[pct-l] Shoes, snow and the Sierra

["Reynolds, WT" <reynolds@ilan.com>]

Instead of just focusing on shoes for the snowy Sierra I propose that one
looks at how they would handle specific situations. Based on how one handles
these situations a gear list will, hopefully become clear. 

I am NOT an expert at snow. However, I routinely cross snowy patches hiking
in the sierra. Assuming that you don't leave Kennedy Meadows until the snow
level is BELOW 10,000 feet what you will face is long stretches of patchy
snow between 10,000 and 11,000, then almost solid snow over the passes.
Assuming that you plan to do one pass per day like most thruhikers you will:

Question 1:
1-Camp anywhere depending on where the day's end happens to fall. {this is
commonly called stealth camping]
2-Camp well before the pass in a low spot.
3-Camp before the pass at somewhere around 10-10,500 feet in order cross the
pass early.

The advantage of camping low and spending the morning reaching the snow
before the pass is that you will be hiking on soft snow. You risk postholing
in the afternoon as the snow softens further but not the slippery ice crust
of morning snowfields. The advantage of starting early is that you can walk
on the frozen ice crust and avoid postholing at the risk of slipping. If you
camp wherever, you face both situations.

Question 2:
Faced with an icy section I will:
1-Wait until the snow softens
2-Don my crampons, unhook my axe and go.
3-Trust my boots and hiking poles. {The God of drunks, fools and backpackers
protect me]

Decision Point! In Jonathan Breen's account of his 1998 Sierra crossing, he
clearly delineates the advantages of crampons. He was able to hike early on
the snow crust while another party had to wait for the snow to soften. The
crampons that I would recommend are Grivel Grippers, 6 point walking
crampons, that weigh about a pound. If you decide to use crampons you need
boots, not sneakers. You need not heavy clodhoppers for these crampons but
you need something sturdy or you will face blister city. Crampons attach to
your boots in one of two ways. Real crampons clamp onto stiff boots.
Grippers have a chain and strap arrangement that digs into the boots. This
works well on regular hiking boots and is suitable for short stretches of
snowfield travel but not mountain climbing.

Assuming you decide not to carry crampons you should wait until the snow
softens, then use hiking poles with snow baskets on relatively level ground.
You will find that spreading your weight on four points will dramatically
reduce post holing.  On uphills you will kick steps in the soft snow and
self-belay with your axe. You need an axe long enough to do this! However,
when encountering an icy chute like the one just below Forrester Pass you
will take your life in your hands. Hundreds of thruhikers have successfully
negotiated this slope but most snow people I know would want crampons to
cross this chute. 

Step kicking makes wet boots and blisters. I would find it awful to do this
in running shoes or lightweight boots but people do it all the time. The
RESULT IS BLISTERS. Read the accounts of thruhikers if you disagree. It is
routine for courageous thruhikers to truck into Vermillion Valley Resort
with blisters the size of silver dollars. In some cases they require serious
medical attention. The result this far along the hike is almost always wet
socks. The calluses that formed in that 23 mile trek thru the San Felipe
Hills just aren't up to the task of fighting wet socks. People try many
things including duct taping their entire foot. Nothing, however, takes the
place of DRY SOCKS!

With crampons and an axe you will basically walk up the slope. You will not
kick steps except rarely. By staying on top of the snow you use the crust to
you advantage. Your feet stay dry. Unfortunately, the clamping action of the
crampon binding and the inflexibility of the crampon can also lead to
blisters -- often in unusual places. You need to stop and take care of these
hot spots right away. [This is classic backpacking advice. Hot spot?
Moleskin now! Don't wait.] Over mixed ground you will need to stop and take
off-put on crampons many times. Keep crampon use to a minimum to avoid
blisters. The Grivel walking crampons do not have front points so you can't
do serious mountaineering. But then, if you need these, you are on too steep
a slope for a snow novice. 

Question 3:
Faced with a stream crossing I will:
1-Take off my boots and socks, don my water crossing shoes, wade across,
carefully dry my feet and wear my boots to the next water crossing.
2-Do 1- above except that I will walk in my water crossing shoes between one
crossing and another when they are closely spaced.
3-Try to rock hop and If I get wet, oh well
4-Remove my socks and cross in my boots

Number 1 gets old -- very fast. However, this is what I do. I carry three
pair of socks. My boots don't take a dunking. I protect my feet. I don't get
blisters.

Most people rock hop, log balance or take a flying leap. It works most of
the time but ultimately the boots get wet. I would rather have lightweight
hiking boots or running shoes and dry socks than I would have wet heavy
boots and wet socks. So, in the weight tradeoff game, a couple of extra pair
of socks will go a long way to avoid blisters if you are using running
shoes. I use a synthetic sock called Wick n Dry that dries relatively
quickly [about a day]. It seems that wool takes forever to dry. Question:
Have you figured a way to dry your socks over your 1/2 ounce alcohol stove
and did you allow for this in your fuel calculation?

Ditto, crossing in boots without socks. I'd want running shoes for that. I
would carry an extra pair of insoles Consider those aftermarket insoles
[inserts] made of a material that won't hold water.  
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