Footwear and snow

[Gramps]

I consider myself to be a novice hiker in actual experience but I've hit the trails enough to know I prefer trailrunners as opposed to regular boots. My question concerns the early weeks of starting in GA of a thru-hike. Is it feasible to begin in trailrunners due to possible heavy/deep snow? I know no matter what you use, your feet stand a good possibility of getting wet, so is there a trick to staying fairly dry with the 'runners?

[George]

I use seal skin socks in wet snow conditions, not dry by the end of the day from sweat but warm enough

[StormBird]

When exactly are you starting your hike?

I started on March 30th last year and i had trail runner to start with. (I didn't have to deal with any snow at all) As far as rain, sure my shoes got wet, but they also dried quickly. There is no real way to keep your feet dry on your hike, but having footwear that dries fast is something you can control.

Good luck & happy trails!

[Serial 07]

yeah...i'd just rock some gaiters with'em...

[Egads]

I hiked thru 3 ft snow in the smokies in non-goretex trail runners last year and had warm feet by using vapor barriers.

[10-K]

For the past few weeks I've been hiking in snow (from hard, frozen to slushy mix) wearing trail runners and goretex socks and my feet have stayed warm and like was mentioned above, mostly dry. Add some gaiters and it'd be better than boots w/ socks IMO.

Weather permitting I'm going to hike the BMT through GSMNP in a few weeks and that's what I'm wearing.

[garlic08]

The Sealskinz socks are nice. I have a pair and use them on winter hikes with my trail runners, mostly in powder snow in CO. I did not carry them on my thru because of the weight. Instead, I used the "bagtex" concept--carry a couple extra plastic grocery sacks for the occasional cold wet snow. That worked like a charm for zero weight penalty--I had the sacks in my food bag, anyway. I started in mid-April but had a couple of relatively severe winter storms in the high country in the Smokies and Mt Rogers.

[The Cleaner]

For the past few weeks I've been hiking in snow (from hard, frozen to slushy mix) wearing trail runners and goretex socks and my feet have stayed warm and like was mentioned above, mostly dry. Add some gaiters and it'd be better than boots w/ socks IMO.

Weather permitting I'm going to hike the BMT through GSMNP in a few weeks and that's what I'm wearing.
I didn't know you could use trail runners w/snowshoes...lol...:eek:

[10-K]

I didn't know you could use trail runners w/snowshoes...lol...:eek:


Believe it or not I ordered some snowshoes and they came in while I was out of town last week and I tried them on in the house with my trail runners.

Now that I have snowshoes it will quit snowing for the season of course...

[sonic]

I use seal skin socks in wet snow conditions, not dry by the end of the day from sweat but warm enough
I noticed there are several different kinds of sealskins. Which ones do you use? I have a terrible time keeping my feet warm and with the added wet conditions I get pretty miserable.

[Raul Perez]

The vapor barrier and gore-tex/seal skins ideas are great for winter hiking with trail runners (along with long gaiters).

Out of curiosity what will you be wearing at camp during those temps?

[Chillfactor]

I wore my rain pants (when it was raining) and they were long enough to keep the inside of my boots from getting wet. The boots were waterproof and I never had "wet" issues. I felt sorry for the people with soggy shoes. I did eventually switch to trail runners in Erwin because of weight.

[BrianLe]

Vapor Barrier is a fine approach, and one I recommend as a backup to anyone using trail runners --- a couple of bread bags (the plastic sack a loaf of bread comes in) is quite light, and doubles as a way to put on dry socks in camp but slip on wet shoes to walk around camp a bit (still cold, but your dry socks stay dry).

I don't like using the VB approach unless I need to, however. Starting early this past year (late Feb) I never had to. I used a liner sock, a good wool sock, and Rocky brand Goretex socks, in non-waterproof trail runners. This worked fine for me.

I use custom orthodics but carry the lightweight stock inserts that come with my shoes; in town it's kind of nice to be able to wash the orthodics and have dry & clean inserts to wear around, and once in a while on the trail as well. Not "necessary", but a "kind of nice thing", I find.

I normally don't bother with Gaiters; I almost always walk in long pants, long enough that they overlap the tops of my shoes and keep most debris out. In the snow this year I did have light short gaiters (eVent shorties) and these probably helped a bit. The other time they're nice is when it's wet out for a long period, to keep the bottoms of my pant legs from getting filthy (I sleep in my clothes).

I've had mixed luck with Sealskinz, basically a thin neoprene sock. Sometimes they're great, but I've been cold in them; IMO they don't offer the warmth of a good wool sock inside a Goretex sock. Perhaps folks are talking about using Sealskinz under wool socks? Good to talk about the complete system rather than just one piece ...
For VB situations I still have a wool sock (!), just put the VB under it, either directly against skin or over a thin liner sock. In that scenario the Goretex sock is good too, if available, to keep the wool sock dry(er).

Bottom line is that non-waterproof trail runners work fine for me in the typical sort of spring snow/old-snow mix one gets on a thru-hike. I've not used them extensively in more severe winter conditions; current plans for such include Neos overboots and in that case definitely a VB sock.

[Gramps]

When exactly are you starting your hike?

I started on March 30th last year and i had trail runner to start with. (I didn't have to deal with any snow at all) As far as rain, sure my shoes got wet, but they also dried quickly. There is no real way to keep your feet dry on your hike, but having footwear that dries fast is something you can control.

Good luck & happy trails!

I'm still a few years away from a thru, but I gather as much info as I can. I do plan, when I go, to start sometime between March 1 and April 15, so snow is definitely a possibility during that time. I'll be retired, so a specific start time is very flexible. And many thanks to all the suggestions. It's good to have a variety of opinions.

[bigcranky]

I use trail runners in the winter, and yes I use them with snowshoes. I prefer Goretex trail runners when I know there's going to be a lot of snow -- with a pair of tall Goretex gaiters and good wool socks, my feet are always warm and dry.

You have the rest of the winter to test your footwear out in bad weather.

[Blissful]

For the past few weeks I've been hiking in snow (from hard, frozen to slushy mix) wearing trail runners and goretex socks and my feet have stayed warm and like was mentioned above, mostly dry. Add some gaiters and it'd be better than boots w/ socks IMO.

Weather permitting I'm going to hike the BMT through GSMNP in a few weeks and that's what I'm wearing.


Shoot there's something else I'll have to add to my list for the JMT. Gore tex socks. Any idea where's the best deal?

[garbanz]

Unless you're winter hiking thru snow, you wont need waterproof sox July thru Sept in the Sierras.

[Blissful]

Unless you're winter hiking thru snow, you wont need waterproof sox July thru Sept in the Sierras.

Well theres 300 inches of snow out there now. And we are there July 6 on the JMT.