[pct-l] Thru hiker questions

[Ernie Castillo]

Maybe it's because gear has changed since I hike the PCT in 1980.

But I wore 1 pair of boots, and had them re-soled.

Of course, they weighed several pounds.

 

I tried hiking short stretches with running shoes. It didn't work. I didn't get the ankle support I was used to. I also picked, in Oregon, up a second pair of lighter boots, made of Gore-Tex, but that meant I was carrying even more weight.

 

I take it today's gear is lighter and most through hikers don't wear the old-fashioned boots made of thick leather.

 

One advantage of old style: they served as a good barrier to snake  bite and frostbite.

Ernie Castillo
erniec01 at hotmail.com
248 884 5201



 
> Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:30:21 -0800
> From: austinwilliams123 at gmail.com
> To: gwtmp01 at mac.com; pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Thru hiker questions
> 
> The average, according most other hikers I've talked to, is 450 - 500 miles
> per pair. That's 5.8 pairs for the whole trail. Can't buy 0.8 pairs of
> shoes, so call it 6. The possible '7' comes from the fact that your choice
> of resupply points may prohibit you from getting your new pair of shoes at
> exactly 500 miles. So, you'd have to send them to an earlier resupply
> point... which means you'll be getting less than 500 miles out of each
> pair...
> 
> ... but a lot depends on hiking style. Some people will wear a pair of
> shoes for more than 500 miles... without feeling the breakdown.
> 
> If you include your training shoes, I'd say 6-7 pairs. But HYOH.
> 
> The uncertainty may be yet another reason to not buy all your shoes at
> once. Budget for 7 pairs, leave the money with your support person, and
> have them buy and send each new pair as you need them. Then you don't have
> to worry about buying too many or the wrong size.
> 
> Just my 2 cents.
> 
> -Austin
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