This is always a hot topic for most walkers, hikers and backpackers. To shoe or not to shoe...that is the question.

Well I have been a firm believer in the 'house of the running shoe' over the past two years but I have to say that now I starting to doubt my own beliefs. I have hiked over 6000 miles in running shoes so they must work for me.

Before my first long hike I had a lot of foot problems that I blamed on boots and quickly switched to running shoes. These have been a great success when the weather has been relatively dry and warm but there have been problems too. 

The main issue for me is cold feet on cold water crossings and wearing wet trail runners for days on end. Last year on the PCT I had two weeks of cold wet weather (approx) and had to endure nearly frozen trail side scrub for many days. You know when you start hiking early, putting on wet and near frozen shoes then walk for hours with a constant flow of freezing water going over your feet. This sucks big time. Even if you had a fire in the evening and dried everything, after the first ten minutes hiking your feet are soaked again. Those blueberry and huckleberry bushes really hold the water well! Luckily however, the weather cleared up and I was able to finish the hike. If the wet weather continued I think I may have had to bail out and leave the trail for a while. It got to the point where I had about 20 plasters on my feet and it was pretty uncomfortable to say the least.

On the CDT I had mild hypothermia in the Gila canyon doing the multiple river crossings with ice along the banks of the river. My solution was to build a quick fire to dry and warm the feet. This was a good solution at the time although I was not in any serious danger.

I have posted these problems on a forum and it will be interesting to see what other enthusiasts come up with.

At the moment I am researching changing back to hiking boots for my next trip to Canada although I may have to take some trail runners too.

I tried thin neoprene socks in the Sierra which worked OK...although I struggled on one early morning crossing.....running up the far side to try and warm up!

If anyone has any views on this please comment on the subject your thoughts would be appreciated.

Over the two years I have met a lot of hikers and trail runners and boots normally crop up in conversation. We are such an exciting bunch. I am not sponsored by any shoe brand so there is no bias here...these are the most popular brands of trail runners.

All my shoes in the USA from Zappos. They have good prices and are ultra reliable. I turn up in town for resupply and without fail they are always there for me. My personal preference is for asics shoes. Montrail have probably been up there with the most recommended brands along with Keen Salomon and Nike. I have heard good things about all these brands from a host of very experienced hikers......some of whom are triple crowners. These guys know their shoes!

Sometimes you just have to rest the legs...I recommend taking shoes off first and sitting on a ground sheet though