Desperate for dry socks?

[Alex Wilson]

Just wondering if anyone has any stories about when they were absolutely desperate (health or comfort wise) for a dry pair of socks while out in the backcountry.

[Bob Gross]

According to reputation, this displays the difference between men and women. When out in the backcountry, a man looks forward to a dry pair of socks. A woman looks forward to a clean pair of socks.

–B.G.–

[Justin Baker]

You have posted 3 seperate threads about socks, these could have all been answered in the same thread. There is a "Post Reply" link at the bottom of each thread.

I got some seriously cold feet in Big Sur once. We encountered an unexpected amount of snow. I was wearing extremely thin minimalist shoes, thinner than the merrel vapor gloves, with medium thickness wool socks. No gaiters. I had snow getting packed into my shoes constantly and my feet were rapidly conducting with the cold snow because of the thin sole. My toes became numb and started to get a bit red.
Those were my only dry socks.
Later that night I had wet socks and it was in the low teens. I ended up partially burning my socks out of desperation.

[Katherine .]

Yes, you are clearly worried about socks!

Shhhhh, bring two pairs of dedicated sleep socks — one for you one for your son.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Justin

> I had snow getting packed into my shoes constantly and my feet were rapidly
> conducting with the cold snow because of the thin sole.
With respect, I don't think the second part necessarily follows.

I have no doubt your feet were freezing, but from my own experience I would say, fairly strongly, that it was the snow inside your shoes which was the problem. In snow country good gaiters with a strap or string underneath are utterly vital.

Well, the good news out of that is that if you take gaiters next time, you might have warm(ish) feet.

Cheers

[Justin Baker]

Roger, the thin soles definitely do contribute to my feet getting cold. That's obvious when sit down and put my feet up and they immediately get warmer. But I'm talking really worn minimalist shoes with soles so thin that they sag/bend when holding them from one end. I can feel the heat from the ground on a hot day.

However the snow really was the biggest contributor to my feet freezing. You are right about that.

I have some goretex socks now paired with regular (non waterproof) gaiters. Also some minimalist shoes with a more substantial sole. I will see how it works this winter. I plan on combining them with the 40 below energy overboots for colder weather.

[Billy Ray]

"But I'm talking really worn minimalist shoes with soles so thin that they sag/bend when holding them from one end."

Er… I've never understood why anyone would wear minimalist shoes in snow.

Where I live in the mountains, we look at people who do that and shake our heads and mutter… "tourists"… sheesh.

If you are in really cold country and doing overnight backpacking or climbing, minimalist shoes are a good way to get frostbite and lose a few toes…

just sayin…

billy

[Justin Baker]

Billy, I was 10 miles from the coast in central california. Not exactly the kind of place you expect to be kick stepping up to an icy ridge.

[Travis B.]

I think it's surprising what the body can actual handle. A few years back I was doing a day hike at a nearby lake. I hiked up a ridge line and followed it for a few km's. There was a cold nasty wind on the ridge, so rather than follow the ridge line back to the car I made the foolish mistake of trying to take a 'shortcut'. I decided to travel down the north side of the mountain knowing that I would eventually meet up with a horse trail near the lake. What I didn't take into account was that there was a predominant south wind in this area and that the north side of the mountain held nothing but dry, untouched snow. Even with snowshoes on, I sunk down to my waist with each step. To further complicate things, as the snowshoes sunk they would get tangled in willows. I hesitate to even call it snowshoeing, as it was more like trying to swim my way down the mountain.

Three and a half hours of the most exhausting hiking I've ever done. I was soaking wet, it was -25C and dark by the time I made it to the horse trail. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but I was never once cold. I managed to make it back to the car okay, and thanked my lucky stars that I had made it. If I had hurt myself and was unable to make it back to the car, or if the trip was planned as an overnighter, things would have been much different.

I think it's prudent to always have a plan in place in case you do get wet, especially in the winter.

[Will Elliott]

People who like minimalist shoes could try mukluks, the lightest and warmest winter footwear. The white army kind can be found sometimes on ebay. I mean the kind with a leather sole, like a glove, not the rubber sole. They have a proven track record (millennia). They are not too good anywhere slippery or with snowshoe bindings, though wearing a closed cell liner, like in ski mountaineering boots, gives the necessary padding.

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