footwear and river fording

I once got myself a good solid pair of Teva sandals for crossing rivers. Just great, good soles, great grip, after 3 river crossings in 15 minutes I gave up changing the footwear, waste of bloody time. Boots get wet, feet have to put up with it. Change to Teva's with a nice warm sock for walking around the hut. This give the boots a chance to be a little less soggy the next day. You will get wet feet, get accustomed to it.

@Frank agreed. I don't want to spend half my day dropping pack and changing shoes, which is what you'll do in NZ if you're fastidious about keeping boots dry.

I used to take Tevas with me ... I could also walk with them on easier terrain (keep my feet fresh on hot days) and they made good camp shoes/sandals ... with fresh socks if it was cold. They were the old-school Tevas that were heavier/chunky soles that the rubber eventually developed a funky odor. There is some heavier duty models of Crocs (Trailbreak/Swiftwater/Offroad), that is still lightweight, that means you can rest your boots/feet a bit as well as wading through streams. I probably wouldn't walk much in them, like I did with the Teva sandals.

Just come back from a 5 day trip in the Eyre Mtns. We took plastic climbing boots and there's no way I'm subjecting those boots to a river crossing. We crossed in bare feet or crocs carrying 5 day packs with ice axes and crampons stowed, but took sandals as a further option for the non-snowy sections. It depends on the river of course but in winter, it's either barefeet, crocs or sandals for me when I've only got one or two crossings in a day e.g. Casey Stream and the Poulter on my way to the huts upvalley from the Casey Stream. If it was a serious crossing I would wear my boots though. But usually there are no serious crossings due to trip planning measures i.e. not planning a trip where the rivers are up (like now). If you watched me, you'd think I was a foreigner. I never cross the Lilburne in boots when going into Tarn Hut in the Puketerakis. Coming out is a different story as it's only a one hour 4WD road walk to the car. Same for going into the Edwards Hut in the snow. I cross the Bealey and Mingha in my sandals and change into my plastics once I hit the forest edge. To me getting wet boots unnecessarily is just masochistic and keeping my feet warm and dry is part of risk management as long as there are no dodgy heroics involved in crossing streams on greasy logs or icy rocks, etc. It was so lovely yesterday to walk out a couple of hours in the rain strolling down the Irthing with completely dry feet.

I have two pairs of boots with holes drilled in them to let the water out. (They don't get used a lot in winter but do at other times of the year) Once out of a water course the boots pump themselves dry as you walk. This is a lot quicker than changing footwear for a river crossing which I sometimes do in winter if there are only going to be one or two crossings for the day.

Pleased to see this thread. I back-and-forth on this one. I do recall one freezing day, back when my wife and I were still tourists. This was in May '06. We were coming down from Lake Crucible to spend the night at Siberia Hut. We got tired of taking our boots off at every crossing and went through the last few in our boots. they got soaked through and our feet were freezing. The hut was freezing. We got the fire going, but it really didn't warm the place. The next morning our gaiters and boots were frozen. We had a change of socks, for what it was worth... Ever since then I have tended to take my boots off for any bigger crossings - particularly when freezing. I'm interested to hear what you guys would have done.

Don't get me wrong guys I enjoy comfort as much as the next person. But if I know there is a reasonable chance of wet feet, for instance heavy rain, numerous river crossings, boggy track etc. I give up on trying to have dry feet early on. Though I'm not actively looking for wet feet out of some masculine macho desire, lol. I do most of my tramping in the lower north island and it's pretty hard to avoid wet feet. Dry feet, fresh socks and crocs are what I look forward to at the end of the day. As soon as I get to a hut or camp site those boots are off and getting them as dry and clean as possible are an early priority. But to be honest I'm usually pretty grubby, sweaty and beaten up at the end of the day, so wet boots are only a part of my problem, I'm wet in many places, haha. I bathe as soon as I reach my destination no matter how cold the temp. I put on clean everything and enjoy it till the next morning when the smelly damp underwear, rugby shorts, socks and merino tee get put back on for the next slog. I'm also lucky, I guess? that my job requires me to spend most of my day in a fridge and the rest in a freezer. So my cold tolerance is pretty high to begin with. The only place I really feel the cold is in my fingers. One of the true joys of tramping for me is the last two hours back to the van actively picturing in mind, dumping my pack and ripping my wet boots off to put on wooly socks and crocs, bliss.

Another option - some of the trail runners from Hoka now have higher and waterproof uppers, but are still in the weight range of running shoes. I recently got a pair of [Tor Speed 2's](https://www.torpedo7.co.nz/products/H2BWHN6ZX/title/men-s-tor-speed-2-mid-waterproof-hiking-boots?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn8Cbm4e03AIV1aqWCh1GzQvpEAYYASABEgKsS_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds). They're the same weight as my running shoes but seem a lot tougher, and water beads off the upper rather than going straight through/soaking in. I've used them on day trips, would use them on any on track tramping down here. (OK, maybe not Stewart Island, I'd save the already worn out Keens for down there) The Hoka Tors are high enough to take gaiters and keep the gravel out. I'd go back to my [Salewa Rapace](https://www.macpac.co.nz/christmas-sale/footwear/salewa/salewa-rapace-gtx-boots-mens.html) boots for transalpine and or winter use. Somewhere where I knew I had river crossings and then later alpine/snow, I'd take both, wear the lightweight ones up the valley/across the rivers then swap to the heavier boots when past the wet feet country. I'd be pretty sure the Hokas would be lighter than Tevas. I think the Tor Speed 2s are an outgoing model, the newer version is a [Speed Goat Mid WP](https://www.zappos.com/p/hoka-one-one-speedgoat-mid-wp/product/9052304)

reminds me of the story of the tramper who decided tramping in bare feet was a good idea to get close to nature, he had to be helicoptered out after shredding his feet, by the time they found him he couldnt even walk to the helicopter

On the other hand when you see barefoot tramping done by an experienced practitioner, it is certainly impressive and perhaps a reminder of what humans used to do as a matter of course. https://wtmc.org.nz/newsletter/broken-axe-pinnacles/ and https://wtmc.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Micky-Kez-Jimmy-Davey.jpg shows the guy who went on a club trip into the Tararuas and the terrain he walked barefoot in. In this case I think the trip leader mindful of possible risks, required the barefoot guy to carry a pair of shoes just-in-case.