[pct-l] First time 20 miles

[bodhisattvavow at hotmail.com (Matt Bradley)]

Saskia,
    Congratulations on your first 20+!  You are right that your trail
runners will get wet in the rain.  There is not much that you can do about
it.  In my opinion, this is still preferable to wearing waterproof boots (or
shoes).  While the feet never really dry on wet days, they are much more
comfortable on dry ones and I don't really mind the wet feet on wet days.
In fact, with frequent stream crossings the feet are going to be wet no
matter what.  The more detailed argument for running shoes is in Beyond
Backpacking, you've probably read it so I won't rant on.  I just wanted to
say that what you described works well for me, it might not for you, but
give it a few more tries.  If you try different shoes, let us know what your
experience is hiking 20 miles in the snow/rain/sleet in waterproofs.
Peace and Love,
Matt