[pct-l] Thru hiker questions

[Steve McAllister]

The number of shoes required depends on the the shoes. As a general
rule, heavier shoes last longer than lighter shoes.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't hike in light shoes.

So if light shoes have less life and less materials are used to make
them, why do they cost as much as heavier shoes?
I suspect because the labor is the big expense and the labor is the
same for light shoes and heavy shoes.

I don't remember the figures, but I think Grandma Gatewood went
through 6 or 7 of her ultralight canvas tennis shoes when she thru'd
the AT.

stevie


On Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 4:32 PM, Ernie Castillo <erniec01 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Part of my issues in 1980 were the weight I was carrying (about 45 pounds, on average) and the fact that I have weak ankles.
>
>
>
> When I got back on the trail after a break to take care of several case of shin splints (nerf-ball sized swelling) that nearly turned into thrombophlebitis, I was able to walk through deep snow in the Desolation Wilderness area in my heavy leather boots. They were perpetually water-logged and frozen; they acted like a soft cast. They eventually shaped around my feet and fit like gloves. Gloves that weighed several pounds.
>
>
>
> I still have a problem with swollen ankles / shins today but it tends to get worse the longer I sit at my office desk.
>
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>
> On weekends, I like to wear a pair of lighter hiking boots that I bought for a day hike when I visited family in California. My wife hates them; she says they look nerdy. She bought me -- you guessed it -- a pair of brown leather boots. I wear them occassionally, mainly in recognition of their being a birthday gift, but after wearing the real thing for half a year, they just don't cut it.
>
> Ernie Castillo
> erniec01 at hotmail.com
> 248 884 5201
>
>
>
>
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>
> Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:19:07 -0800
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Thru hiker questions
> From: austinwilliams123 at gmail.com
> To: erniec01 at hotmail.com; pct-l at backcountry.net
>
> Hi,
>
> I've seen hikers wearing "ultralight hiking boots" on the trail.  They'd have the ankle support you're used to and not weigh a ton.  But I think they need to be replaced every 500 miles as well... I don't think they can be resoled.
>
> I suspect the amount of ankle support ankle support a hiker needs is proportional to their packweight.  Out of curiosity, do you think running shoes would work for you if you didn't have to carry any pack or gear at all?
>
> -Austin
>
>
>
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