NOBO March 1 start: Trailrunners?

[galaxyinfinite]

I normally hike in tennis shoes, and I've only ever used tennis shoes or trail runners for hiking. I've been planning a March 1 start (NOBO) for a while now, and I've thought that I'd want to use boots initially, because (1) good boots are waterproofs, and it's really hard to dry things out in the winter, (2) i wouldn't have to worry as much about cold feet, and (3) they could handle deep snow and ice.

Is this logic reasonable? If possible, I'd really like to get away with mid-weight trailrunners. I'd appreciate any opinions.

[fiddlehead]

No shoe is waterproof except all rubber, perhaps knee high boots.
So, if it rains hard, your feet will get wet anyway.

So, what about snow?
If you decide on trail runners, you could have problems.
If it snows a lot and you are walking in it all day, you are susceptible to frostbite.
The trick is not to stop. Or, if you stop, to have dry socks to put on.

Personally, I use trail runners all the time. I don't stop often and if I have cold, wet feet, I make my stops short.
I would take gaiters if I was expecting snow however.

If you are a 10 mile a day hiker, with lots of breaks, you should consider other footwear, at least until you get to Hot Springs.
You might want to consider camp shoes also although, herein lies the problem.
The slower you go, the more breaks, the more stuff you need, the more susceptible you are to injury.

It all adds up.

Best case would be to arrive at the trail IN SHAPE, ready to hike, without a lot of extra stuff and a not taking a lot of stops.
If you have to carry 40 lbs, then bring the boots.

[JAK]

Make sure the trail runner material absorbs as little water as possible. The laces also. This might require a trail runner that has less padding, so it will be even more important to find a good fit, and one that works with both a single thin pair of wool socks, and/or a thicker pair, or even a thin pair with some neoprene socks over. The less water they hold, the less heat will be conducted to continuously melt more snow. Consider some sort of gaiter, or even a supersized oversock if your feet are small enough that a big wool or acrylic sock will stretch over for deep snow or ice traction.

[Wags]

i'd just keep the trail runners. simply put a grocery bag over your socks every resupply (you may need 2 bags for every 2 days, but the weight on them is insignificant). they may get a little damp from perspiration, but they won't get cold/damp from snow. big difference. keep a pair of thicker socks for camp only, so that your toes will always have a nice warm place to heal at the end of the day.

shoes need to fit loosely enough that tying them won't cut off circulation. personally, i wear size 11.5 trail runners for 3 seasons, and have a pair of 12s for winter to allow for thicker socks.

[MaybeTomorrow]

How about Salomon techamphibians and Rocky gore tex over socks over wool socks? Those shoes feel as good as
any trail runner to me. I haven't tried the current version, version 3 yet though.

[BrianLe]

I started in late Feb in 2010 and used trail runners throughout. A friend who started with me, someone very well experienced at long distance backpacking, opted to use goretex light hiker type boots for the early part, through the Smokies, and he was happy with his choice (he usually uses trail runners). OTOH, I was happy with trail runners throughout.

You might find your shoes frozen in the morning on occasion, which can be a PITA, but that's possible (and worse when it happens) with boots too. I had goretex socks, and I think I wore them ... sometimes? Don't remember now. I definitely carried bread bags so I could wear my shoes around camp at night with dry socks. I didn't find it necessary to use the vapor barrier approach during the days, though there was quite a bit of snow until we got into Virginia. What helped a lot were my feathered friends down booties to wear at night (and around camp). Very very nice. On the few frozen footwear mornings I found it best to pack up completely and put on the shoes as my very last act --- so that I could immediately start moving and use blood flow/body heat to minimize the "oh so cold feet" sensation.

I used trail runners on the CDT this past year as well, starting out in loads of snow in Glacier National Park in June. Given all the high creek crossings, I wouldn't have wanted boots. With some experience and just the right shift in expectations, trail runners can work fine in continuously snowy conditions. I strongly suggest, however, that before committing to doing this that you get some pre-trip experience at doing multi-day trips in snow with trail runners, somewhere you can easily bail out of if it's not working for you.