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All About Shoes
The shoes that a thru hiker chooses to use is one of the most important considerations for a successful hike. With the rise of lightweight trail shoes in recent years, traditional hiking boots are becoming something of a rarity on the AT. This blog post represents my personal opinions and is not likely to be helpful to the seasoned hiker who has already made a footwear choice. I’ll start with a funny story about shoes and then discuss what I view as the pros and cons of trail shoes vs hiking boots.
A Case of Mistaken Identity
Recently, I spent a night at the Galehead Hut in the heart of New Hampshire’s White Mountains. While there, I met Tim, a hiker who lives in a coastal community in Maine. It turns out that he lives in the same coastal town where my family has owned a summer cottage since I was a young child. We had much to talk about, mostly our love of coastal Maine and how things have changed over the years.
Fast forward to the next morning. I’m getting ready to start my hiking day. The last step is to put away my camp sandals and get into my hiking boots. So, I slip my feet into my boots where I left them the previous night. Off I go. First I climb South Twin Mtn, then Guyot, and finally Mt Zealand. Although the boots felt a little snug, I wrote that off to thru hiker foot spread, a common occurrence in AT hikers. On the long descent from Mt Zealand, my toes felt too tightly pressed against the boots. So, I stopped at Zealand Hut and took the boots off. Lo and behold, they are size 10.5 boots and mine are size 12. These are not my boots! Turns out that my bunkmate at the hut had the same brand and color of boots and I accidentally absconded with his boots. Now what to do?
First, I removed the boots and put on my sandals for the hike to Ethan Pond shelter where I planned to spend the night. While there I schemed to find an outfitter to buy new shoes when I reached the next highway crossing. The next morning, I descended to the highway. As I arrived, I was surprised to see my long time friend Jamie Shanley waiting by the road. He intended to surprise me and planned to hike an AT section with me that day. Right away I explained what had happened and I told Jamie that my first priority was to get a new pair of hiking shoes. So off we went to an outfitter in Bretton Woods where I purchased my first ever pair of trail shoes.
Meanwhile, Tim from Maine realised that someone had run off with his hiking boots and came to the realisation that he would have to hike down from the hut in a too large pair of size 12 boots. Tim was pretty sure that it was me who had accidentally left the hut in his boots. From our previous conversation, he knew exactly where our summer cottage was located. He also heard me say that my wife was currently at the cottage. So, the next day he stopped by to see if said wife Michele could reach me by phone. And she did, with the message from Tim that I likely had his hiking boots in my possession. By then, I knew that I had someone else’s boots but did not know that they belonged to Tim from Maine. Mystery solved. I got Tim’s mailing address via text and my friend Jamie offered to mail them to Tim in Maine. Kind of a crazy story but with a happy ending.
Which Type of Hiking Shoes are Best?
So I now own trail shoes and hiking boots. Each has advantages and disadvantages. I’m surprised how much I like the trail shoes; they’re light and have great grip on rock, wet or dry. However, it’s much easier to get wet feet and socks in the trail shoes, though they dry faster than boots. The boots offer better ankle and lateral support as well as toe protection. I am told that the fabric on the trail shoes may occasionally tear or experience a hole especially in rocky terrain. And trail shoes generally need to be replaced more often than boots. I conclude that it might make sense to have both types of shoes in your arsenal. At the moment, I am considering using hiking boots through Maine and then switching to trail shoes when I flip flop to the south later in the summer.
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Comments 5
When you write “boots” do you mean the mid-height over the ankle boots? I wear the Merrell Moab hiking “shoe” – these do not go over the ankle similar to trail runners. Yes, they are still heavier than trail runners, but provide a lot more support (IMHO) and protection from rocks than the popular trail runners. My feet seem to take a beating from rocks and I just can’t imagine wearing trail runners for backpacking. I do own trail runners and would “run” in them if that were my thing these days; I now wear them as casual shoes for walking about.
I was referring to over the ankle boots and had always maintained that I needed the ankle support. But I believe you’re right that the lower hiking shoes available from many of the well known hiking boot companies are a nice compromise between hiking boots and trail shoes. Theu are tough enough to hold up in rocky terrain and offer greater lateral support and toe protection than trail shoes. I may try these for my next set of hiking shoes.
Hey Doug. I’ve been loving keeping up to date with your adventures! I also stayed in Galehead during my thruhike in 2005. Cool story about hiking boots that shows just how small the world is! I’m a life-long trail-running shoe fan for hiking. I did the first 1500 miles of the AT in sneakers and then transitioned to trailrunners in Rutland. I never felt the need for anything more supportive. I agree that they tend to get wet a bit easier than bigger boots. And to get stuff (dirt, vegetation) falling down between the sock and shoe around the ankle. I solved that dirt and water problem with getting a pair of low gaiters that now accompany me on most longer hikes.
Good to hear from you Kevin. I am liking the trail shoes but they take a beating in the White Mtns. One of my hiking friends tore a hole in his in the Presidentials. I am leaning toward using my boots in Maine and then going back to the trail shoes in the south where I’m told the trail is generally less rocky.
Get a pair of Limmer Ultralights, best of all worlds. A Limmer hiker since the early 70’s, but I did walk the Camino Portuguese last April in Altra Olympus.