Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Sandals or shoes

Hi! I was just wondering if I could get away with wearing a pair of Keen sandals next week on the whit. trail. I've seen pictures and it does look rough in some places, but are boots neces? Any opinions and comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Katie

If you can guarantee that it won't rain, hail, snow, get windy, drop down to near freezing, ice up, and that you not misstep at 14,000 ft, then maybe..........

I think you are only considering trail conditions and not possible weather conditions. Read some of the other recently posted threads to get an idea of what type of conditions you should be prepared for (and yes, all those conditions have been reported in the last few weeks on Whitney and/or surrounding areas!).

Remember it is 22 miles round trip. You must be kidding.....

Not sure if you've worn the Keen shoes for any extended period of time, or in dusty/lose dirt, but I have, and those shoes were miserable. Small rocks and dirt were a constant problem. I had to stop to empty them very frequently which was a huge time waster. When I got home from doing the whole Pinnacles NM trail form one side to the other and back, my feet were chewed up and bleeding in spots. Needless to say, I threw those shoes out so I would never be tempted to wear them again.

I would wear Tevas or Chacos (which I have worn on many miles of trail with no problem) before I would attempt to do Whitney in Keens.

I have read about people who swear by them and there was a salesperson in a shoe store who said that Keens were the best shoes ever invented, however, after my experience, I would never recommend them. Also, they are very slippery with the least amount of moisture.

I've carried sandals up Whitney a couple of times so that I could wear them on the way down. Both times it was a real relief to put the sandals on coming down, but I had to go a bit slower in them than in the hiking shoes because they didn't grip as well as the shoes.

I found a pair of running sandals that are great for running on dirt roads, but I'd like to find a pair that has a bit more grip for trails.

I'm sure that a pair of sandals made for trail running would work great on the Whitney Main Trail.

Out of necessity (a second degree burn on my right leg right where the top of my boot hit that leg with every step, which I got one week before my most recent hike up all but the final mile of the Main Trail), I had to wear Tevas or else not hike at all (and since the trip was already planned and I was coming from Ohio, not hiking was not an option).

So on my first day on the Main Trail, I opted to wear the Tevas without any socks, which worked just fine (no stubbed toes or any of the other things mentioned by others here occurred), with one major exception: Due to the very dry environment on the trail and at that altitude, my feet ended up extremely dry-cracked all over (esp. all around my toes), which was painful and definitely had an impact on my remaining hikes the three days thereafter that I was out there.

So I guess unless you opt to wear socks with the sandals (which is what I did the rest of the time I hiked on that trip -- see picture below taken by Snow Nymph), and/or keep your feet constantly moisturized along the way, then from personal experience, I wouldn't recommend sandals. Also, unless your sandals have a fairly good sole with some traction, you could slip around a bit in a few places.

I would not recommend any sort of sandal for the Whitney Trail, just as I wouldn't recommend it for the Narrows in Zion. For as long as both of these routes are, your feet just get abused and having good, protective support is vital. The Keens, while lightweight, have too many openings to allow debris to sneak in, and on the MT, the rock can range from large pebbles to granite sand, both of which are more than annoying when in the shoe!

The trail can definitely be done in trail runner shoes, which offer more coverage, protection, and support. If weight is the issue, then I would go with those. If you are overnighting and carrying a heavier load, I would recommend boots with ankle support because of the unevenness of the trail and the amount of "stairs" you have to climb.

This is not to say people don't do the trail in sandals. A buddie of mine hiked it in flip-flops that he strapped to the front of his foot with duct tape (Yeah, he's crazier than me!!). He did run into trouble, though, especially on the descent as his foot was sliding around, and was nursing some pretty gnarly wounds for a few weeks after his return.

One final question: have you been hiking/training in the keens? THe last recommendation I would make is to try it out before you do it. You never want to do something brand new on the big hike, same as a race.

-Laura

I'd guess Keen vs Teva vs Chackos choice is, just like with any other type of shoes, person (or rather, feet) specific; I wouldn't try anything more serious/long distance without trying the setup in some local setting that is easy to bail out in case of trouble.
But saying that, personally, I wouldn't have any problem going, even a long distance, on any relatively well-maintained trail (Whitney included) in sandals. At the moment I do prefer Keens as they seem to be less prone to catching pebbles than the other, more open sandals; that's based on a couple of relatively long hikes around LA (including R/T Baldy starting from the village;
that's about 12 ir so miles and ~5kft elevation gain). Except some minor annoyance with the rocks getting stuck inside I've got no complaints whatsoever...

Obviously, possible weather condition and load to carry are separate things to take into consideration.

lukasz


lukasz

This discussion brings to mind a situation in the late 1970s, long before the ultra-light hiking thing took off, when a Vasque leather boot with Vibram sole was by far the lightest footwear you would ever see on a serious trail.

I was returning to Yosemite Valley from a solo overnighter on Half Dome (those were the days!) in leather boots that I had not worn previously on any steep, long downhills. Almost in the blink of an eye I developed serious, painful blisters on my toes as the toes pushed against the front of the boots. With miles to go, and no back-up footwear, and the prospect of my blisters only getting worse in my boots, I was in a fix!

My only solution was to stash the boots in my pack and go barefoot.

I had been doing a fair amount of barefootin' on my college campus around that time (those were the days!) so my feet were toughened, but I was nevertheless surprised and quite relieved that, although I had to be a bit more careful, backpacking barefoot was not so bad. In fact, with the lightness and breeze on my feet, it felt liberating! All these years later I can still recall the feeling of the smooth granite on my soles, and cool cushiony texture of the soil on the non-rocky parts.

What was interesting was the response from others on the trail. It was universally negative! From their expressions or snickering or biting remarks they implied that I was either an idiot or that I was arrogant and somehow trying to show off! It was like I was breaking some unwritten rule of the backcountry and people were regarding me the way we would all regard someone who continually relieves himself too close to streams.

The trail from Half Dome was fairly smooth. So I'm not recommending going barefoot to Mt. Whitney, nor am I recommending sandals (but not ruling them out either.)

But ever since being forced to go barefoot on the trail, I've been more open minded about footwear for hiking, using sandals and running shoes for backpacking on some trails years before it was common. But I still use light boots too. (And I also now carry some sort of back-up footwear, sandals, on any backpack trip.)

If there is any moral to this story it is that there is more than one way to do things and that there will always be people who think you are an idiot, and not be shy about letting you know, if you try a fresh approach or do things diffferently than they would.

KatieMay:

For a totally different take on this topic, do a search over the past couple of years for "BarefootTed" -- you might be surprised at what you find.

BruinDave

Hehe..I was thinking the same thing as I was reading through this thread...

Seventeen years ago I was taking a friend on his first Whitney dayhike, when we were passed in the chute below Trail Crest by a hiker wearing Tevas. We were in the chute because the switchbacks were still mostly covered in snow. There were scattered rocks exposed in the chute. I learned that the Teva wearer had not been up Whitney before when he asked where the trail went after crossing the pass. My friend was wearing what were called trainers back then and had more trouble than the man in Tevas. We all got back down to Trail Camp before the chute cooled down and hardened. As Dirty Harry says: "A man has to know his limits."

(Of course, some might argue that we didn't witness a valid Teva-Whitney-trail ascent since the guy went up the chute on snow as well as because he was wearing wool socks.)

Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com

I allways bring my Tevas.I hike in my Vasque boots but at camp i change um out.I once met a guy ,just down from TC, that was wearing Tevas,He said his toes were killing him and thought he would try it for a while.I thought it made sence.Everyone has differnt skills,just don't take the wild places for granted.AD

To all who have commented thank you.

I have spent alot of time hiking in these sandals and I wear them trudging around all of my vineyards. I will probably bring trail runners as well, just in case.

BruinDave and David thanks for the stories and the open mindedness.

Sounds like you have a plan with a backup. Coming down the trail puts a whole different stress on shoes/sandals than walking up or on flat ground. If you're not wearing socks, don't forget the sunscreen

Many moons ago I worked for a mountaineering school in the Sierra. My job involve carrying loads of supplies from around Third Lake up to a high camp above the Palisade Glacier. I got tired of doing it in my heavy boots, so I started doing it in flip-flops. It was so much more comfortable, even in the snow. Just an anecdote, not a recommendation, but sometimes doing things differently works just fine.

Can't tell you how many Porters I've seen carrying 50 kilo loads in bare feet, or flip-flops. As one who doesn't conform to the "norm," I'd say if your feet can take it, go for it.

I see the same guy running bare foot every day in my neigborhood. on the street! Bare feet on granite sounds way better.

Personal choice, depends on your feet, I guess.

A good friend of mine did the whole JMT two years ago, 221 miles, wearing Tevas. He swears by them. Personally, my ankles would break, but oh well.