[pct-l] My footwear experiences

[elee at microsoft.com (Eric Lee (GAMES))]

All of the recent conversations about footwear have been really
interesting.  It bears repeating that everyone's feet are different and
what works for one person may not work at all for another person.  As
another point of reference, here's what works for me.

 

First, the context: I'm a section hiker that does one ~100 mile piece of
the PCT per year, usually in five days.  The rest of the year I'm tied
to a desk job and only get out for day hikes and quick overnighters
(maybe 8 to 12 miles a week in the spring and summer).  My feet are
pretty normal in their shape but are quite soft and have no significant
calluses to speak of.  I live in Seattle and hike primarily in the
Washington Cascades.  My base pack weight is 13.5 pounds.  My body is
probably about 20 pounds overweight (sigh).

 

Regarding socks: I've tried a number of different strategies but there's
only one that really works for me.  I wear thin synthetic liner socks
under thicker wool socks, in a shoe that's fairly snug but not tight.
I've tried wearing just the thin socks, or just the thick oversocks, and
get blisters within 10 miles.  Actually, the last two years I've worn
Wrightsocks (a double-layer running sock) under my wool socks, so I
actually have three layers of material.  With that combination I can go
straight from a desk job to 20 mile trail days and not have a bit of
trouble with blisters.

 

I've heard people recommend that prospective thru-hikers wear just thin
liner socks and start with oversized shoes.  If that works for you,
great, but for me it would be a sure-fire recipe for hamburger feet.

 

Regarding shoes:  My ankles and/or feet aren't very mechanically stable
and I have a tendency to walk on the outside edges of my feet.  As you
might imagine, I have a long history of severe ankle sprains and my
ligaments are pretty stretched out.  A few years ago I really put a lot
of effort into strengthening exercises and after awhile I felt strong
enough to try trail runners instead of hiking boots.  I loved them, but
on the Glacier Peak section (Wa. section K) I rolled my ankle and
sprained it again about 30 miles north of Steven's Pass.  I didn't have
any great bail-out options so I taped up my ankle with athletic tape and
continued, but needless to say that didn't do my ankle any favors.

 

It took me almost a year to put it back together again and my podiatrist
warned me that if I sprained that ankle again my hiking days might be
over for good. So . . . it's back to high-topped footwear for me.  I
wish I could wear running shoes for hiking but it just isn't going to
happen.

 

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of options out there for light,
breathable, quick-drying shoes that also have great ankle support.
Anyone have any suggestions?

 

Eric