Hiking Shoes Vs. Boots For Canyon Hiking

Canyon hiking can be a great way to explore wild country. In many situations, drainages offer a convenient, efficient traverse through a landscape, and their topographic relief often makes for good scenery. Choosing the right footwear for the activity means considering the unique demands of the terrain and your personal preferences and requirements.

Hiking in Canyons

In a variety of situations, hiking in canyons can afford the easiest passage across a landscape. In steep, rugged terrain, major drainages often provide one of the few conceivable hiking routes, whether on an established trail or bushwhacking. Travel itself may take the form of wading in a stream, hiking alongside one or walking in a dry gulch, ephemerally hosting water or permanently parched.

Challenges

Selecting footwear that works for you in canyon hiking is essential, not least because walking in these environments can be risky. Flash floods are a possibility in many parts of the world, especially in arid regions where precipitation events sometimes far away can generate sudden, powerful torrents. Crossing streams, often a reality when hiking significant distances within a canyon, can be extremely dangerous. Don't forget that canyons are catchments: moving water and gravity can transport substantial amounts of debris--including hefty logs and jumbled rocks--into the bottoms. In steep country, canyons may be staggered by impassable waterfalls.

Shoes or Boots

Some hikers may prefer the lightness and comfort of soft shoes for canyon travel. In the relatively flat-bottomed slot canyons of the Southwest, for example, they may be the most comfortable footwear. Where the terrain is more challenging--a rock- or brush-choked gulch, for example--you may opt for hiking boots, which provide better ankle support. Always properly size your hiking shoe or boot, making sure there is a little wiggle room for your foot, and break new pairs in ahead of a big hike or backpacking trip. Wearing gaiters buffers your shins and bolsters the water barrier of your shoe or boot.

Sandals

Wearing sandals is another option. Again, it is mostly a matter of personal preference and activity. A surefooted hiker, careful not to step on unstable rocks, might find sandals convenient in a sandy, relatively level canyon bottom, or in situations where walking means wading directly in water. Sandals also dry more quickly than shoes or boots. But keep in mind the obvious lack of ankle support and the greater exposure of your foot to the elements.

Stream Crossing

Canyon hiking often involves stream crossings. After all, most canyons are carved by running water, and many support streams year-round or during certain seasons. River fords are some of the most dangerous situations a hiker or bushwhacker faces, and footwear is a crucial safety factor. Sandals or soft shoes may seem appropriate in such situations, but sturdy boots lend better support--and keeping your balance is critical. Closed-toe footwear in general protects your toes from stubbing or scratching.