Trail runners in snow at RMNP next week?

[Nancy Twilley]

Hi guys:

I'm going on a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park next week with a few friends and doing a short backpacking trip (only about 12 miles total — my friends are campers, not hikers… :o) We'll be in the Bear Lake area.

My friend living in Denver recommended we bring boots, since there is potential for some snow still on the trail… can I get away with my trail runners and extra warm socks? Or do I need to break out the old heavy waterproof boots?

Thanks for your input

[CW]

I've used trail runners and even road running shoes in snow and with snow shoes. I'd suggest a goretex sock or something like the NRS Hydroskin sock in combo with your shoes. Boots are most definitely not necessary for snow travel.

Snowshoeing in the Bob Marshall Wilderness of MT. I had on Inov-8 F-lite 230s with Rocky goretex socks, Atlas Race snowshoes, and OR Verglas gaiters. And shorts.

[Greg Mihalik]

+1 NRS Hydroskin sock, if your shoes are big enough…

… or since this is a one-time deal, cover your thick socks with a plastic bag before putting on your shoe. I find produce bags to be to thin. Bread bags work well. They are sturdy enough to get through a day, but not so tough that they roll your toes. (Your feet will slide around a bit in the shoes until things settle in.)

Expect to punch a hole with your big/longest toe. No big deal, a little damp won't hurt you. You'll still be warm. If you are concerned, take and extra set of bags and socks for the hike out.

Also, you want gaiters that have an instep strap/cord (Dirty Girls won't work) to maintain a tight fit to keep the snow from accumulating in you shoes.

[Paul Magnanti]

A buddy and I did a short overnight climb [1] starting from Bear Lake last weekend and while there were patches of snow here and there, there wasn't enough to warrant more than approach shoes (think trail runners, but a bit stiffer for easier ~5.6 technical climbing or less and can also be used for hiking)

[1] More like attempted..the 60 MPH gusts on Sunday made climbing a bit too interesting for our tastes. :D

The snow levels are low this year….we probably ~ 1 month ahead of schedule vs last summer.

We were going to do a technical snow climb on Longs Peak, but there was not enough show on our chosen route. (Hence the change to another peak) :)

[Jacob D]

Could be a good excuse to pick up s pair of Gortex trail runners. I've snowshoed quite a bit in mine with medium weight wool socks and WP/B ankle gaiters without any issues. Either way I have to end up drying out my socks in the evening (wet from sweat) or deal with cold toes when the sun goes down… so I don't know that there's any real benefit of GTX shoes… but my feet definitely stay warm when I'm moving.

Is there a benefit of using a breathable shoe and gtx sock? I'm just curious, I've never given it much thought.

[CW]

With a Goretex shoe, when water gets in they stop being breathable and are extremely difficult to get dry. With a breathable shoe and goretex sock water is free to enter and exit the shoe but your feet stay dry.

[Link .]

http://andrewskurka.com/2012/minimizing-the-effects-and-aftermath-of-wet-feet/

http://andrewskurka.com/2012/why-waterproof-shoes-will-not-keep-your-feet-dry/

[Jacob D]

Doesn't your foot sweat inside the gortex sock though?

I wear my GTX shoes whenever I feel like I can keep water out, usually involving the use of gaiters and not attempting any stream crossings of course… but alas my feet sweat.

Skurka's take seems logical, though I still can't imagine myself in mesh shoes in the snow… but maybe I need to try it.

[CW]

Doesn't your foot sweat inside the gortex sock though?

Sure. But then I've hiked in snow with only a mesh shoe and thin wool sock and had my feet sweat. When I'm active, I sweat. I can minimize a lot of it with pace and layering, but it still happens.

[Jacob D]

Right, right… but my point being, doesn't the sweat just end up trapped in the GTX sock? Sorry I didn't mean to turn the thread toward gortex sock vs. wool sock. I'm just trying to understand what the differences would be between [gtx shoe + wool sock] vs. [mesh shoe + gtx sock]. It seems like the former would at least wick some of the sweat away from the foot.

[CW]

Ah. Actually, it doesn't really and I'm not enough of a science geek to be able to explain or care why. It could be because of the layer separation (maybe something to do with air flow?). With a gtx shoe the gtx portion is sandwiched and glued so once the outer is wet the entire thing is wet, more or less. You (I) wear a thin wool sock under the gtx sock.

[Tad Englund]

Chris, did you size up on the Rocky socks so you can get the liner underneath or is your fit true to size?
Mine seem a little tight with the liner.

[CW]

IIRC I got them the same size as I usually get correct fitting footwear in (10). FWIW though, if you measure my foot out I'm more like a 9-9.5.

[Tad Englund]

Chris, I did the same thing; I'm really a 11.5-11.75 but I get 12's. I just got the socks and haven't worn them yet so they might relax a bit.
Thanks,
Tad

[Nancy Twilley]

Hey guys, thanks for the info! I will try out my neoprene socks with trail runners this evening to see if that will work, but the bread bag solution is also sounding like a good one — I really don't feel like breaking out the heavy boots, so it's good to know I don't have to.

This could also be a good opportunity to go ahead and make those eVent gaiters I've been meaning to get to with the scraps from the anorak I made…

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