[pct-l] How Many Trail Shoes / When to buy them

[Scott Heeschen]

I also found the trail runners to fit very well right out of the box.  Maybe 
the first new pair on the trail gave a little trouble, but all the pairs 
after that worked straight out of the box with no problems.  Of course by 
then my feet had toughened considerably and I knew exactly how to lace them 
to fit my feet right.  I went through five pairs, and REI was able to ship 
to my resupply places with no trouble.

I think my feet had finished doing all their growing/swelling after the 
first hundred miles, so I didn't need to worry about ordering the next size 
up.  Of course, your feet could be different.

For me, I started walking just about everywhere a few months before I 
started my hike (work, restaurants, the shoe stores :-) and my foot size had 
already grown from a 9.5 to 10.5.  Then I sat in the shoe store and kept 
trying larger and larger shoes until I found the largest size where the heel 
didn't slip.  Montrails must have a tight heel cup, because I think I was 
able to wear an 11.5 with no heel trouble.  I started hiking wearing a liner 
and a wool sock, but that let me switch things around if my feet were 
getting cramped - in the desert for a day or two, I just wore the liner. 
Most of the rest of the hike I just wore the wool socks.  Some people I 
hiked with didn't experience much foot expansion at all, but they were 
typically runners/marathoners, so their feet had probably already gone 
through the normal thru-hike "growth spurt".

I also played around a lot with the lacing during the first few weeks based 
on what some of the shoe salespeople told me and what I read in the book, 
Fixing Your Feet.  It was nice to have a few options of what to do when my 
shoes didn't fit right.  I even met one guy who, although he used Superfeet, 
kept the original insoles around.  They're pretty lightweight, and provided 
something different in case a pressure point started to develop.

Anyways, I should probably shut up.  Just wanted to post my experience with 
regards to shoes.  Oh yeah, I still got a few blisters, maybe 2 or 3, but 
nothing bad at all.

     Buck Larceny, '05

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marcia" <gottawalk at pacbell.net>
To: "Kathleen Salmon" <ksalmon at wesleyan.edu>; <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 9:18 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] How Many Trail Shoes / When to buy them


> For me, trail runners feel good right out of the box without breaking in,
> one of the advantages of light shoes over heavier shoes or boots. I order
> from REI or zappos.com and have them sent to a resupply town ahead. It's
> easy to tweak the size if you feel you need it while you hike.
>
> Be sure to have them sent USPS and not UPS or FedEx if you are picking up 
> at
> a PO.
>
> GottaWalk
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Kathleen Salmon" <ksalmon at wesleyan.edu>
> To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 7:13 PM
> Subject: [pct-l] How Many Trail Shoes / When to buy them
>
>
> Hello all,
>
> I am reading that people tend to wear 4-6 pairs of shoes. Thoughts?
>
> I have also read that feet sometimes swell/expand, sometimes even a 1/2
> size larger. Thoughts?
>
> So I am thinking of buying replacement shoes along the trail to ensure
> that I have the proper size. But I cringe at the thought of breaking in a
> new pair of shoes on trail. Thoughts?
>
> Thank you for your thoughts,
> Kathleen
>
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