Hiking Boots and other Necessities

[wallace chane]

Jonathan asked me this morning about Hiking Boots and if we needed them for Sykes. The short answer is No, if you have them they definitely help but you will be fine with comfortable, broken in cross trainers or other athletic shoes. However, be warned that Sykes may very well be the last place you use those shoes in - they get tore up.

If you do insist on buying hiking boots or any new footwear do it soon and break them in prior to Sykes. Breaking shoes in on Sykes is highly not recommended. You will not only be walking 20 miles, but doing quite a bit of switchback climbing, steep descents, and river crossings. The area is generally very wet, so gore-tex is recommended along with some kind of shock absorption in the insole.

Since we're on the topic of proper footwear, what you wear inside your shoes is just as important. Although normal athletic socks will work fine, you may want to prepare for blisters. I would suggest looking into sock liners and wool socks if you're paranoid. Sock liners are just thin synthetic socks - look for cool-max material, and wigam makes awesome wool trekking socks. They'll keep your feet warm even when wet and matted. If you do choose to use your normal cotton athletic socks bring 2-3 pairs in addition to the pair you're wearing.

Because Sykes is a river or semi-aqua environment you may want to bring your own pair of sandals or 'teva' like shoes for the actual hike to the hot springs. To be perfectly frank, I'm getting a bit tired of lending mine out all the time. The hot springs are about a mile south of the camp area so tevas or aqua socks are highly recommended.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm here to help.

We have 70 or so days till Sykes, or 9 more weeks.

Cheers,
Wallace

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www.adecadentexistence.com

[Alycia Laufer]

Hi,

Thank you for your message. I will be out of the office from 3/10-3/12 traveling for business. Please contact Camila Ferguson at camila....@beelinegroup.com or (510) 713-9100x166 with any questions.

I will respond to your email when I return.

Thanks so much,
Alycia