Off trail shoes

Todd. You need to maybe try using Injinji Coolmax toe liner socks, then wear a nylon or polyester dress or liner sock over that. You shouldn’t get blisters again, at least not as easily.

If I want maximum blister resistance, I wear Injinji Coolmax liner socks under Gold Toe Nylon dress socks. I can wear just about anything, no matter how ill-fitting, and my feet are usually in good shape afterwards using this setup.

I was using the injinji nuwool socks and when cold taller darn tough socks. I’ve never tried the whole liner plus sock regimen because I do like have maximal sensation of the ground but could give it a shot. I actually have two sets of injinji nuwool liners already I often use as my main sock. Would it not be the shoes though since that’s the main thing that’s changed I supposed? How do you keep your feet clean? That makes me jealous. I hate the dirt you accumulate.

Man, you just can’t catch a break, can you? That’s unfortunate that so many things that usually work for the rest of us don’t work for you. It can get expensive trying to find stuff that fits those situations. I will say though, I think the Coolmax synthetic socks might be more blister resistant than the wool ones, possibly. But, yeah, wool sure does fight the stink so much better.

I think the secret is the non-breathable shoes and sorta breathable goretex liner:-) Injinji toe socks, Rockywoods Goretex liner and my La Sportiva Lyncan GTX trail runners. My feet don’t sweat and I wore this combination even in Arizona heat.

I found this combination by accident and after my feet were so clean and my socks never grimy with sand/dirt or became stiff ever, I have been wearing this combination ever since.

You should try it and see if it works for you.

You know weirdly… there was one guy in the emergency side of a creek tent shantytown set up in the snow storm that ended up with dry feet. He had traditional gtx boots from REI and shockingly he kept them from getting water in from the top. He was brand new to backpacking so not seasoned at all. I was pretty shocked as he hiked for hours in rain/ice/snow like the rest of us. It made me question my anti-gtx bias a bit.

My feet became numb and totally wet in my Bushido’s after a 2 hour sleet/wintry mix at probably 9K on the JMT. I hated that experience – feet numb and sun didn’t come out that evening. It felt like I was hiking with a bucket of ice tied to my feet. And at camp as well, it was miserable till I could get out of them.  So, got myself some GTX trail runners and I have been very happy about it. I guess if I was doing the PCT and wading through snow melt streams all the time, then perhaps a non-GTX shoe makes sense.

On the CT, I did get water into my GTX Lycan’s on a stream crossing. And it did take some time to dry – but the Goretex liner dries quickly and so it wasn’t so bad.

I remember one stretch where for a week, there was constant rain on PCT-Washington section hike and many PCT thru hikers were complaining about the cold and rain, while I was very dry.

I think you can make either one work. For stream crossings, I will just remove my shoes/liner/socks etc and put them back on. If they are very frequent, then it is a pain and I may just wade through it.

my hiking has shifted to off trail high alpine environments when possible

Maybe look at what Sierra High Route hikers are wearing.  I recall an article on ultralight backpacking the SHR that recommended lighter weight mostly leather shoes from a now defunct National Geographic “adventure magazine” of some sort.  Getting bashed by rock on the sides of the foot probably calls for something more protective .. as most are on trail or picking through hard-packed desert sand between bushes.

Maybe look at Danner Trail 2650 family of shoes (mostly non GTX but think they added some)?

In terms of blisters, could look at an insole that conforms (I use a Sole one that requires oven heating at 165°F to mold to the foot shape .. it has a tab that changes color when it’s “ready”)  and using a thicker sock.