High Sierra Topix

Glad to hear... I am bringing my keen sandals. Didnt think about potential toe injuries in crossings though, but I figured they could double as camp shoes

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I forgot about the toe injury. I kicked a stick under the ferns with my baby toe and it hurt, but no damage. I also stabbed my other baby toe with a trekking pole.

Something similar to Crocs, but lighter. I wear a super thin wool liner with them in camp, and of course, without the liner for stream crossing.

maverick wrote:No need, my trail runners are light enough to serve as hiking shoes and camp shoes in one.

Exactamundo. In addition, good trail runners are designed to get wet, so you can wade right through crossings. Typically, they are made of mesh nylon, so the water drains immediately, and the shoes are dry within a very short period.

MN2, BlueWater and I all had Altras @ the meet-up. I can't say enough about these shoes - they truly rock. MN2 & I have Lone Peaks, while Andy has the thicker soled Olympus.

My guess is @ least 1/2 of PCTers are wearing Altras this year:
http://www.linthikes.com/2015/02/19/alt ... -0-review/

Altra is a small company, but they got the Real Hiking Viking signed as an ambassador:
https://instagram.com/p/zSXXnlRBpw/

If you're curious, here's his profile - a real hiking monster with an interesting background:
http://therealhikingviking.com/2015/03/25/warrior-hike/

maverick wrote:No need, my trail runners are light enough to serve as hiking shoes and camp shoes in one.

Ditto for me as well. Carried a pair of heavy Tiva's years ago but haven't since I switched to smaller, more breathable shoes.

Even with Trailrunners, I still like a slip on style camp shoe as part of my "evening attire" especially for that midnight call to duty, so for the last several seasons it's been the Patagonia Advocates. On a recent dayhike on the JMT just below Dollar Lake, I noticed many of the trekkers actually hiking in their camp shoes!

I too bring the crocs for water crossings and camp lounging.

Crocs for me.

I also like the Vivobarefoot ultra pures. Light, easy to slip on, decent traction, keep most of the dirt and rocks out and stay securely on my feet. Mine were ~$30 on amazon last year. I used to use crocs, but they can be very hard to keep on in the water. Before that I would bring Tevas, but mine are way too heavy. I usually only bring camp/water shoes if I'm expecting wet water crossings, rocky lakes to swim in or if the trip has little hiking and lots of camp time. Otherwise I just loosen the laces on my lightweight hiking shoes.

I've used an ancient pair of Teva's until now. The Tevas have toe and heel straps so they can't come off in a water crossing, and let my feet dry out around camp ('course, the mosquitos take notice of that). So they were good, but heavy at 1.25 lbs/pair, and as they were padded, the straps did not dry very fast.

I bought a pair of Kushe camp shoes, which are 1/3 the weight of the Teva's, for my most recent trip. They have a pretty grippy, pretty stiff sole, so I could wander around stepping on sharp rocks and even climb stuff with 'em. I was able to do all water crossings on rocks/logs so I haven't actually tried them in water yet--they have what appears to be a light weight canvas upper, so drying could be an issue.

My big issue is that the Kushe camp shoes don't have a heel loop. The uppers are so flimsy that you can't slide your feet into them and have your heel seat in the shoe--have to sit down and pull the heel up.

But I sure enjoyed the lightness and the ability to walk around on rocks.