Hiking the Grand Canyon in Five Finger Shoes
30 miles in 3 days in our Vibram Five Finger Shoes
Yes, we did! On my recent trip to Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon in Colorado, my friends and I hiked the whole thing in our Vibram Five Finger Shoes. It was questionable whether these shoes could hold up on the rocky terrain for that many miles.
I’m also happy to report that nobody got any blisters during the hike. The hike to Havasu Falls is 10 miles each way. It begins with a steep descent into the canyon and then a relatively flat walk in a wash for 8 miles.
The next day we hiked from our campground to Beaver Falls. This hike involved alot of rock scrambling and water crossings. The only issue with the Vibrams that we had were that they gathered sanded very quickly.
Sediment in the water quickly built it in your toes. Unlike with sandals, the sand had nowhere to escape and the only relief was removing the shoe and pouring out the sand.
Of course, along the way other hikers kept asking us what we were wearing and where to get the shoes!
Can’t get the stank out of my Five Finger Shoes
Ok, it’s been 8 months since I’ve had my shoes. For some reason, washing the shoes is not getting the smell out. The shoes smell nice coming out of the wash, but as soon as I put them on and go for a little walk, they start to get the smell back. I mean it’s not bad, but still, it’s a smell.
I am beginning to think that my sweat is embedded into the shoe itself. I had this happen in Hawaii once. I had a pair of sandals for 2 years that never smelled. Then I went into the ocean with them and they stunk the next day. I washed them and bleached them but they always kept smelling. I think that 2 years worth of sweat was embedded deep into the sandals and the contact with the water just released the smell. I did resolve it by washing and soaking the sandals for weeks until the smell went away.
Since the Five Finger shoes are thinner and have less material, I think a multiple wash and long soak will fix the issue.
Five Finger Shoe Family
I have personally convinced or persuaded at least 4 people to get these five finger shoes over the past year by just wearing my shoes everywhere. I think that everyone who has these ends up converting some friends into believers of the shoe. A few days ago, my friends came over and guess what. We had more Vibram Five Finger shoe wearers than regular shoe wearers! So I snapped a quick photo.
Vibram Five Fingers are taking over the world!!!
Five Finger Shoes Got a Hole in Them! How to Fix Them.
It was bound to happen, but after 3 months my shoe developed holes in the top of the toes region. I don’t know how they got there. I don’t remember hitting or kicking anything. I was worried that these holes would get bigger and bigger like a small chip in the windshield and eventually ruin my five fingers shoes. So I took action. While this is not the prettiest fix, it certainly worked. I took some Plumber Goop, which you can get from Home Depot or Lowes and put a dab right into the hole.
I did a better job on the hole on the left. The one on the right I put too much. These pictures were taken about 3 months after I did the repair. As you can see, the holes have not enlarged and my shoes are still full functional. And honestly, I can redo it if I wanted, but I’m almost at one year on these shoes and it’s time for a new pair.