so more usually have stripped down and waded barefoot.
Yeah. Sometimes. It is real hard to see broken glass in the stream bed underwater .. and there are ass-munch types who'd deliberately do things like that out there. Also I find that fairly rough bottom and really cold feet don't get along very well. Tendons that will stretch just fine in warm conditions are very stiff, very inflexible when "properly chilled" making foot strains / injuries more likely than I like.
If I know I have to cross a stream or two I carry "camp shoes" of a sort that dry quickly and don't weigh much in the first place. Favorite choice is Merrill "Trail Glove" zero-rise running shoes. They're usually 10-12 ounces for a pair which seems worthwhile overall.
My stream wading has been way out there a looong way from roads and people in northern and Central BC. Broken glass is possible but not likely. When a kid and teen in WA State I got cut a few times from broken glass when swimming and wading in the Columbia River, a lot farther south.
Glacier melt is amazingly cold. Ice water and sharp gravel is a recipe for cuts, and with cold enough feet I don't even feel some cuts till later. If the sun is shining it sure feels good to dry and warm legs and feet after wading ice water, almost pleasurable. Camp shoes idea is a good one. I use Crocs for camp shoes usually.
