Hit mile 100 on the Appalachian Trail and my shoe sole completely peeled off

I was hiking through the Shenandoah National Park last fall, feeling pretty good about hitting my first 100 miles on the trail. Right as I stepped off a rock, the entire rubber sole of my left boot flapped loose like a fish mouth. Had to finish the last 3 miles with duct tape and a shoelace wrapped around my foot. Anyone else had a piece of gear just give up at a weird milestone?

2 comments

2 Comments

webb.stella11d ago

Honestly I used to think people were being dramatic when they called gear failures a trail milestone, but after reading your post it totally clicked for me. Two days ago my stove broke at exactly mile 200 on the PCT and I had to eat cold beans for dinner. I always figured gear would last way longer than that, but now I see how hitting those weird numbers makes the failure feel almost symbolic. It's like the trail picks those moments to test your patience on purpose. Did you ever try patching the sole with superglue or just toss the boots after?

simonreed11d ago

Wait, so you ate cold beans and that was fine, but did you ever try heating them with a lighter or something makeshift? I'm curious because that's the kind of trail ingenuity I love hearing about. I tossed the boots, honestly. Superglue on a sole that's peeling off in sheets didn't seem worth the hassle, especially when you're still hundreds of miles from any real town. But now I'm wondering if I missed some trick because people patch stuff with all sorts of weird things out there.