[pct-l] Snow Shoes vs. Timing for snow on a thru

[Mark Hudson]

I have spent most of this year working up to longer sustained hikes.  I have 
worn full boots on all of them until now.  Just last week, I bought a pair of 
merrill trail runners, and went on a 15 mile day hike.

What a difference.  I was truly shocked how much better it was in the trail 
runners vs my boots.  My average speed increased significantly over the total 
hike, and I was not as tired at the end.  I read somewhere of an army study that 
cited that one pound on your foot was equivalent to 5 lbs on your back.  


In my switch I took over 2 lbs off the weight of my footwear and I wont go back 
unless I am in snow full time.




________________________________
From: "gwschenk at socal.rr.com" <gwschenk at socal.rr.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net; Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes 
<diane at santabarbarahikes.com>
Sent: Tue, October 26, 2010 10:10:07 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Snow Shoes vs. Timing for snow on a thru

I've come to prefer good fitting boots again after having tried trail runners 
for a few years. The dirt that works into the shoe is very hard on my feet, 
especially the decomposed granite grit of the Sierra.

Gary

---- Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes <diane at santabarbarahikes.com> wrote: 
> 
> On Oct 25, 2010, at 9:06 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> >
> > Someone wrote about hiking in Chaco's.
> 
> That was me. They don't work in the snow. The snow accumulates under  
> your toes making it hard to walk. Every few steps I had to shake the  
> snow out. Chacos also have piss-poor traction on snow or anything. I  
> have been thinking of having them resoled at the cobbler to put a  
> real sole on. Chaco USA will just put the same sole on.
> 
> > I haven't tried them, but we have
> > gravitated toward simpler and lighter shoes. Our current shoe  
> > preferences
> > have almost no support. They are a slab of foam with some mesh to  
> > hold it
> > under the foot. They're very light, and our feet are stronger and  
> > ache less.
> 
> What shoes are these?
> 
> I have been moving toward simpler shoes, too. First I switched from  
> leather boots to light canvas boots. Then from high tops to low tops.  
> The switch to low tops was miraculous for me. I have ankles like tree  
> stumps and finally I could USE them! Then I made a mistake and bought  
> motion control shoes on the trail and broke my feet completely and  
> had to get off. So I made sure after that to get shoes that were  
> flexible. Still wasn't quite enough because all the heel rise and  
> especially that crater your forefoot falls into caused pain. Not to  
> mention that they just don't make shoes shaped like a real foot.  
> Chacos have a huge arch bump which can bother me, but otherwise are  
> pretty simple. Hopefully I will be able to make something that works  
> for me. It's pretty much come to that, I'm afraid.
> 
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