This is part two of the cold wet feet information from Kevin Sayers web site. Thanks Kevin. His link is listed in the links area. Be sure to go take a look at his site. Comments;
Besides what's been mentioned so far, like starting out with cold shoes, I've learned a couple of other tricks that can help when running on snow and in the cold. One is for keeping your feet dry and the other is for keeping your clothes dry. Here's what I do:
To keep my feet dry I start with the thick Wigwam socks, followed by soft plastic bags (non crinkly) held in place with thin socks. I use shoes with solid uppers, and put gators over those. Even if the shoes get soaked from a hidden salt-slush puddle, my inner socks stay dry and my feet stay warm.
While feet get wet from external moisture, clothing gets wet from the evaporated sweat condensing inside the layers. As your clothes get wetter the insulating effect drops and the point of condensation moves closer in until you're saturated with the outer layers maybe even freezing. GoreTex and such are not that useful for passing on moisture in really cold (way below freezing) weather because the water condenses before it can even pass through the magic layer.
The trick then is to keep the water vapor from reaching the outer layers. This might sound a bit wierd, but it really works -- put a thin wicking layer next to your skin, followed by a waterproof vapor barrier layer, then put the fleecy stuff over that. Either a waterproof windbreaker or a garbage bag will work. I like to hold the barrier layer in place with another snug thin layer. The sweat will condense on the barrier and will saturate the inner layer, but because of the dry outer layers you'll still feel warm.
You do have to think about where the water runs out, 'cause if you tuck it into your pants you can get a frozen tush, as happened to me one sunny -8 day.
David Zuniga
Actually, my podiatrist recommended I use antiperspirants on my feet. My feet sweat a lot. He recommended spraying my feet at night and in the morning. While I am not that diligent, when I do spray them it really helps. My feet stay as dry as a bone. I know it sounds weird but it works for me.
Blake Wood
I remember reading an article in a climbing magazine a number of years ago, where they had
