Thanks for the nice words on the site.
Low tops have been fine for me in pretty much all conditions. In the winter I use a mid shoe from keen.... That is slightly more bootlike. Scree and talus.... I haven't come across much on the long distance hikes. In NH, there is at least one of the 4000' peaks that is climbing up scree , I believe it is Owls Head. At any rate, low tops were fine for me on that particular time, granted it was a short section.
++1 on the gaiters for the PCT. I waited till about half way into the trail before getting my Dirty Girls, and regretted not starting with them. Having only hiked on the east coast prior to the PCT, I wasn't aware of them. Now, I use them on all hikes.
Specifically, on the PCT, they keep your feet much cleaner and keep the majority of stuff out. I pull my socks and shoes off at 2nd breakfast, lunch and mid afternoon breaks and let things dry out as well. The difference in foot color at the end of the day with and without the dirty girls was significant. Don't be afraid to use a 1/4 cup or more of your water to clean your feet at the end of the day.
You'll see a lot of beat up, blistered feet on the PCT. And probably more this year in particular as mentioned above.
+1 on the injiji toe socks as well. They stopped my between the toe blistering that had been a challenge on the whole AT. I alternated between two of their midweight pairs for 2300 miles. Incredibly tough socks, but the specific version isn't made any more. I believe the versions that have less cotton in them are longer lasting. I have a couple pairs of ToeSocks brand that I am trying this year on the Arizona Trail. Hoping they have some life in them.
Bookmarks