Re: Footware for hiking thru deeper water.

If the stream is shallow enough and I am not wearing the mesh-top boots, I keep the boots on. But I usually have a pair of either Tevas (the type with the toe protector, not open toe) or water "socks" that I wear if I expect streams deeper than boot height. Blisters develop too quickly with wet socks.

You really want protection for your feet. It is way too easy to hurt your feet on slippery rocky stream bottoms. The Tevas give a little bit of grip, but still you should be very careful, and use hiking poles for balance.

Streams more than knee deep are a different matter and require training and special techniques to wade through, especially when fast flowing. People have been drowned getting knocked off their feet or slipping in knee-deep streams (one in Yosemite just this year).