[pct-l] Buying Shoes Along the Trail

[Steel-Eye]

Good evening,

I can't overemphasize how important adequate shoe width is to me.  In street
shoes I normally wear a size 10D, but as I hiked more in training I had to
go to size 11E to avoid pain between the bones in the balls of my feet.
With more training I went to 12EE.  With still more training, and for PCT
hiking, I'm only comfortable with 12EEEE.

Finding the correct width is a bit of a black art:  There are several shoe
size standards, using different formulae or algorithms.  These various
methods result in merely a foot bed width, while what is really needed is an
indication of the foot circumference as well.  The design of a shoe can
result in differing circumferences with the same flat width.  Some
manufacturers don't seem to subscribe to the common standards, and even if
they do, do they inspect them, and what production tolerances do they use?

I have never taken a brand new pair of shoes on the trail.  I must wear a
new pair for several hundred miles in training before I'm confident the size
is OK.  I may risk wearing another pair of that exact model and size, but
often the model has changed before I need another pair.

Women who need wide shoes are fortunate that men's shoes of a certain length
are wider than women's shoes of that same length, and it is often easier to
find a good selection of men's shoes from which to choose.

Steel-Eye

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Linda Bakkar" <lbakkar at hotmail.com>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Saturday, October 20, 2007 12:59 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] (pct-l) buying shoes along the trail


> Diana, thank you for your list.  I have a problem that someone else might
> also have.  My feet are extra wide, and very few hiking shoes are made for
> women with EE feet.  I found a store in Seattle (Shoreline Wide Shoes)
> that
> has a few options for me, and they are willing to send shoes anywhere I
> request, with just a phone call and a post office address.  I can request
> shoes of a larger size if needed.  There may be other stores on the west
> coast that specialize in extra wide shoes, and if anyone on this list has
> that problem, I hope you are as lucky as I am to find such a store.  For
> years, I used the widest shoes that REI or other stores could provide, but
> I
> still had foot problems from the tightness in the forefoot.  Extra wide
> shoes have helped to solve the problem for me.
>
> Good luck and I hope this helps if anyone out there needs the info.
>
> Lindy
>
> (from Diana S.)
> >
>>Here is my surely incomplete list:
>>151.3 - Idyllwild - Outfitter with limited shoes (montrail, inov8, golite?
>>- maybe 6 styles, mostly narrow and heavy- I would NOT recommend using
>>golite shoes- people I talked to said they are absolutely brutal on feet
>>and fall apart very quickly). I heard there was a store that sells running
>>shoes, but I never found it.
>>209.6 - Cabazon - Nike store at the outlet mall. Possible hitch down
>>Highway 10 towards LA to find other shoe stores.
>>265.3 - Big Bear Lake - There is an outfitter or two here in the big town,
>>but they mostly sell ski/bike stuff, I think. There may be a shoe store- I
>>didn't look.
>>454.4 - Agua Dulce/ The Saufleys - You WILL go to the Saufley's house.
>>They have cars heading out daily to nearby towns that have almost anything
>>you could ever want. I bought shoes at the Sports Chalet. Probably the
>>most
>>shoes I have ever seen in one place.
>>744.8 - Lone Pine - I didn't go there, but I am pretty sure there is an
>>outfitter.  There may also be one in Bishop.
>>906.6 - Mammoth Lakes (from Reds Meadow) - Great trail town. (Get
>>breakfast
>>at The Stove!!) Several outfitters (the folks at Mammoth Mountaineering
>>are
>>awesome!), and possibly a shoe store.
>>1094.5 - South Lake Tahoe - Huge town, several outfitters, shoe stores.
>>(Best Thai Food Ever at Orchid's Thai)
>>1155.8 - Truckee - Some shoes at Mountain Hardwear. However, I would
>>recommend going straight from Echo Lake/ S.L. Tahoe to Sierra City and not
>>stopping into Truckee.
>>1335.8 - Chester - There MIGHT be a couple of pairs of shoes to buy in
>>town, but I wouldn't count on it.
>>1415.9 - Burney - There MIGHT be a couple of pairs of shoes to buy in
>>town,
>>but I wouldn't count on it.
>>1506.5 - Shasta City - Outfitter that has a decent selection of (heavier)
>>trail runners. There is also a store that sells some lighter sneakers, but
>>they were not super high quality.
>>1726.6 - Ashland - Two outfitters (the one that has the PCT log book is
>>better stocked) and one running shoe store- Rogue Valley Runners.
>>(Morning
>>Glory in Ashland is tied with The Stove for best breakfast on the trail.
>>Timberline's breakfast buffet is also not to be missed.)
>>1989.5/ 2006.9 - Sisters - Shoe stores and an REI in Bend- about a 20 mile
>>hitch from Sisters.
>>2155.0 - Cascade Locks - Go into Portland for anything your heart desires.
>>2401.7 - Snoqualamie Pass - Hitch into Seattle for shoes/ gear.
>>2476.3 - Skykomish/ Stevens Pass - Hitch into Seattle for shoes/ gear.
>>2593.8 - Winthrop - Hitch east from Rainy Pass.  I wouldn't recommend
>>heading into town, as it is a long ride and you are almost to Canada, but
>>if the weather forces you to bail out, Winthrop is great- a wonderful
>>outfitter with a very good shoe and gear selection and (the owner Rita is
>>amazingly awesome), nice hotel- the Duck Brand- with decent prices and
>>possible PCT discount. The brownies at the little coffee stand in town are
>>even better than the ones at the Stehekin bakery.
>>
>>This is what I know of along the trail. There are also a few other options
>>if you want to try and hitch to San Diego early on if your feet feel like
>>they are going to fall off if you don't get new shoes asap. Also, there is
>>a Sports Chalet in Lancaster, CA that you can get to from maybe Mojave or
>>Hiker Town.  If there is only an outfitter in town, expect only
>>outfitter-type shoes (heavier, stiff trail runners and boots).  I can say
>>for sure that there are NO other options for buying on-trail from Truckee
>>till Canada other than what I listed (I would probably just ignore the two
>>MIGHTs).  I prefer buying shoes locally so that I can support local
>>businesses, but there will most likely be a time when you need new shoes
>>(or a specific type that is not easy to find) and are in a place that you
>>can't get them. I used a total of 6 pairs of shoes along the trail, but
>>could have gotten away with 5 if I had started with larger ones.
>>Zappos.com
>>is a pretty good resource, and they often
>>  offer free overnight shipping.
>>
>
>
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