Bushwalk Australia

I am booked to start the overland track in a weeks time. I have done it before but in my preparation this time have realized the soles on my walking boots are wearing very low in parts. They are otherwise in good condition.

I know it is now too late to wear in another pair but am wondering what I should do. I have a pair of merrell walking shoes that I have used for day walks and thought I might take these as my camp shoes and could therefore use them if boots fail.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Depending on what kind of boots you would buy, wearing them in would not be a problem. Some boots (even some good leather boots) do not require wearing in. Personally, I would never buy boots that needed wearing in again. It's not worth the pain, in my opinion. However, many people disagree with this, and think that if the boots don't need wearing in, then they can't be tough enough. I think some are.

Alternatively, if you have good walking shoes, many people would be happy with those on a good clear track like the Overland Track. The only issues with those are that your feet would get wet quicker (depending on what sort of boots you had this may not make much difference), and you may need to be more careful on rough ground (lots of roots and sticks on the track) - although again, there is some body of opinion that boots don't offer any more ankle support than shoes, so this is something you'd need to consider if it is a big deal for you or not.

I generally wear solid leather boots (that don't require wearing in), and I also carry sneakers for around camp, that could also double as walking shoes if my boots ever did fall apart (they are starting to look a bit tired and won't last much longer).

I walked the Overland Track in Feb and even though its summer the track was pretty muddy in places so your better off with boots than hiking shoes. I don't advise buying new boots a week before a big trek like this, blisters are not a fun thing to have. Stick with your comfy boots they will be fine for the trek even if they are a little worn on the sole, maybe take your walking shoes as backup and for wearing around camp. I would also advise gaiters as the track really is muddy in places and quite deep mud at that and our gaiters kept a lot of the mud and water out of our boots as well as leeches on the wet days!