Trail Shoes N NoMore? -viable???

[ATaBoy]

I am going to be treading in trail shoes. I have gone back and forth on water/camp shoes. Seems to me like excess weight perhaps??? Can't be judgmental cus I'm not on trail yet. I have given thought to just staying with the trail shoes. When it comes to a stream crossing -off with the socks and take out the shoe liner. When on other side towel out insides of the shoes in thorough fashion cus they are synthetic and retain but minute moisture. I have done field tests and the feet stay dry. Dont have to worry about losing a sandal courtesy of stream hydraulics. Were I in boots and at the end of a day -yes I would want to get out of a boot but I won't be in a boot in the first place. Are camp flip flops a good idea and worth the weight in the pack at the end of the day when the primary foot gear is trail shoe??

[BirdBrain]

After a few hundred miles of getting your feet wet just walking the trail, you stop worrying about such things. There are 2 extremes in foot wear as it pertains to moisture. The first says wear heavy waterproof boots and keep them dry. The second says trudge right through wearing trail runners because they are going to get wet anyways. And then there are a million degrees in between. I went with trail runners and camp shoes at first. I tried to keep my feet dry. Trouble is that streams are not the only obstacle. The trail is often wet. You can drive yourself bananas trying to avoid all the puddles (probably twist an ankle in the process) or just walk through. If you embrace the obvious (they are going to get wet), wear good socks (think Darn Tough), and do proper foot maintenance (think Body Glide and toenail trimming), then your feet will be fine even though they are often wet. YMMV, but I got tired of the constant battle to keep my feet dry and I ain't wearing combat boots. Camp shoes is another discussion.

[colorado_rob]

I have long since ditched any extra crocs/whatever. trail shoes are plenty comfortable at camp. I take the footbeds out and unlace them to be real, real loose and in that state they are plenty comfy around camp. The only time I kinda wish I had other shoes is in town, simply because I'm kinda worried about stinking up wherever I'm at with my filthy trail shoes...

For the extremely occasional stream crossing, I either cross barefoot or I take the liners out and my socks off and wear shoes across, shake them out and put everything back on, and they dry out pretty fast if you keep you socks and footbeds dry. Heck, you trail shoes are wet a good part of the time anyway from rain and trail/trail-side foliage.

[Starchild]

For stream crossings I go bearfoot, or take my shoes innersouls out, place them in my second pair of(much lighter) socks, and use them as stream shoes. On the other side I don my hiking socks w/o the innersoul with the orginal dry sock

[QiWiz]

I have long since ditched any extra crocs/whatever. trail shoes are plenty comfortable at camp. I take the footbeds out and unlace them to be real, real loose and in that state they are plenty comfy around camp. The only time I kinda wish I had other shoes is in town, simply because I'm kinda worried about stinking up wherever I'm at with my filthy trail shoes...

For the extremely occasional stream crossing, I either cross barefoot or I take the liners out and my socks off and wear shoes across, shake them out and put everything back on, and they dry out pretty fast if you keep you socks and footbeds dry. Heck, you trail shoes are wet a good part of the time anyway from rain and trail/trail-side foliage.

+1 just loosen your laces and voila! - instant camp shoes

[SWODaddy]

For stream crossings I go bearfoot, or take my shoes innersouls out, place them in my second pair of(much lighter) socks, and use them as stream shoes. On the other side I don my hiking socks w/o the innersoul with the orginal dry sock

Just be sure not to lose your soul! ;)

[MuddyWaters]

Never needed camp shoes. Its nice to get wet wrinkled feet out of shoes when hiking with wet feet for hours, but whether thats done 30 min sooner, or when get into bed, doesnt make a difference. If you wear heavy boots and stop hiking at 2pm, yeah maybe I can see the point. If you stop at 7pm and go to sleep at 8, well not so much.

Only time need to keep feet dry is cold temperatures.

[CoconutTree]

i carry "shower shoes" and i have used them as camp shoes once. Not durable enough to use them everyday. They are just some blue foam pad, cut into insole shape, with straps made from duct tape. Good enough for me.

[scottpash]

I like the idea of Camp Shoes (Crocs etc... ) "Waterproof" and "Dry Feet" are not reality while hiking anywhere but the Desert

If I want semi dry feet after a stream or creek crossing I just take shoes and socks off, put on my Crocs, cross water then dry feet put on socks and shoes hang crocs on pack proceed

most of the time if the weather is half way decent or especially if it is raining I just walk through and proceed on to my next scheduled stop and sock change, feet dry and clean stop ( I try to stop and switch socks (wet socks attach to pack for airing out) and clean feet after every 5 miles or so [2-3 hrs.]) I know it seems like a lot but your feet will last longer doing this.

as for the extra weight I am not a "Gram Weenie" I am a "If I want It I know I must sacrifice and carry it type of person "

I weigh 240 lbs. and try to carry a base of no more than 22 lbs. (I know I'm a "HEAVYWEIGHT")

[Odd Man Out]

I went with strategy of hiking through the puddles with non waterproof ventilated shoes and it worked as advertised. On the first day of my section hike it rained hard all afternoon and my shoes were saturated to the point they went squish squish. The next day it cleared up and I stopped at a road crossing for lunch. There was another hiker there trying to dry out his full leather boots that were still soaked. I looked down at my shoes and they were completely dry.

[CarlZ993]

Having dedicated camp shoes (like Crocs) is a preference item. Like hiking poles. They are not absolutely necessary. But, you may prefer to carry them.

I wear non-waterproof trail runner & carry Crocs when I backpack. If it is a rare stream crossing on an otherwise dry day, I'll switch to my Crocs for the crossing. If it is a wet day and/or multiple stream crossings, I'll just wade across the stream w/ my trail runners on.

When hiking, I really liked putting my Crocs at the end of the day to air out my feet. They also make a fashion statement when knocking around a trail town. :)

[Slo-go'en]

I can't seem to keep Crocks on my feet and none of my packs really have a good way to attach them so I don't bother. I'm not a fan of flipflops either, but you might want some kind of light shower shoes as the floor of most shower stalls frequented by hikers are pretty gross.

It's not until you get into the last 100 miles of the AT in Maine that you have to worry about crossing any streams which get your feet wet. You need to get there first and maybe you will or maybe you won't. If you do, don't cross bare foot unless you want to risk slipping on a mossy rock and breaking a toe and falling into the water like I once did. The few minutes I might have saved by going bare foot wasn't worth the result.

I wear GTX boots and never have a problem with soaking wet feet. Your going to go through several pair of shoes along the way since nothing is going to last more then 5-600 miles. Start out with a GTX lined boot for the spring when it's wet and cold. By the time you need to replace them somewhere in Virginia you can switch to a more summer friendly shoe, then back to a GTX boot when you get into New England.