Do I Really Need Gaiters?

[ncharlier]

American, with permit for the OT in the 3rd week of April. I normally wear gaiters only when walking in deep snow. But when I see people's photos it seems as if most are wearing gaiters--is this for snake protection, mud deflection or what? I fully expect to have wet feet much of the time, and gaiters have never helped in that respect, so can I just skip them?

[tasadam]

I wouldn't walk without them.
Shin protection (tough scrub)
Snake (partial) protection
Helps prevent boots filling up
Allows comfort when going straight through the boggy sections, which saves time and effort required to try skirting them (as many do).

Strongly recommend, if you've got them, take them.

I fully expect to have wet feet much of the time, and gaiters have never helped in that respect,

Why? Do they fit properly? What sort of gaiters are they?
I don't understand why your gaiters have never helped keep your feet drier than without them.
I quite often get into wet and muddy sections half way up to my knees for brief moments (about the time it takes to complete the next step), and rarely end up with wet feet. Only creek crossings are a definite wet feet outcome for me.

[forest]

Why? Do they fit properly? What sort of gaiters are they?

I'm guessing he will be wearing mesh trail runners ?? and they will get wet in the smallest puddle.

I'll be down there next week with mesh runners (Inov8 295s) but will still wear OR Rocky Mt high gaiters and shorts.
The Rocky Mt's are only water resistant and breath OK.....
Why- Scrubby parts ie; lower leg protection, mud, debris, A little leg warmth when windy and raining, Snakes ?? not sure how many there are down there and they are not a huge concern to me.

Normally I just wear low montbell stretch gaiters to keep the stuff out of the top of my shoes.
I just find in windy wet weather a high gaiter makes me a little more comfy and I prefer walking in shorts.

Anything that looks like alpine and I just up to full gaiters but I still wear mesh runners (not waterproof).
I just live with the wet feet but hey, they dry quickly enough most of the time.....

+ I just love the rain coat, shorts, long johns & high gaiters look.

For the WPB boot people, high good gaiters can help stop the water getting in the top.
Once that goretex is wet it stays wet, minimising the water getting into proper boots is well worth the effort.

[ncharlier]

I usually wear trail runners or something similar, and I hate Goretex--wets out, then takes forever to dry. I have some low gaiters that, come to think of, I wore for about 800miles on the AT--can't remember why I quit--but they mainly kept grit coming in the topes of my shoes. I do have a pair of tougher, taller gaiters that i could bring. I will probably be wearing long pants, so protection from mud will be appreciated. As for going through boggy sections, it's usually easier on me and the land versus trying to skirt them.
American snakes don't bother me, and in about 2000miles or so on the AT, as well as some time in the Rockies, I've never even seen a venomous snake, just the 4-5 foot ratsnakes and little skinny garter snakes. But from what I gather, any snake I encounter in Tasmania is likely to be venomous? OK, fine, I'll watch where I step, but the idea of leeches weirds me out. If I risk getting leeches to the ankle without gaiters, that alone is enough to sell me on them.
In the OT brochures, I did notice the fashion statement of shorts, longjohns, and high gaiters (with raincoat)--how prevalent is that? The current "correct" attire here is subdued in color, not at all like the purples, stripes, bright yellows in the brochures. Oh well, at least my gaiters are purple (long) or yellow (short).

[tasadam]

Yes, all Tassie snakes are venomous. The most common of the three is the Tiger Snake, one of the most deadly in the world.
Good to hear you take the "plough through" approach rather than skirt.

[sthughes]

With any non waterproof shoes you'll have permanently wet feet, so it's more about keeping the mud and leeches out in my opinion. There is a lot of slushy mud, particularly on some of the side tracks like Mt. Oakleigh and Innes Falls, but also the main track approaching Kia Ora and in the Forth Valley area before Pelion. Personally I wouldn't be without gaiters on the OLT, but then I wouldn't wear mesh shoes on the OLT either (unless it had been particularly dry). There is nothing much in the way of abrasive stuff though, so very lightweight gaiters should be fine.

Leeches on the ankles without gaiters = definitely. With gaiters = probably.

[sthughes]

In the OT brochures, I did notice the fashion statement of shorts, longjohns, and high gaiters (with raincoat)--how prevalent is that? The current "correct" attire here is subdued in color, not at all like the purples, stripes, bright yellows in the brochures. Oh well, at least my gaiters are purple (long) or yellow (short).

Pretty common in winter. The system works well, but yeah the bright stripes have gone out of vogue for some reason! But you'll see a bit of everything on the OT from people dressed for a european ski trip, ladies with more makeup and gold jewellery than you'll see in New York, through to hippies in long tie dyed dresses.

[Stibb]

In the OT brochures, I did notice the fashion statement of shorts, longjohns, and high gaiters (with raincoat)--how prevalent is that?

Very! They are everywhere

+ I just love the rain coat, shorts, long johns & high gaiters look.

It took me a looong time to get over that
still think it looks absolutely ridiculous and I felt like an idiot first time I tried it

Now I can see the point and I do it myself and it makes me feel like a real Aussie

[ncharlier]

I do have a pair of leather hiking boots, but I've developed a fibroma (I think) on the ball of one foot, and the trail runners are definitely more comfortable and forgiving of irregularities.

I'm shopping for some brightly striped longjohns to set off my purple gaiters; my raincoat is bright yellow/orange. Unfortunately, my pack is black--maybe I can find a bright green hat.

I guess if I think of leeches as very large, soft, gooey mosquitoes, they won't seem so disgusting.

[forest]

I guess if I think of leeches as very large, soft, gooey mosquitoes, they won't seem so disgusting.

Best of luck with that LOL
At least mozzies are easy to kill with a quick swat....
*&%$#! leeches, your just as likely to swat one and it stick on your hand then.

Just take some bug spray for your feet and socks. Might not stop them all but seems to keep the numbers reasonable.
Something to take the edge of that dreaded itch the day after goes a long way too.

[Son of a Beach]

Just to be different... in summer, on the OT, I wouldn't bother wearing gaiters if I wasn't planning to do any side trips. I do wear them on most other walks in Tasmania though.

They can help with mud, water, scratches, and snakes.

[Flyboy]

I find the best reason to wear gaiters on the OT in summer is not snakes/mud or scrub, but leech and rock protection.

When was the last time someone got bitten on the OT by a snake? If you make lots of noise with your feet and watch where you are walking, you shouldn't have any problems.

You will definitely multiply your chances of getting leeches without them.

If you do any of the side trips to summits which involve scrambling, you can bang your legs up pretty badly on rocks. Only a month ago I prevented perhaps 4 or 5 really bad grazes and leg contusions by wearing gaiters while scrambling to summits on the OT.

I've found the mud during summer is generally not over the top of the boot.

[tasadam]

Just to be different... in summer, on the OT, I wouldn't bother wearing gaiters if I wasn't planning to do any side trips.

Yeah... But, you'd be doing it barefoot so there's nothing to hook the gaiters on to!

[Son of a Beach]

Leeches on the OT aren't as bad as some other places. Just don't stop for more than 2 seconds.

Oh, and since when did gaiters stop leeches??? Leeches never had any problem getting between my gaiters and my boots, but maybe that's just me.

Just to be different... in summer, on the OT, I wouldn't bother wearing gaiters if I wasn't planning to do any side trips.

Yeah... But, you'd be doing it barefoot so there's nothing to hook the gaiters on to!

I'll have to work on training the leeches to hold onto the gaiter at one end, and the foot at the other.

[nq111]

Just bring the high gaiters

Locals all wear them for a reason - the slush/mud over the legs factor is very significant in Tassie (as is the bitey scrub - but not so much on the OT itself). Even though the OT is much better than most (it has been duckboarded over much of its length due to the number of walkers who would otherwise churn up the place) there is still enough mud and gunk. Long pants won't keep this out of your footwear like gaiters. The weather is super uncertain - so never any good time to chance that there won't be lots of rain or even snow. And usually not nice snow but slushy, wet, postholing, cold snow - generally deep enough to be annoying but too little to fill over the mud and bushes.

And besides, long gaiters and shorts look cool .

I have walked in the USA (both coasts) and walked with Yanks in Tassie - and the Yanks took to wearing gaiters too in Tassie.

Conditions are more like Scotland or Patagonia than USA or Alaska - rarely cold enough to freeze and consolidate properly - rarely warm enough to dry out or get warm - and weather that comes in in an instance straight over the ocean from the Pole. There is a chance of rain or snow even at the end of the hottest, clearest day in summer.

Though you will probably get lovely, clear days

[Turfa]

Do you need gaiters on the Overland track....no, do some people prefer to wear them,.... yes

The OT is really pretty tame, in fact all of Tasmania is no different to what you will probably have experienced on the New England sections of the Appalachian Trail. Same areas with unpredictable alpine weather ( New Hampshire), same bottomless patches of sucking mud (Vermont)....etc. etc.

Some types of Tassie scrub don't really have a US equivalent, but then again, Tassie doesn't have Poison Ivy....! and you won't encounter any scrub at all on the OT, it is pretty much a hiking highway.

Probably the main difference is that you want to steer clear of the snakes, & the leeches live on the land (not just in the water)

Bring your gaiters if you like, but you certainly won't be out of place without them....

have a great hike !

[ncharlier]

I located my purple polyurethane packcloth gaiters, so they are coming with me. I am thinking of laminating them directly to my skin with seam sealant, and sewing the bottoms to my shoes, in hopes of keeping leeches out. Or maybe I should just wear wellies. At least you don't have bears...Earthworms don't bother me, and leeches are related--I guess I need to think of them as very friendly earthworms. Do they haveany nutritional value?

[gayet]

At least you don't have bears...

http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7828&p=103532&hilit=Re%3A+Greatest+risk+to+Bushwalkers+in+Australia#p103532

Be careful!

[ncharlier]

Gaye,

Thanks so much for the warning! I'm kind of amazed nobody else thought to tell me about dropbears. I'm checking military surplus sites right now to see what kind of deal I can get on a helmet and some body armor, also a really big knife. I think I will carry a sack of good-sized rocks, as well, to throw at trees that might be harboring these ferocious animals. I bet the government are trying to keep this quiet so as not to scare off tourists. Thanks again for the [potentially life-saving] warning!

Nancy

[gayet]

I think I will carry a sack of good-sized rocks, as well,

Rocks, if the right shape and size are good for yowies too, but I don't think Tas has any, so that's one you can probably not worry about. With dropbears, just look up before venturing under any eucalypts.

[Strider]

I think I will carry a sack of good-sized rocks, as well,

Rocks, if the right shape and size are good for yowies too, but I don't think Tas has any, so that's one you can probably not worry about. With dropbears, just look up before venturing under any eucalypts.

Correct. Tas only has bunyips since yowies became extinct in the late 1940s.

Sent from my MB526 using Tapatalk

[ncharlier]

In central to northern Wisconsin, we have black bears, not usually a problem, but there have been reports of sasquatches as well. The north Wisconsin hodag is particularly interesting--from the descriptions, the hodag and the bunyip sound very similar. Makes me wonder if they are related or if it is an example of convergent evolution. Now that Wisconsin has become an open-carry (of handguns) state, I guess if I go hiking up north, I'd better be packing heat...Hodags are considered dangerous, especially to white bulldogs, but nowhere near as bad as the dropbear. I'm not sure I can sleep tonight. I hear wearing forks on my head and smearing Vegemite behind my ears will protect against dropbears, but I think I'll stick with armor, and maybe pepper spray for close up (is that legal in Australia?)

[Strider]

I hear wearing forks on my head and smearing Vegemite behind my ears will protect against dropbears, but I think I'll stick with armor, and maybe pepper spray for close up (is that legal in Australia?)

Pepper spray is illegal in Australia. And Vegemite attracts small children, so you wouldn't want to put them at risk also.

Forks on your head may work though...

[mjdalessa]

I used to wear them everywhere but haven't worn them for the last six weeks or so. The only thing I find now is that my shoe laces are always coming undone. I did Cuvier and Manfred over the weekend (a lot of Scoparia) without them and didn't have a problem, but probably would have been a little more comfortable with them (partly because I wouldn't have to bend over every 10mins to tie my laces). I'd say they're not necessary for the OT, but thats just me. Personal preference I guess.

[ncharlier]

At this point, I'm leaning toward wearing the gaiters. If nothing else, they will at least make me feel protected against leeches (even if they don't help). I can always just pack them away if I decide against them after a day or two. My concern right now is finding a good method of securing the forks to my head for drop bear protection. I told some friends about drop bears and they are quite worried for me (but they are the same people who think I should consider carrying a pistol on the Appalachian Trail.)

[tasadam]

If you use DEET on the gaiters and the boots you don't have to apply it to your skin, which is something some people prefer not to do.

[gayet]

... My concern right now is finding a good method of securing the forks to my head for drop bear protection......

Chewing gum may assist in holding them in place, but the chewie would be in use during the day when you want it to hold the forks, and forks on head would not be required at night when the chewie was available. So that won't work, unless you have spare chewing gum, some to chew and some to stick. Then you just need 2 bedposts to stick it on overnight, or 2 tent poles should suffice.


Ok its Friday, I'm allowed.......

[Strider]

All this talk about wearing gaiters or not - seriously? Just strap the things to your legs and get walking!

[corvus]

Gaiter are fantastic keep you from excess mud/scrapes, scratches even keep the inside of your boots dry on some water crossing however they do not keep leeches OUT nor off of you unless you intend as Tasadam said use a good strong DEET (Bushman80%) is my choice applied to you legs however after over kneedeep creek crossings or excessive water ingress a la ferns or buttongrass you will need to stop and re apply
Also it is very unlikely that any Tiger Snake would want to strike (unless you tread on its tail) but nice to have JIC
corvus

[DaveNoble]

I wouldn't bother with gaiters on the Overland Track during early April. May be handy though if you are doing some off track trips.

Dave