Gotta Let The Dawgs Breathe: Why I’m Thru-Hiking in Sandals

“So what do you think the moment where you realize ‘Oh **** I’m in this now’ will be?”

Asked my dad a few weeks before I left for Georgia. I figured it would be when I get rained on for a week straight, miss-calculate a food carry, or have a major gear failure. Well, on day three coming out of Neel’s Gap, my Achilles flared up out of nowhere and I had my “Oh **** moment.”. Leaving Amicalola, I carried a pair of Hoka trail runners and Bedrocks sandals, the latter I planned to use as camp shoes and hike in on shorter days. Full disclosure, I had never tested out the Hokas before and knew I was taking a gamble on whether they would work for me. Previously, I had done quite a few day hikes in sandals, including the Bigelow Range in Maine- so I knew what I was getting myself into if I chose to hike in the sandals.

Flashback to day three on trail

I was able to finish the remainder of my hike into camp.  Setting up for the night and getting water with little to no pain while wearing my sandals and three days from the nearest outfitter- I decided to take another gamble and hike the next few days in the Bedrocks. My achilles improved slightly, but didn’t get any worse and I made it to town and tried on four different pairs of shoes: all immediately causing pain. I thought “Screw it, if the shoes don’t work and the sandals do my choice is made for me.”and mailed home my trail shoes and gaiters under the judging eye of the shoe fitter.

I’ve hiked about 700 miles in my Bedrocks

There was definitely a break in period and it took a couple weeks of tweaking the straps to get the fit dialed in right. Since then, I’ve been loving the trail sandals! I’ve never had a pair of hiking shoes I’ve truly enjoyed putting on to hit the trail in, always having issues with blisters, grip, fit, or comfort.

They’re nearly perfect: my feet don’t  overheat on hot days, I’ve had no blisters whatsoever, the treads on these things are BEASTS having insane grip on wet rocks and logs, rainy days and water crossings are a breeze as the sandals dry out within an hour or two, and the zero-drop and low stack height makes them super stable.

They’re also a great conversation starter!

When meeting new people on trail, I’m nearly always asked about my sandals with the tone of: “That’s a terrible idea.” or “That’s sick!”. The questions I’m most frequently asked and what you may be wondering are as follows:

“How often do you stub your toe?”

• Hasn’t happened yet! All the rocks and roots catch the edge of the sandal(thankfully).

“How durable are they?”

• I’m at 700+ miles in my pair, they’re holding up incredibly well and only getting more comfortable. I’m guessing I’ll have to replace them by PA once the treads wear out- but I’m curious as to how far I can take them.

“Does the cord between your toes rub?”

• Nope, don’t even notice it!

“What do you do when it’s cold out?”

• I got toe socks.

Ok, that was a lot… I will admit they aren’t perfect.

Getting a pebble or stick trapped under my heel is super annoying and I have had a few sticks get dragged over the tops of my feet which isn’t fun, and my feet get wicked dirty. which I’ve accepted won’t be completely clean until well after I’m finished, but when is thru hiking ever clean?