for any air to get to the feet, while
the Salomons did, and that was my problem.  I don't know if it was an
air-dry issue or an air-cooling issue, but I believe it was due to lack of
air. Many people wore Lowas last year, and I didn't hear of the same
problem.

So, the short answer is..... It's really up to you.  Do your feet get cold
easily when wet?  Or do your feet warm up while hiking?  Do you notice a
difference in cold-weather hiking between your Gore-Tex and non Gore-Tex?

:-)
Not sure this helped, but heck, it's out there now.....
Wench

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "LWOP" <Lwop@att.net>

 He was passing through the Smokies last week when he posted this.  Now that
passage got me thinking.  My plan was to use the same style of boots I wore
on my last hike (later in the season and during drought conditions).  They
are not Gore-Tex but I have coated them a number of times with a
waterproofing wax.  I do have a pair of Gore-Tex Vasque that are broken in
but they are not as delightfully comfortable as the Solomons are.  Neither
of these boots will cause me blisters as I have a couple hundred miles of
break-in on both.
The question for any of you who started this early in the season (Springer
Feb 27th) which would you recommend?
Lwop