[pct-l] Camp Shoes and Such

[Bruce Harvey]

Jason,

You wrote

>> I can envision other times that the crocs would be useful such as  
>> on zeros, desert breaks when I'm airing my shoes, bathing, public  
>> showers... I'm not above asking advice. I'm just not used to  
>> asking strangers.


Leave 'em home.  Only use you mention that you might regard worth  
carrying the weight would be in public showers.  That would only be  
to reduce probability of picking up athlete's foot , and still  
wouldn't guarantee such.  Useful on zeroes?  Maybe, if you take lots  
of 'em.  Comfortable running or trail running shoes work for zeroes.   
Useful for airing feet and shoes in the desert?  If you can find  
space to park your butt on shaded (not hot) ground, you can find  
enough for feet.  If needed,move a rock and put heels on cool ground,  
and later replace rock where it was.  Or scrape small amount of sand  
down ~2" to where it's cool, and later cover the divot.  At worst,  
park bare heels in heel cups of otherwise empty shoes.  Removing wet  
shoes and socks in camp?  Yeah, just before you inset self into bag  
or under quilt.  For most hikers, doing the whole PCT in a season  
will make camping mostlty (though not entirely) a perfunctory  
business, especially if they take many zeroes.

Only places I would have liked to have Crocs or flops was at a few  
lakes in Oregon.  Lots of snags and deadfall at many shores, and  
muddy bottoms obscuring more of same.  Made stepping in dicey.

FWIW, if you get debris in shoes and it bothers you, light gaiters  
are a must-have.  Never needed them with boots, but found I did with  
low cut shoes.  Two are:
http://www.joetrailman.com/
http://www.dirtygirlgaiters.com/
Either attach with lace hook in front, velcro at back, with hook side  
glued to shoe.  PCT thru hike will wear out two pairs.  I buy all  
replacement shoes before beginning hike, and glue on the hook tabs at  
home.  If you buy shoes along the way (either in 'towns' or by remote  
order shipped to resupply spots) and if you also use a bounce bucket,  
keeping glue tube and velcro strip in bucket would provide for  
attaching glued tabs to each new pair of shoes as you get them.   
Since the Dirty Girl gaiters use self-adhesive velcro loop tabs, no  
bounce bucket would be needed.  Not sure I'd trust self-adhesive.   
Glue-on tabs have been good for me, never had even a corner lift.

 From an admittedly strange stranger.  All caveats apply.
geezer '07