how do oyu keep your feet warm ehn it is cool and rainy with trail runners?

[Brett Peugh]

I have always wondered in that it seems like a lot of members go hiking when it is between 32-50F out with train runners and light wool socks on and I was wondering how they keep their feet somewhat warm during these conditions.

[Jason G]

Hike! fast!

[James Moughan]

Some people have warmer or colder feet than others. I'm comfortable in sandals and no socks to a few degrees above freezing, and in a pinch I've walked through snow like that, but I wouldn't recommend most people try it.

If you're not comfortable in trail shoes and light socks at 50F, use something else.

[Eugene Smith]

Keep moving.

[Ben Wortman]

As long as I am hiking, my feet stay warm to down around freezing. Even if they are wet

[drowning in spam]

Walk. I suppose it might be a concern if I was walking slowly and the rest of my body were dry and insulated.

[Nick Gatel]

Since I get cold easily, this was a big concern to me. But as others have said, if you keep moving things should be okay.

[a b]

Properly sized shoes help keep feet warm.
One of the first lessons prospective thru hikers learn is that the shoes they have worn all their lives are too narrow for hiking day after day.
To some extent feet swell up with heavy use but there is also the "too narrow" of a shoe factor.
Using shoes a size larger and wider (than normally worn around town) allows more room for the sock to be sure but, also improves circulation by not compressing the blood vessels of the foot.
Lady thru hikers are known to end up using Men's shoes due to the extra width.
Running shoes used in snow and wet are fine as long as you stay active and they don't restrict blood flow.
I go with a 4E (extra wide) and there is at least a half inch of space between my toes and the end of the shoe.
This does not mean the shoes are loose on my feet. Too loose a shoe can cause it's own problems.
The best way I can describe it is the shoe should fit snug in the heel and arch, be stable in the ball, and allow the toes to move freely without touching the ends. All those things plus the feet should not shift forward when walking down hill steeply.
If you can wiggle your toes with your wool socks on inside your shoes your feet will remain warm even when soaking wet so long as you stay active.
A trick i use for inactive times after wet hiking in running shoes is to:
Remove the wet shoes and socks as soon as i stop for the day.
Warm each foot on my thigh one at a time while massaging them.
Let them dry until the skin has lost that wrinkled look before putting on a dry pair of sleeping socks.
If it is going to be a cold night in snow country, i boil water and put it into a soda bottle with a sock over it and put that between my feet in my sleeping bag.
The next morning, upon removing and safely storing my sleeping socks, I massage my feet and stretch the arches before i rise and pack up for the days hike.
I mention that last advice because the way you treat your feet at night has a huge effect on how they perform the next day.. next week.. next state etc.

[Stephan Doyle]

Don't stop.

Sorry, I wanted to say something different than everyone else, but, I couldn't come up with much variation.

[Jerry Bridgeman]

With training, your brain will stop screaming that you are cold after it learns that feet work just fine when they are colder then you are used to.

The thru hikers don't even realize it, but they trained themselves to ignore their feet feeling cold.

If they followed conventional wisdom on walking through freezing water they would only get a few miles a day and the back woods would not be safe.

Every freezing stream crossing they would have to stop and have hot chocolate and have to find someone to get naked with in a sleeping bag. This misconception is the main reason Douglas got into backpacking and ordered his double Cuben Bivy.

All the information on how to treat your feet at the end of the hiking is very important so you don't have cold feet all night.

Sorry Douglas if you are not showing up to tell us Cuben jokes at GGG we have to do it for you.

Jerry

[Justin Baker]

Wool socks, actually THICK wool socks if you can fit them in your shoes. Wool will still be decently warm when wet, especially on your feet. It's hard to recall a time when my feet were significantly cold even when they were wet all day long with wool songs. But they need to be hiking weight wool socks, the kind people use with boots, to really be warm in cold and wet.
Beyond what is "too cold" for your feet (that is something you have to figure out for yourself) you can just throw on some gore tex socks.

[a b]

I am gonna miss Doug this year!
Without really having known any of you, and most of you not knowing each other in person, there seemed to be this running joke around the GGG last year and Doug Ide was always at the center of it!
My favorite was when someone asked Doug why he had a double sized cuben bivy, and a double sized shelter, and so on…
Doug replied something to the effect of; "There is always hope!"

As to thru hikers leaning to ignore the cold.. i think you are right on there.
A hiker friend of mine hiked the first 5 sierra passes together on our PCT hikes.
She had these goretex over socks she thought would keep her feet dry.
The problem was that her feet would sweat in them after too long so she could only use them during water crossings.
The first crossing she took the time to take off her shoes, put on the goretex socks, put on the shoes, cross the stream, and reverse the process.
By the time we hit the third stream crossing she just charged right in with her shoes and wool socks on like the rest of the hiker trash. (Hiker trash is a term of endearment among hikers).
Ray Jardine said it best: "Feet are waterproof afterall".
The best wisdom I have:
If your feet are warm, you will sleep. Cold feet=No sleep.

[Ken Thompson]

I thought this was about commitment issues.

[BlackHatGuy]

"I thought this was about commitment issues."

Heck no! I'm totally committed! To what or whom, I'm not sure….

Details, it's always the details…..

[Travis Leanna]

>Heck no! I'm totally committed! To what or whom, I'm not sure….

Cuben and single malt?

As others have said, keep moving. During my last trip I stepped through a half-frozen puddle in the trail, soaking my shoe. It was rock solid in the morning, but 10 minutes of brisk hiking warmed them up nice and toasty.

Also make sure the rest of you is quite warm (but not overheating). Then your body won't have to spend its resources warming more important things, like your noggin.

[Andy F]

Once it gets below around 50F, I wear Gore-Tex socks over wool socks and a polypro liner.

[joe newton]

NRS Hydroskin socks à la Dave Chenault:

http://bedrockandparadox.com/2010/10/03/backcountry-footwear-for-the-other-three-seasons/

[Brett Peugh]

Thanks for all the input, I was looking to see if anyone is doing anything different out there and if I could learn from it. I do change my socks when I am done hiking for the day and use either some poly liners, decent wool ones or a combination of the two. I also have made myself some waterproof socks out of some eVent and some Toughtek because I wear a size 15. I usually wear these while it is raining or going through snow and since I wear Chacos they are very easy to get on and off. I have picked up two pair of the Redhead merino wool socks from Bass Pro Shops for about $10 each that are really thick and that I use if I don't want to bring the waterproof socks.

[Roger Caffin]

What warms your feet?
Blood circulation.
So – wool socks, NOT-tight shoes, exercise, and something few have mentioned: warm legs! If the blood flowing down to your feet stays warm, you feet should be warm.

Cheers

[Nick Gatel]

Craig Wisner with the perfect set-up. I think he was wearing MT101's. I wore Saucony Shea XC flats with Wright Socks. We did about 3 miles in snow towards the end of day 1. Temperatures were probably in the 40's and around freezing that night. Next day we did about 10 miles in snow, some of it several feet deep, with many crossings shallow, flowing water. No post-holing though. Day 3 say temps around 105 F. Quite a varied trip and our shoes worked well in all the weather conditions.

[Reggie]

If you are really concerned about cold, wet feet…. Buy a couple turkey roasting bags. Very thin sock liners, a turkey roasting bag, then normal hiking socks. Voila…feet are much warmer. Yeah, they get wet from sweating but if you have really cold feet, this vapor barrier trick works.

[Brian Austin]

Cold feet seem to be proportional to how out of shape you are in. If you are moving then no socks are required. Actually preferred as it keeps the socks clean and dry. Bring flip flops for camp. Leave wet shoes for walking.

If I am strolling along then ya I want a leg base layer, otherwise shorts and no socks is fine in running shoes. Boots, want socks due to rubbing issues.

Bread bags are free instead of turkey bags. A little duct tape and they last a week.

[Chase Norton]

Probably has to be done in the right regions, but here in hawaii you wake up freezing in the mountains and the best way to jump start those frozen toes is a good hot urination. The countless mud/water puddles and veg throughout the day remove anything the morning duties may have created.

Chase

[Steven McAllister]

A warm head and core will cause your body to send more blood to your feet, increasing warmth and comfort.

Loose shoes with wool socks. Fin socks if you really need the warmth.

[Brad Rogers]

I can hike in trail runners and thin wool socks in just about any conditions we get here in the southeast. I have been down into the low teens and postholed through 19 inches of snow with mesh trailrunners and been fine while moving.

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