TGO Challenge 2012 - My Crossing of Scotland
- Thread starter Shewie
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Wet feet is fine, they soon dry out when you get going. Try and remember to swill them out at the end of the day, take the insoles out and get rid of the fine grit that builds up, I learnt that the hard way. A pair of light Sealskinz to wear in the evening if your shoes are still wet. Two pairs of thin socks dry out much easier than one thicker pair.
I still wear boots for winter trips and bushy trips in the woods, but for hills and trails I prefer a light shoe like the Speedcross or similar.
It's not to everyone's taste but it works for me.
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I agree with Shewie. Every time I stopped for more than a couple of mins I took off my socks and shoes and let them air. Bit of Gerwhol foot balm and socks and shoes back on. 2 weeks of this and only very small blisters on the sides of my 4th toes. My mate laughed at my routine but he had massive blisters from day 2!
Just started using that. nice stuff. i used to use some lemon balm i got in turkey but it went off after 10 years
Thanks.
I don't mind wet feet near the end of a single day walk, my worry is 5 days of soggy feet.
I wear sandals and go bare feet a fair bit (round the house, beach etc) so have a lot of dry skin on my feet, problem i've found is when wet this dry skin tends to rub.
So i'm worried that if i wear my Salomon's and walk the first day with wet feet it'll mean i'll have 4 more miserable days of bad feet.
If it doesn't rain though my trainers a LOT more comfortable and i'm noticeably less tired wearing them.
Decisions, decisions.
I don't mind wet feet near the end of a single day walk, my worry is 5 days of soggy feet.
I wear sandals and go bare feet a fair bit (round the house, beach etc) so have a lot of dry skin on my feet, problem i've found is when wet this dry skin tends to rub.
So i'm worried that if i wear my Salomon's and walk the first day with wet feet it'll mean i'll have 4 more miserable days of bad feet.
If it doesn't rain though my trainers a LOT more comfortable and i'm noticeably less tired wearing them.
Decisions, decisions.
I find that if it's that wet, my feet will be wet regardless of what I'm wearing, and boots don't drain as well as the shoes... It's amazing how liberating it is when you get to a wee river crossing and your watching your mates struggle to get across and you just roll up the trousers (if you can be bothered) and stride on through... Love it!
I've done four days straight with soggy feet in torrential rain, by the end they were pretty rank, but unless your really unlucky with the weather and terrain, there's a good chance your shoes are going to get dry at some point.
On hot days it's nice to walk straight across rivers and cool the feet down, if it's dry weather my feet are bone dry again in about 30 minutes.
I suppose in same conditions in waterproof boots there's a chance your feet are going to stay reasonably dry, if the boots do get wet I've found they can take an age to dry, especially with any sort of membrane, full leather boots not so bad.
I prefer the easy foot placement of a light shoe and I notice after a long day hiking the weight savings on footwear make a big difference in the legs, I think it was Chris Townsend who said a pound of the foot is worth five in the pack.
On hot days it's nice to walk straight across rivers and cool the feet down, if it's dry weather my feet are bone dry again in about 30 minutes.
I suppose in same conditions in waterproof boots there's a chance your feet are going to stay reasonably dry, if the boots do get wet I've found they can take an age to dry, especially with any sort of membrane, full leather boots not so bad.
I prefer the easy foot placement of a light shoe and I notice after a long day hiking the weight savings on footwear make a big difference in the legs, I think it was Chris Townsend who said a pound of the foot is worth five in the pack.
I had read about how quickly the shoes dry in comparison to waterproof boots, when i got caught out in the rain last i figured that as my shoes where wet through and full of grit i'll wash them out, as my boots were ready for a clean i did those as well.
Both the shoes and boots took 3 days to dry on the balcony, it's fairly warm here now as well, with strong sunshine, dry air and around 20c.
I can't see either drying out in a cold, damp, condensation full tent over the 5 days i'm out.
For sure they will dry quicker if walked in as a lot of the water will squelch out, dry socks will no doubt speed up the drying as well, but for my admittedly vague test the drying time wasn't much different between the 2.
I'll take both pairs to England with me and just see what the weather is like i think.
2 more questions though please.
Have you tried goretex socks, if so which ones?
I have a pair of sealskinz i use for cycling, but because they have no stretch they tend to bunch up around my toes, are there any that have a bit of stretch?
Both the shoes and boots took 3 days to dry on the balcony, it's fairly warm here now as well, with strong sunshine, dry air and around 20c.
I can't see either drying out in a cold, damp, condensation full tent over the 5 days i'm out.
For sure they will dry quicker if walked in as a lot of the water will squelch out, dry socks will no doubt speed up the drying as well, but for my admittedly vague test the drying time wasn't much different between the 2.
I'll take both pairs to England with me and just see what the weather is like i think.
2 more questions though please.
Have you tried goretex socks, if so which ones?
I have a pair of sealskinz i use for cycling, but because they have no stretch they tend to bunch up around my toes, are there any that have a bit of stretch?
I use inov8 rocklite boots with a goretex membrane. They have never leaked and on the one occasion i got into deep water and copped a boot full they dried pretty quick. The rubber is super grippy and it has been very durable considering ive done a fair amount of scrambling in them. Id buy again in a heartbeat.
I used the seal skins at camp. Also useful if walking through snow patches.
The shoes dry quicker when worn right enough. My routine was to put on wet socks if the shoes were wet- they both dried out quickly if the going was dry- if not, your already wet!
I'm just saying what works for me, it's not for everyone.
The shoes dry quicker when worn right enough. My routine was to put on wet socks if the shoes were wet- they both dried out quickly if the going was dry- if not, your already wet!
I'm just saying what works for me, it's not for everyone.
My Speeedcross and socks will quite happily dry out over night under my tarp, maybe the extra air flow inside my tarp shelter helps? I've no experience of the Ultras sorry.
I use the thin ankle length Sealskinz which work fine for around camp if my shoes are still drying.
A plus one to the Inov8 roclites, I have those, a pair of Xtalons and a pair of Road 355's. I like the Roclite boots for hill walking with weight (more ankle support, but for fast and light, you can't beat the Xtalons). Now to read the rest of the thread and dream of a place on the challenge.
Thanks all, i'll try a few pairs of goretex socks while i'm over.
Sorry for taking your thread off course Shewie, much appreciated though.
Sorry for taking your thread off course Shewie, much appreciated though.
Yeah just about thanks, pretty much got my gear list together but gonna give it a bit of a tweak to try lose a bit of weight from it, cheers for the words of advice on it
Gonna get all my food sorted this week and then I'm pretty much good to go. Which area of the Lakes are you heading? If it's not forecast to be too windy could be a good opportunity to try out the Duomid? They're pretty good in the wind, not Trailstar good, but good none the less. I'll be back in the Trailstar this weekend.
Look forward to hearing how you get on with the new pack
We're heading NE, Loadpot Hill Friday then over to Angle Tarn for Saturday night, a bit of kit testing and some CWT planning discussions, looking forward to it.
Remember, don't come out of the blocks too fast, savour every footstep and remember to look up now and then, when you get towards the last few days you'll be sad it's coming to an end. I plan to take it a lot easier on the CWT and enjoy every day of it, rather than busting the miles
Remember, don't come out of the blocks too fast, savour every footstep and remember to look up now and then, when you get towards the last few days you'll be sad it's coming to an end. I plan to take it a lot easier on the CWT and enjoy every day of it, rather than busting the miles
Great stuff, really fancy the CWT myself at some point, maybe later in the year if I can squeeze it in. There a few of you going or going solo?
Myself and Teepee from the start with a couple of others joining us for stretches further up. I've done day walks round Torridon and up past Ullapool but most of it will be new ground for me, really looking forward to it. The planning is a little trickier than the TGO as resupply options are fewer, I think it'll mean carrying a bit more food and fuel over greater distances with more remote camping and less FWAs.
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