21 Days at Neanderthal University

[Tipi Walter]

Not exactly crotch, but I'm doing the pants-pocket-dryer-trick all the time, during the warmer season.

The one Sweden guy who got stuck for many days in a Bilzzard showed another trick to dry items on the lid of the cookpot - good idea, I think.

One possible issue I'm munching at forever is how to dry out heavy leather boots during longer winter hikes, when you can't "hike them dry".
Just recently I came up with the idea to put a bottle of hot water inside each boot for a few hours in the evening, but didn't try out this one so far.

I often put a pot of just cooked food atop my wet gloves in the tent to "steam dry".

Regarding constantly wet leather boots---the traditional solution has always been these things---

4b81e484-6d80-4634-a76a-f0a4575ef674.jpg

Or Kamik---

BK.jpg

I spent several winters "living" in these kind of boots and while awesome they lead to food rot (don't breathe) and are clunky to walk in for long distances.

[Leo L.]

Sorel, Kamik, Lundhags ...
We are going to visit our daughter in Sweden again next summer, hopefully including some miles of hiking up there.
During our last visit I got to understand that this kind of boots are essential in those conditions. The sports shop we visited had half the racks full of various kinds of.
But here in the Alps, I don't think they are suitable.

[Tipi Walter]

Sorel, Kamik, Lundhags ...
We are going to visit our daughter in Sweden again next summer, hopefully including some miles of hiking up there.
During our last visit I got to understand that this kind of boots are essential in those conditions. The sports shop we visited had half the racks full of various kinds of.
But here in the Alps, I don't think they are suitable.

What of kind of hiking is there in the Alps? Does it require leather boots with crampons/microspikes? As mentioned, no one really wants to backpack long distances day in and day out with Sorels or Kamiks etc. Dry, warm feet yes but clunky and inefficient.

[Leo L.]

Hiking in the Alps can be anything between easy strolls in the valleys and steep climbs requiring full mountaineering equipment. It solely comes down to your personal choice.
The hikes I prefer are somewhat in the middle, usually including lots of rock hopping where the boots should be of tight fit to get a sure footing. There once was a lengthy report here of hiking in "The Winds", I think it was Patman who did it, and it strongly remembered me on my typical hikes here.
After so many years of hiking, especially since I'm retired and am able to focus on this, I own and use a wide variety of shoes and boots and am able to select the exact fitting pair for the specific hike.
All my boots are leather, I don't use trailrunners for hiking any more.

Just been out for another two days snowshoeing trip, and I've used the heavy Austrian Military leather boots, with good success. There is good reason why the military here uses exactly these boots for its Alpine Unites.
This hike included miles of going where I'd be thankful that the Tubbs snowshoes have crampon-style soles, it was extremely steep and hard snow surface in places.

[Leo L.]

Its this report:
https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/sho...nd+river+range
Really great report with lots of amazing pics.
Looks just like a bigger (well, a very much bigger) version of the Alps.