footwear and river fording

Full leather boots for me. I've had difficulty finding non-gtx ones. For crossing (& travelling in) rivers, you need good firm boots - from a safety point of view. A light pr to change into is very dangerous - and wastes a lot of time. IMO, just suck it up.

Depends on the rest of your terrain, but I prefer something that lets the water squelch back out. Full leather become leather buckets if you get water in. Then again, Bullers with a hole poked in them are hopeless the first muddy puddle you come to. ;) Good overnight drying & a change of socks could be the go ?. There's the odd day hike where we might change footwear if it's wet just at the start, but seldom. Agree, you really need decent boots to stay out of trouble in significant rivers.

probably just use what i normally wear and take them off after to drain is the way to go i read some te araroa blog that recommend trail runners but those guys are hiking in summer so drying out wouldnt be too much of a problem

With woollen socks, every step you take is like squeezing out a sponge. Personally, I prefer that has some way of leaching out. You can, end of day, wring out the wet and do your best to dry them. Perhaps threading them thru the straps of your pack so that they further air dry the next day ?. That's alright until your next river crossing. :) Might want to delete your duplicate posting ?.

In all the years of tramping in NZ I've done I can count on 2 hands the number of days I've had dry boots- and all those days were in Tongariro. In NZ you're always going to have wet boots, whether it's streams/rivers, mud bogs, or wet tussock. The safest way to navigate stream/river crossings is to keep your boots on. Many accidents have occurred while people try to tip toe across a fast stream in bare feet. I met a couple of DOC workers who said they would sit at a stream crossing and guess the nationality of people crossing the river. Most all who removed their boots were Americans, since especially in the US West you're lucky to step over a muddy puddle let alone cross multiple streams in a day. Boots provide stability, protection, and grip as you navigate slick rocks, divots, submerged obstacles, etc. My advice is to keep you boots on and make friends with your wet feet.

Totally agree Gregor and usually the first and last thing you have to do each day is cross a stream to or from the hut. Keep them on but take care of your wet feet, take your boots off at lunch breaks if weather permits to let them breathe. Even in summer boots rarely dry overnight and only then with aid of heat from a fire and that's not particularly good for the boots. Dry feet are a rare treat, but even on dry days I find the highly overrated Gore tex is unable to cope and my feet are quite damp from sweat. Learn to manage and mitigate it, rotate socks, drain and dry boots naturally as much as possible overnight, remove inner soles etc. Bad feet will disable a tramper faster than anything else.

I remember sitting in Triangle hut watching 2 Germans stop at the crossing on the other side take boots off cross then put them back on for the last 100 meters to the hut. All in pouring rain. Ok on that track this is the only river crossing so there is a little logic but even so. I have also made the mistake of leaving wet socks outside at Roaring Stag. It was mid winter and in the morning if you tapped the socks together they would ring like a bell. You could hold the gaiters like a dinner plate so 2 guesses what the boots were like. My feet complained bitterly about those socks and boots for 15 minutes. When I started tramping the standard footwear was unsoftened leather boots and the best way to start any tramp was to put them on then sit in a stream for 10 minutes before going anywhere. I dont remember anyone complaining about blisters the way they do these days so maybe water softened boots is the way to go. I have seen a pair of gortex socks but these are only supplied to the US army as gortex has too much investment in gortex boot liners so wont allow them to be sold.

I find crossing rivers with boots can make uncomfortable the rest of your trek...personally I'll use Sandals probably with Vibram sole...light to carry,easy to put on in case of crossing rivers and dry out your feet once you're out of the fords. Walking with your boots wet for long distance can be treacherous for the healthiness of your feet plus you can get flu if you stay in a cold environment like NZ for long time... For me light sandals with vibram sole are the way to go.

> Quoted text in NZ you're always going to have wet boots, whether it's streams/rivers, mud bogs, or wet tussock. people say the same in the UK which is just as sodden as NZ and ive never had wet feet when wearing leather boots, the high military style ones and thats going across streams where the boot is almost fully submerged just ive never needed to wade into deep rivers