[pct-l] Heavy Leather Hiking Boots

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good afternoon, all,


Lately there’s been a barrage of posts advocating the use of traditional,
high-topped, Vibram-soled, leather hiking boots.  I believe this advice is
ill-advised because following it offers few real advantages, and it imposes
a very substantial burden on a trail hiker.  For 99% of the PCT boots are
just a solution in search of a problem.



While I hike in running or trail shoes I also wear heavy boots a great deal
-- and have for the last 60 years.  I wore them while serving in the Army; I
wore them while working around heavy equipment; I wore them while on a USFS
engineering crew; and I wear them while performing PCT maintenance in N.
Oregon and S. Washington.  I wore boots then because I was required to do so
as a condition of employment.  Currently, I choose to wear boots only while
cutting and logging timber for my season’s firewood, or when I travel
cross-country over steep, rough terrain.  I do that only because sturdy
boots provide the kind of protection I find necessary for my feet and
ankles.



Historically, most people who wore boots on the trail did so because that’s
what they wore in their everyday lives.  Look at old photographs and note
that instead of wearing dedicated hiking attire they were probably dressed
in worn or shabby business suits; often including a necktie.  When the
backpacking craze of the early ‘70s arrived thousands of inexperienced
people headed for their outfitter.  What was popular then was the U.S.
spin-off of the relatively light, leather, Vibram-soled European walking
shoe, except our version became the ubiquitous, heavy, stiff,
lace-to-the-toe “waffle-stomper”.  Since there were few alternatives
available at the time -- except for tennis shoes and a few field hockey
shoes -- the “waffle-stomper” became most commonly used shoe.  After all,
“everybody’s doing it”.



Trail hiking is entirely different from walking cross-country hiking or
wading through brush and logging slash.  The tread of the PCT is
substantially flat and level, with grades rarely exceeding 15%.  In my view,
the relatively rare instances of rough trail do not justify the penalties
associated with stiff, heavy boots; and I wouldn’t wear boots just for a few
short sections of steep, side-hill snow-pack any more than I would wear
snowshoes the entire way just to avoid the occasional chance of postholing.
Similarly, I wouldn’t carry a bow saw, a shovel, and a Pulaski for 2,663
miles just to help myself across a few obstructed stretches of trail that I
could otherwise slow down to negotiate or avoid.



More specifically:

--- Decent quality leather boots, particularly the lighter imported European
varieties, are ruinously expensive.  When you select a style and size you
better guess correctly because most of us can’t afford to experiment by
trying a dozen or more pairs to find just the right item.  Overall, a hiker
wearing sneakers will probably pay as much for his/her five pairs compared
to possibly one pair of heavy boots.  In my view wearing out more -- but
less expensive -- shoes is a good thing.  I prefer the ability to change my
style and/or size while in-route rather than having to gut-it-out with one
expensive pair for all conditions.


--- Sturdy leather boots typically weigh between 4 and 7 pounds per pair.  4
pounds is twice what my sneakers weigh, and 7 pounds equals the base weight
of my pack.  Then again, anyone who carries a traditional 65-pound load
probably won’t notice an additional 5 pounds on their feet.


  --- Breaking-in heavy boots is usually a long and often-painful process,
particularly if you try to hurry.  With rare exceptions, if you bought boots
now they would not be broken-in and trail-ready by the Kick-Off.  In the
process you can expect to develop blisters in places you didn’t even know
you had places.


--- Contrary to some inference, wearing boots will not obviate the
possibility of having foot/leg problems such as plantar fasciitis,
tendonitis, shin splints or any of the other maladies that trail pounding
produces.  In one important respect boots are worse:  Because of their
stiffness repetitive force is applied to limited areas of the foot
localizing and concentrating the damage.


--- Ankle support provided by boots is not what it’s cracked-up to be.  While
trail walking, the force of one’s leg goes directly into the heal and
forefoot without a tendency to turn the ankle.  A low-top sneaker will move
on the foot to comply to trail irregularities without torquing the ankle
sideways.  Off-trail, my ankles don’t turn either, but the shoe could easily
turn sideways off my foot.  That’s not desirable but, again, PCT hiking
isn’t about cross-country travel.



--- Stiff boots with Vibram soles, laced tightly at the ankles, are great
for kick-stepping and “edging” on slick side-hill snowpack, however, this
very rarely needs to be done.  Most of the time a hiker is following the
tracks of numerous previous hikers so useable footprints will be in place.  I
can’t remember more than a few times over the years when I broke a fresh
track across slick side-hill snowpack, and even fewer times when I really
“had to” vs. “wanted to”.  Being generous, I would estimate that an average
thru-hike would involve possibly 100 meters of un-trod, slick, side hill
travel.  In my mind that doesn’t justify wearing heavy boots for thousands
of miles.



--- Typical boots – particularly boots with high, distinct heels – are much
worse than sneakers in potential postholing situations.  Sneakers usually
have longer and wider soles for a greater total area, plus those soles are
somewhat flexible to provide a better “feel” of the surface and to more
evenly distribute the step force across the entire area.  Stiff boots will
concentrate step force -- first at the heal, then at a forefoot edge – to
locally crush the snowpack and cause the hiker to posthole.



--- Boots with high, distinct heels are pretty good when charging down
steep, loose grades.  I’ll keep that in mind if I ever find a significant
stretch of steep, loose grade and I feel that I simply can’t slow down for a
minute or so.  Remember though, heel-stepping down steep grades is a major
cause of shin-splints, and it doesn’t take very long to do the damage.



--- The hard plastic Vibram soles are a hazard on hard, wet or frozen
surfaces.  Smooth wet logs are a particular treat, as are slick rocks in a
river crossing.  For a lasting remembrance of the resulting antics be sure
to have someone standing by with a movie camera before you cross.



--- I recommend wearing shoes while fording, and leather and GoreTex boots
are the very best at keeping the water in.  Both dry much more slowly than
regular sneakers.



Overall, it’s good to remember that the nearly-total movement of PCTers to
hike in lightweight running shoes did not evolve in a vacuum.  It evolved
over many years when bright, thoughtful, innovative, and experienced people
looked at whatever became available and asked, “Why not give it a try?”  What
they found was that ultra-lite gear works.


Enjoy your planning,



Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09