The Shoe Conundrum
I don’t have naturally happy feet. They get into shoes and one part or another complains about one thing or another. They are happy in sandals. 
They are happy bare. 
They were happy for a time in some New Balance Minimals but they got over that.
Today though, after testdriving several different pair of several PCT favorites and finding them disapointing, my feet are HAPPY! We just got back from a 6mi test drive of my new TrekSports. It is good! 
I’m not sure they will be okay for the long haul but my feet don’t care right now. Phew.
Tumbleweed on the PCT and Beyond 
I have spent so much money trialing trail worthy footwear and have yet to find my perfect solution. Dancing Feet hiked nearly the entire trail in 2012 in 5 Fingers. She had to hike a bit slower than others as she had to more carefully place her feet, but otherwise she was a happy hiker. She added some SuperFeet insoles to assist with padding and comfort.
With age I’ve found my natural soles losing fat and thus find I need more padding in the shoe department. I feel a bit like Goldilocks . . . I’ll be back to trialing another pair this season. UGH!
Best of luck!
Ha! I’m doing the same with my 5 fingers! I’ve pretty much decided on my Bedrock Sandals and 5 Fingers as the footwear of choice. I have some Brooks Cascadia’s that I’m going to try to firm up (they are so SQUISHY) with superfeet as a back up. I’ve just got to the point that I have to stop buying shoes!
I’m just reading Dancing Feet’s journal and just got to the part where she is starting to wear her 5 fingers. She seems to be doing plenty of miles. 🙂
I hosted Dancing Feet and NotSoBad at my house 🙂
I have the Cascadia’s also and even using them with SuperFeet they don’t seem adequate. I additionally have the Brooks DNA which are more of a running shoe but have better sole support, but neither have adequate traction IMO.
This past season I hiked in a Vasque shoe with Vibram soles. LOVE everything about these EXCEPT they have leather uppers and they are heavy. I’m going to trial a couple of the other Vasque shoes this coming season but will have to sacrifice some traction I’m sure.
My balance isn’t what it used to be and I do a far amount of off trailing and scrambling, so really value the traction. But I also want to be light on my feet and to fly through creek crossings. Additionally, I tend to get peroneal tendonitis in the ankle area, thus I need good support otherwise I’m constantly living with a taped ankle.
My toes have been dreaming about those for years.
Mine too!!! I’ve been wanting to try them forever but I live so far from anyplace I could try them on and they were so expensive! Finally a month or so ago I saw some at less than half price and grabbed them to try. Love at first step! Then I wanted some heavy duty ones for the trail and found these on ebay! Try them. Your toes will thank you.