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Posted by Bill S on January 14, 2008 at 5:08:40 pm EST
In reply to Waterproof Shoe or not? posted by mikekey on January 14, 2008 at 11:50:21 am EST

Take a lot of extra socks.

Well, one solution is to use VBLs or neoprene socks. But what I have found is that a good pair of full leather boots, properly treated with the manufacturer's recommended waterproofing compound, provides plenty of waterproofness with breathability. Goretex lined boots do not breathe well, although eVent lined ones are slightly better. My brief experience with gtx boots found my socks soaked with perspiration after just a few miles of summer hiking, just as quickly as approaches that used my double plastic boots.

Trail running shoes and other mesh-top footwear let in dust when it is dry and water when it rains. So I only use them when the trails are firm and not dusty (many Western trails qualify, but many do not). Then again, it doesn't rain all that much in the West in summer, so the trail running shoes see a lot of summer Sierra and Rockies usage. And the rains are brief and predictable (every afternoon from 2 to 3PM, lasting for one hour - I am only partly joking on this, since mountain thunderstorms are actually quite predictable in their regularity). Besides, things dry quickly in the Western mountains. Oh, I forgot, this doesn't hold true for the Cascades - it rains there all the time, and everything stays soaked all the time (typical Seattle complexion is pale white and all wrinkly from being continuously immersed in water, like staying permanently in a swimming pool - only a slight exageration, since Rainier gets less than 2 inches of rain during the month of July and during the month of August). You can come close to leaving the poncho at home for the Sierra and Rockies during the summer - seriously. Close, but sometimes it does rain hard enough to get you soaked.

Low gaiters are a good idea to reduce the amount of water coming in the tops of the boots, as well as the dust when it's dry.

Since you said you pack in the East, I would say you are indeed lucky you haven't gotten rained on yet. When we lived in New England, we got poured on at least 3/4 of our summer hikes (day or backpack). When we lived in the Deep South, it was about half the hikes (July and August being the "dry" season - mostly hot and dusty).

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