Backpacker – August 2019

JULY/AUGUST 2019

42 BACKPACKER.COM

C

OLD WATER CHURNED a round

my thighs and threatened to knock

me over as I shuff led across Forney

Creek. It was early spring in Great Smoky

Mountains National Park, and the cur-

rent was high and swift thanks to a spate of

recent rains. I paused, clinging to a fallen

tree for stability, and felt the cold water

gushing through my shoes.

Like many hikers, I avoid sloshing

through creeks. Conventional trail wisdom

says that wet feet are blister- and fungus-

prone. I internalized this early in my back-

packing career. In the name of foot care, I’ve

searched off-trail for the driest passages

and even donned bread bags over my socks.

Risky leaps between widely spaced stones?

I’ve taken too many to count. When water-

proof boots aren’t sufficient, I switch in and

out of sandals for every crossing. It’s effec-

tive—but painfully slow.

This time was different. Tired of the tac-

tical gymnastics of keeping my feet dry, I

decided to simplify the process. I wanted to

hike as efficiently as possible, and heading

straight through water is faster than avoid-

ing it—if there’s no foot hea lth pena lt y.

My friend Glenn and I had been eyeing

a three-day, 30-mile hike in the southern

Smokies. The loop tagged the highest point

on the Appalachian Trail and offered long

views over the park ’s namesa ke mountains.

But it also required nearly a dozen river

crossings with precious few footbridges

or rock-hopping opportunities to spare

our feet from submersion. Daytime tem-

peratures looked to be mild, so the timing

seemed right to take the plunge.

“There are six more crossings coming

up,” Glenn said. He had climbed the oppo-

site bank after the inaugural foot soak-

ing and was studying his map. Despite the

comfortable spring weather, my feet were

cold, and I was starting to feel less sanguine

about the whole experiment. By tomorrow,

we’d have constellations of angry blisters. I

just knew it.

But I’d taken some precautions. One was

slathering my feet in Chamois Butt’r anti-

chafing lubricant. I also packed light, figur-

ing every extra ounce in my pack would put

stra in on my feet a nd increa se blister risk.

For footwear, waterproof boots were a

no-go. Overtopping them, which was inev-

itable on this route, would render water-

proofing worse than useless, as liners trap

moisture and dry slowly. I needed some-

thing lightweight. My mesh trail runners

ENJOY HIKING

WITH WET FEET

Can two hikers keep their feet happy

while splashing through creeks for days?

B y Ad am G ree n

RYAN GARCIA

Skill Set
PASS/FAIL