One of the many things I have learned from the awesome Mr. Dave is that on the Appalachian Trail, trail runners are the overwhelming shoe of choice. That tells me that anyone working in an outdoor store who keeps pushing people to boots for ANY trail is out of sync with the reality on the ground.
Not intending to start a fight with those who love their boots. But for those of us who were new to long distance walking when we started the Camino, if someone tells us boots, we go boots. And that, for many of us, is the wrong choice.
Here are the stats for top footwear on the Appalachian Trail in 2018 including preference trail runners & boots, the most popular models, and more.
thetrek.co
Buen camino, Laurie (camino walker since 2000, happy trail runner camino walker since 2017 — clearly a slow learner)