Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion October footwear for day trip to Whitney

Doing a day hike in early October.

Any suggestions for footwear? Based on what I've read, I suppose it will be cold (possibly at or below freezing).

I haven't done much hiking in the cold (except some snowshoeing and hike-to snowboarding). I'm unsure between:

1. Standard hiking boots - already have a good pair that are broken in. Not really winter boots but they're definitely too warm in regular weather (so perhaps ok in cold weather?)

2. Waterproof trail running shoes - already have. Can get gaiters if needed.

3. Winter hiking boots - don't have and don't really want to buy just for one trip if I can avoid it

I generally prefer hiking in trail running shoes, but I can put up with boots if that would be better.

Mainly concerned about being warm enough, my feet not sweating.

I think there will be minimal, if any, snow - b/c if there's a lot, i'll ditch the trip Will bring microspikes if there's any snow on the trail. Of course it's fairly warm now so hard to test things out until I get much closer (Sept).

Any advice? thanks!

Take the standard hiking boots. If there is any snow, it probably won’t be consolidated enough for MICROspikes, let alone crampons, to make any difference.

Take the trail runners. Boots aren’t worth the weight or discomfort.

x2 on trail runners. Did the Mountaineers Route last October in them and will be doing the same next month.