emergency socks

Advanced fire building skills.

"Advanced fire building skills."

That's not too helpful if you are 4000 feet above timberline, camped on snow and glacier.

I've fashioned emergency socks out of plastic bread sacks and a bandana.

–B.G.–

Use the dry pair I've been wearing to bed..

Always have a dry pair of socks in your pack as well as some plastic bread bags. If your shoes are soaked the plastic bags will keep the socks dry.
It's standard practice to have a pair of dry socks reserved for sleeping in all seasons.

Carry 2 pairs of hiking socks so you can change one out if the other is damp. Put the damp ones in a coat pocket to dry out while moving.

If you build a campfire, find a sturdy stick and hammer it into the ground. Drape the sock over the stick. Don't set the socks on the ground. Be very careful with the heat. If you can't keep your hand between the socks and the fire for more than a few seconds before your hands getting too hot, then it's too close. You can easily burn wool socks without them even touching the fire. You usually have enough time to dry the socks during those long winters.

One time I got dangerously cold feet, in Big Sur of all places. There was about a foot of snow and I was wearing extremely thin minimalist shoes, like thinner than the merrel vapor gloves. I was wearing regular wool socks with no gaiters. It was a bit painful.
I tore a large piece of bark off a dead fir tree and use it as a platform to build a small twig fire on. I warmed up my feet and continued on.

Use wool socks as they insulate the best when damp.

Not an experienced deep snow camper but I've had my share of cold feet in sloppy wet snow.

–J.B.–

Occasionally I screw up and let me feet get wet, but rarely.

If they're just damp, they dry out overnight wearing them in sleeping bag.

Year round, rain/wet snow on occasion, maybe down to 20 F.

But I usually avoid the worst weather and walking through streams deeper than my boots.

One thing bad is fungus – athletes foot or trench foot or whatever. Wet socks for multiple days.

If conditions are bad enough you'll get all your socks wet regardless of how many.

Wearing gaiters, my socks and feet don't need washing.

Wearing gaiters all the time helps, not just for snow.

Rule number one is never let all of your socks get wet; always keep a pair in the pack that you can put on when you make camp.

If it's really cold enough for frostbite then it's below freezing and it's actually easier to keep your feet warm than in cold/wet conditions like 35 degree weather and slush.

Having had my feet get cold enough to go numb on a few occasions when I was young and foolish, I don't let it happen anymore. On the move I can keep my feet warm even in cold and wet by staying warm enough all over to keep the circulation going strong to my feet. Once I make camp I have dry socks or even booties to put on while in camp. The worst situation in my mind – not safety wise but comfort wise – is the cold morning with wet shoes from the day before. That's where something like sealskinz can be great, because if they are dry and your feet are warm, you can put them into wet shoes, get started down the trail, and stay warm. The problem with Sealskinz is that they aren't (at least in my experience) totally waterproof, so they end up getting wet and then take a long time to dry. I find they are pretty warm even when wet, but it's hard to get them dry overnight. So mostly I use them for wet dayhikes.

> The worst situation in my mind – not safety wise but comfort wise – is the cold
> morning with wet shoes from the day before.
No, worse than that are damp socks and frozen shoes. Trust me, that is far worse! (Autumn trip, but -7 C overnight.)

And with frozen shoes, you have the added problem that they will be frozen into a non-foot-friendly shapes …

Cheers

Pull your socks over a warm bottle of water and they will be dry in the morning. In the meantime keep your feets warm in your sleeping bag. Setting up camp and crawl into the sleeping bag is the best solution when you are really cold. You can also bring the warm bottle in your bag. Just get as much water as you can off the socks first.

Having dry socks while hiking is a luxury that is not always possible to achieve. Wearing wool socks prevent your feet from being cold even if the socks are wet.

yeah, frozen boots are a problem.

Make sure and open them as wide as possible the night before so you can get your foot into them when they're frozen the next morning.

At some point if you push the edge long enough you will get all your socks wet and your shoes soaked throough. My suggestions are:

1) sleep with your socks on if you can. put another pair over your hands too. I like the idea of putting them over your water bottle if you have one, I have never doen that.

2) sleep with your boots. depending on the setup I carry a pack liner or a bag specifically for my boots. If they are soaked I put them in the bag and then put the bag in my sleeping bag/or quilt on below freezing nights. Shoes and boots work surprisingly well as a pillow. Seems odd, but once again waking up with warm shoes and socks is very nice in sub-zero weather.

3) bread bags or newspaper sleeves work well but do not last that long. You should consider vapor barrier socks. Much more durable, but a bit costly.

4) hike with your damp socks over your hands for as long as you can stand it. UNless it is raining they will dry fairly quickly. I have made many trips with thin glove liners under wool socks with vapor sock for the outside layer in inclement weather.

5) 2 socks tied together with hair bands often work great as ear muffs and then dry nicely as well. Merino wool is best for this, Synthetics stink too much that close to my nose.

Just my thoughts for whatever they are worth . . .

john the xcar

Sleeping with wet socks, no way, thanks. Cold feet, Still damp in the morning. I have better luck drying them on my torso.

Still like Hoot's answer best.

One thing worse than having to dry your wet socks at night is having to dry someone else's.

On a fantastic and very relaxed 14-day trip on the Wonderland Trail my teenage daughter complained as she got into her sleeping bag that all her socks were wet. Like a good father I told her to give a pair to me. I lay them on my torso under my quilt and in the morning, to her surprise, she had dry socks. A quick explanation ensued followed by a grateful kiss on the cheek.

What dad's won't do for their daughters…