Footwear Questions

My son and I are hiking about 40 miles of the AT through the Great Smokey Mt. Nat. Park in June. My plan is to wear a good pair of trail runners for comfort instead of boots. I see all these shoes with GTX lining and I want some, but do I need some? Also, I know these are "breathable" but all the experience I have with these is that they actually fall short in the breathability department when compared to non-lined shoes. Are these a necessary piece of equipment or is it another thing to waste money on?

A waste of money.

Might be worth knowing if you are over that way .There is a small clearing at trailside heading east about 3/4 mile before Mollies Ridge Shelter. There is a broken rock at the base of the old sign post - if you put the two peices of rock together it says 'Water' , written in charcoal. There was water down the small trail at this spring even in the height of the drought last year when the AT was dry in the Smokies.

Certainly not necessary.

The stuff seems to work. My question is, how long does it last in footwear?
Grit seems to be very damaging to goretex.

Also, I'm thinking this does retard breathability and drying.

I think it depends on how much it rains where you plan on hiking. GTX-lined shoes don't do any good for creek crossings as your foot still gets wet, but they keep the foot fairly dry during showers. For extended downpours they won't work if rainwater is able to drip into the shoe from above. They do work well for dewy underbrush.

I used to hike a lot in Southeast Alaska, and the only practical footwear there most of the time was rubber boots. They didn't breathe at all.

Lined shoes are a compromise, and kind of expensive. I've tried unlined shoes and unbreatheable rubber, and I've decided the expensive stuff is worth it. Nothing's perfect.

For multi-day hikes, I carry a pair of Sealskinz socks. Only had to use them once, but they did the job. Anyway, this allows me to separate the waterproof membrane from the shoes and only use it when needed.

For me, Goretex works pretty well in trail runners in the winter. With a pair of w/b gaiters and some wool socks, I can hike in deep snow and be warm and dry.

In warmer weather, Goretex is just miserable -- hot, sweaty, etc., on my feet. I like light mesh trail runners -- sure they get wet, and then they dry quickly. I'm currently using New Balance 810's, but I've also like the Salomon XA Comp's.

For the Smokies in June you do not need Goretex footwear, IMHO.