PSA: My boot sole delaminated halfway up Mount Whitney last month

I was about 2 miles from the summit when I felt something flapping under my foot. Looked down and the entire rubber sole was peeling off from the toe. I had to finish the hike with my boot taped together using emergency repair kit strips and a shoelace. Anyone else carry backup glue or tape for trail repairs now?

2 comments

2 Comments

bennett.noah25d ago

Man, that's a rough one. I've been there with a delam on a wet rock scramble and it's scary. One thing nobody mentioned is that if your boots are older than three years, the glue gets brittle from UV and temperature changes. @parker_thomas is smart with the Shoe Goo, but I'd add a small tube of contact cement too. It bonds faster in cold temps and takes less time to cure. Also check your boots for dry rot at the toe flex point every spring. That's where most soles start to peel. Better to catch it early than be stuck halfway up a mountain with your shoe flapping like a broken flip flop.

parker_thomas25d ago

Four years ago I had a boot sole start separating in the middle of Desolation Wilderness... twenty miles from the nearest trailhead. Now I always carry a tube of Shoe Goo and some zip ties in my pack, saved me twice since then.