View Full Version : Water Crossings & Shoe "Technique"
C-Stepper
05-12-2005, 09:34
So...this past weekend I completed my first AT section. By the way...I had absolutely the BEST time I've every had!!
I blue-blazed back to my car. I knew ahead of time that I had two dozen major stream crossings on these trails. The trail I was on was "poorly maintained", which I also knew ahead of time was a possibility...there were lots of blowdowns, overgrowth consisting of briars and poison ivy, and lots of branches extending out over the trail. This also I suspect few people have traveled this way yet this year, as this was really the first weekend warm enough to make these crossings without risk of hypothermia. The plus side of this was that it was really, really fun, and I saw lots of wildlife...I even saw a BEAR and 2 different species of snakes. There were lots of animal tracks at the stream crossings, and I took pictures in order to educate myself in identifying the tracks for next time.
OK, back to the stream crossing thing...
I was wearing smartwook socks and trail shoes (salomon trail runners, to be exact). This combo works very well for me when hiking...this is my fourth hike, no blisters or any foot problems of any kind.
I knew there were going to be about 2 dozen crossings. I had planned to remove my shoes and socks and barefoot through the cold, knee-deep, fast moving water. This got old really quick, having to take them off and on.
However, I don't see how sandals or water shoes would have worked, either, as I would have had to take them off and put them on as well. I had to have on long pants and hiking shoes, due to the trail conditions, and I could not have worn, say, sandals on this trail because of briars and bushwacking type of stuff.
By the way, after the 3rd crossing in less than 1/4 mi, I finally just plunged in, shoes and socks and all, and just sorta rolled my pants legs up. However, this resulted in very sore calluses by the end of the day, wearing wet, squishy shoes and socks for many hours...I'm very lucky to have gotten away with this, I think! Including the stream crossing section of the trail, I hiked somewhere around 17-18 miles I think that day, almost all in wet shoes/socks (I haven't counted up the miles yet).
Would you have done it differently?
Hello #Is10,
Different strokes for different folks :) . I carry a pair of Teva Wraptor sandals.
These work well for creek/river crossings. I always take the time to change from boots to sandals. Wet boots and socks can = blisters. Plus I get a chance to sit and relax for a moment, take in and savor the scenery. I can also look for the most safe place to cross if it is not obvious. Glad to read that you had a great time !! Did you hike solo ? Solo can be fun ! Oh yeah, I wear long pants that you can zip off or on the legs for shorts. This helps too when crossing the river. You can zip back on when walking thru brushy sections of trail. Sounds like alot of work but really is not when you think about it.
Well that's my 2 cents worth.
Happy Trails,
Chip :)
Just wear your shoes through the water. That is, ford with your shoes on. You'll be more stable and more safe, especially in high water. I've found that soaking feet don't get blisters. It is the merely damp feet that get blisters. So, power through the fords and at night do the best you can to dry out your shoes. On something like the AT, this might take a night and part of a day.
C-Stepper
05-13-2005, 08:48
Yes, Chip, I was solo. I really think it's the way to go for me...I don't play well with others sometimes, and I like the freedom that solo allows and the freedom is one of the primary reasons for my hikes. I really notice how I sneak up on people and animals walking alone, but the pairs of hikers I ALWAYS heard coming up the trail, usually WAY before they were within sight distance (usually because they were talking).
I think I'll try it your way next time...I didn't realize how sore my feet would be wearing wet shoes/socks, and I think I'm really lucky to avoid the blisters. I'm fairly high mileage (since my hikes are short sections), so the "on again, off again" with the shoes and socks might be worth it to me now, in hindsight. :)
tlbj6142
05-13-2005, 09:40
I just take off my socks and remove the insoles from my shoes. Once on the other side, I squeeze out what little is in the shoe itself and put the insole back in and put on my socks. If you know you'll have multiple stream crossings in a short period, you don't have to bother with the putting the socks/insoles back on.
Now, if I were going on a short trip which required as many stream crossings as yours, I would have probably worn my Chacos for the entire trip. I wear 1 pair of thin socks with them at all times and just walk into water. And keep a pair of Sealskinz on hand in case my feet get really cold.
Just wear your shoes through the water. That is, ford with your shoes on. You'll be more stable and more safe, especially in high water. I've found that soaking feet don't get blisters. It is the merely damp feet that get blisters. So, power through the fords and at night do the best you can to dry out your shoes. On something like the AT, this might take a night and part of a day.
This is what I did as well, even when I use to wear leather boots for hiking. Did not want to bother taking off my boots and prefer the stability of the boots to sandals.
Now that I hike in sneakers, really don't feel the need to change out.
YMMV.
yellowsun
05-13-2005, 22:45
This is my first solo camping and hiking trip. I am older now. I used to think nothing of hitching through the US and Alaska all alone. I have camped and hiked with others. My best experiance was Bagbee Hot Springs in Oregon.I need this camping and hiking time but I am a bit anxious to be alone.Do you or anyone know of a safe way to find others looking for a hiking mate heading Northbound or is it just get on the trail and let the Creator do the rest?:sun
Hello #Is10,
Different strokes for different folks :) . I carry a pair of Teva Wraptor sandals.
These work well for creek/river crossings. I always take the time to change from boots to sandals. Wet boots and socks can = blisters. Plus I get a chance to sit and relax for a moment, take in and savor the scenery. I can also look for the most safe place to cross if it is not obvious. Glad to read that you had a great time !! Did you hike solo ? Solo can be fun ! Oh yeah, I wear long pants that you can zip off or on the legs for shorts. This helps too when crossing the river. You can zip back on when walking thru brushy sections of trail. Sounds like alot of work but really is not when you think about it.
Well that's my 2 cents worth.
Happy Trails, Chip :)
If I don't have an old pair of sneakers with me for stream crossings -- and often I don't -- I take off my socks and go across in my boots. Depending on how quickly the next stream will come up, I either dump the water from my boots and replace my socks, or just keep going without socks.
Fording streams bare foot is dangerous, especially if the stream has any serious depth or current.
My boots are light weight leather "seconds" purchased from Dexter for $27 five years or so ago. They won't seem to wear out, though the tread is mostly gone and one toe melted a bit when I sat too close to a campfire on a trail maintaining trip last spring. I take 14 W boots and tend to buy them whenever I find a pair that seems to fit, which isn't often.
Weary
Years ago both Walmart and KMart sold immitation Tevas, they were very cheap and extremely light weight. I still have a pair and hang them on my pack. They suevived a thru hike and about eight week to two week backpacking trips all over the US and eastern Canada. When I come to a stream I remove boots and socks, don fake Tevas, and go. I used the same pair when I guided whitewater raft trips years ago so they are light and tough, They have a hole where I drove a stick up through them and have a bit of duct tape but it will be a sad day when they finally fall apart. Best stream crossing and camp shoes I have ever had.
:banana
Pencil Pusher
05-14-2005, 19:51
So Fake Tevas with that much history deserve to be in the photo gallery (hint, hint).
If I don't have an old pair of sneakers with me for stream crossings -- and often I don't -- I take off my socks and go across in my boots. Depending on how quickly the next stream will come up, I either dump the water from my boots and replace my socks, or just keep going without socks.
Fording streams bare foot is dangerous, especially if the stream has any serious depth or current.
Agree, although this isn't a serious problem for AT sectioners/thruhikers--they get bridges most places.
Something you can do when deepwater fording with boots on: Take half a garbage bag (i.e. any tubular section of plastic), pull it up over your boot, stuff most of it down into your boot around your ankle, and secure the top against your leg with a doubled over rubber band. This plastic baffle won't completely eliminate water infiltration, but it will keep your boot from being flooded so it has a chance to dry out.
Some years back I bought two pairs of the lightweight KMart strap sandles Moxie00 mentions. Great fording & camp shoes. Everything they make now weighs a ton though.
I usually wear well ventilated sneakers and thin liners, so i just plow thru water and 'walk em dry'... No problems with blisters, no need for camp shoes, and no fuss at crossings.
I change into watershoes to cross deep creeks. Because I tend to get blisters if I hike in my wet watershoes for long distances, I take the time to change back into my hiking shoes. However, when I'm on a trail with many and frequent water crossings, I usually just put on a pair of socks with my water shoes and just keep hiking...the socks seem to help me avoid the blisters.
I don't have camp shoes or sandals. So when I need to ford a stream, I take off my boots and gaiters, take off my socks and remove the insoles (Superfeet), then put my boots back on (Lowa Trekkers), then put (mid-length) gaiters over them, and do the ford. On the other side, I shake out the boots and let them dry a few minutes, put the socks back on, the Superfeet back in, and continue on--wearing slightly wet but non-soggy boots and gaiters.
IMHO it's not the boots getting wet that is the major problem--it's the socks and insoles getting wet.
It is important, I've found, to lace up the boots more tightly than normal while fording sans socks and insoles.
Exception was 2003 in Maine when it rained 21 of 25 days. My socks/insoles/boots were already so soaking wet that going through this routine made no sense.
Footslogger
08-04-2005, 11:34
During my thru I changed into Waldies for water crossings. I was wearing a low cut gortex trail shoe at the time and knew they'd take forever to dry out if I got them soaked. Plus ...the occasional barefoot/Waldies water crossing gave my feet a little relief.
'Slogger
The Solemates
08-04-2005, 12:30
where the heck are we talking about on the AT? we never had to really ford all that much on the AT at all. a couple spots in maine, but not that many, and most didnt merit taking shoes off. ive forded a bunch of stuff off the AT, but there were so many bridges on the AT that fording was never really needed.
C-Stepper
08-04-2005, 13:41
where the heck are we talking about on the AT? we never had to really ford all that much on the AT at all. a couple spots in maine, but not that many, and most didnt merit taking shoes off. ive forded a bunch of stuff off the AT, but there were so many bridges on the AT that fording was never really needed.As mentioned in my post, this was on a blue-blaze...I was walking a loop.
Edited to add...this post is quite old, by the way. Question was answered.
Tim Rich
08-04-2005, 13:46
where the heck are we talking about on the AT? we never had to really ford all that much on the AT at all. a couple spots in maine, but not that many, and most didnt merit taking shoes off. ive forded a bunch of stuff off the AT, but there were so many bridges on the AT that fording was never really needed.
The fords are mainly in Maine. We only had a couple of fords Rangeley to Monson. In our Monson to Katahdin section last month, we had about two inches of rain the night before we started, and then only one brief storm about day 5, so water levels were dropping as we progressed north. We had around ten fords, six or more of them in the first three days. Had it continued to rain, several more rock hops later in the trip would have been fords. I have a pair of Merrell sandals for camp shoes, water crossings and to wear to and from the trail, and they have such a nice footbed that on three occasions I hiked the half mile or so between crossings so I didn't have to change again. Once across, I dried my feet and put my socks and boots back on.
Several of the fords had very swift currents and large, slick rocks that I couldn't stand on, so I had to feel my way around and stand inbetween them. No way I could have crossed barefoot. Other than a section in NY flooded by beavers when we went through several years back, the only other ford (other then Rangeley north) I remember is just south of Maine Hwy 17 near Andover, overlooking Mooselookmeguntic. I believe we rockhopped or bridged everything south of there.
Take Care,
Tim
Alligator
08-04-2005, 13:59
I know this is vague, but there is a section of trail in the southern part of the AT (maybe VA) which has a highwater bypass route. The AT follows a stream which when swollen from rain is challenging to keep the feet dry, with numerous (12+) crossings, sometimes waist deep. There were so many crossings that I found it fun to try to keep my feet dry in my boots, but I didn't make it.
I know this is vague, but there is a section of trail in the southern part of the AT (maybe VA) which has a highwater bypass route. The AT follows a stream which when swollen from rain is challenging to keep the feet dry, with numerous (12+) crossings, sometimes waist deep. There were so many crossings that I found it fun to try to keep my feet dry in my boots, but I didn't make it.
That would be Little Wolf Creek, about a half day or less from the road crossing that takes you to either Bastian or Bland. It can be a very difficult ford, and there are a bunch of 'em, so the High Water Route is a good idea. When I first went through in May '97 it was a raging torrent and I retreated to the blue blaze. Another time in the Fall it was practically dry and not even a little challenging.
Another one I had trouble with was the day after five inches of rain when I had to ford Sages Ravine near the CT/MA border. I understand it's not that bad most of the time, but that day it was up to my waist.
And of course in Maine, words like Bridge, Switchback, etc. are not (usually) part of the vocabulary so expect to do fords there. In a normal year most may not be so tough, but during snowmelt and after heavy rains or just generally a wet season about a dozen or so can be challenging. Within Baxter State Park--at least on the AT--they have discovered the word "Bridge," although a couple of those are just long, narrow planks that bend while you walk on them so you need very good balance to walk across.
Alligator
08-04-2005, 15:36
That's it. It poured down hard the day before I went down the creek, Memorial Day weekend.
Kerosene
08-04-2005, 16:43
Another one I had trouble with was the day after five inches of rain when I had to ford Sages Ravine near the CT/MA border. I understand it's not that bad most of the time, but that day it was up to my waist.This was one of my scariest crossings. We went through, SOBO, in late March 1975. There was still snow on the north-facing slopes, and the stream was swollen from all the snowmelt. Someone had laid a slender log across the stream, so we didn't have to ford, but I still clearly remember the "step-down" forced by the bent log about 3/4 of the way across. The real scary part was walking up the icy trail paralleling the ravine. When the trail was perhaps 15 feet above the ravine I slipped and "turtled" down the icy slope towards the water. I managed to lodge my boot against the base of a small bush, otherwise I would have plunged in. After much laughing and further slipping, my hiking partners helped me to get back up.
fiddlehead
08-05-2005, 00:25
I usually wear well ventilated sneakers and thin liners, so i just plow thru water and 'walk em dry'... No problems with blisters, no need for camp shoes, and no fuss at crossings.
ditto for me. (above)
The only time i take off my dry (hiking/running) shoes first is when it's really cold out with snow on the ground. I had a friend on the PCT in 96 get frostbite and don't want that happening. But as i repeatedly say on this website: "fleece sox keep your feet warm even when wet"
On the AT, you really only have the fords in Maine. Of course you could have cold, snowy trail up there so (i think) the above method is weather permitting. I have done the fords in Maine both ways (with or without my running shoes, i don't carry 2 pr. of shoes) But always used my shoes when fording the kennebec. that's a long one barefoot.
On the CDT, you sometimes have 10-15 fords a day! It doesn't make too much sense to try to keep your feet dry in that situation. I think the further into your hike, the tougher your feet get.
I've never had blisters from wet feet. Only from boots that didn't fit properly.
I want to know where on the AT there are "two dozen major stream crossings"? The entire AT doesn't have two dozen major stream crossings!
fiddlehead
08-05-2005, 01:08
Sly, i think he means he found 2 doz. fords on the blue blaze he took back to the trailhead. This happened to me once in the Smokies where i stayed with Lazee and Co. one extra day and then blueblazed back to my van at Fontana. I don't remember the name of the trail i took, but it had at least 18 fords on it and in an 8" rainstorm, it was a workout for sure. I needed an hour in the hot shower at the Dam to get my body temp back to normal. (changing shoes each ford that time would've been a real joke, every part of me was soaked in that rain)(of course that was back in '89, before "Frogg Toggs" were invented!
Alligator
08-05-2005, 09:53
Sly, i think he means he found 2 doz. fords on the blue blaze he took back to the trailhead. ... See post #17 & The#Is10 is a she.