I have a couple of spots that I don't think gets much hunting pressure due to the fact that accessing them would require a "wet" creek crossing. Both of these creeks are pretty small and shallow (probably 30-40 feet wide and no more than knee deep at the deepest part). The current in both of these streams is pretty tame and crossing would be relatively easy. Even though I have really good hunting boots with Gortex (Crispi Nevadas) the water is deep enough to go over the top of my boots.

I have racked my brain about this and come up with only two options:
- Some kind of really thick plastic bag that would come up over my knees that I could secure with a stout heavy rubber band.
- Take a lite pair of tennis shoes and take off my boots, socks, and pants and cross in just tennis shoes and bare legs (a rather cold option).

How do you guys do creek crossings???

Merrell bare access trail shoes...

What Temps are we talking here?

Sourdough slippers. I am not sure if they're made anymore though.
I've taken a pair of sandals too and they work fine if you don't mind the cold water for the crossing. I'd take a towel too just to dry your feet off before putting your socks and boots back on. With them vs tennis shoes you won't be carrying the water logged shoes around all day with you.

water/aqua/pool shoes.

Keen H20/Newports.

Good water sandal - the plastic bag option doesn’t pass the leak test when you want it to...YMMV

Crocs. If really cold, wading pants and crocs.

Neos made a version of the sourdough slipper that has a sole to it. Never used them, they were not tall enough for what I was doing, but could work for you.

October Deer Season - Morning temps around 35-40
Nov Elk Season - Morning temps around 25-35

The creeks I am referring to are in Oregon. Temps can be a little more mild than the Rockies.

That is my fear. Wet feet in the morning with 35 degree weather makes for a pretty miserable day. I was wondering if there was some kind of rugged tough plastic that is much thicker and tougher than a garbage bag. Such a bag might not exist.

Frogg Toggs Canyon II Breathable Stockingfoot Hip Wader.

I’ve been using a pair of Merrill water shoes for a lot of years. I’ve tried heavy plastic bags over my boots but they are slippery on the rocks and they get leaks easy.
For crossing creeks I recommend a shoe that is secure on your feet. It’s easy to slip and lose a slip on style shoe. Also easy for a loose fitting slip on to rotate on your foot in loose round river rock and then your foot gets beat up. I’ve always wanted to try Wiggys ultralite waders but haven’t yet.

Barney’s glacier socks are terrific for crossing sloughs. I wear them inside my boots and roll them down and tuck under my pant legs after crossing. Not as cheap as trash compactor bags, but I have a pair that are 20 yrs old and still holding up.

Been thinking about the same thing. My plan is to put my Simms chest waders in my pack with wading boots. Put them on, and cross. Hang in tree for return trip. Only takes a minute to put waders on and it’s guaranteed you won’t get wet.

We hunt for a week straight wearing chest waders too when moose hunting. 12 hours a day, many miles. The waders/boots are so good now that you might want to consider just keeping them on. A wading belt and the should straps clipped around your waste keeps them snug around your waste. I have the Simms g4 waders and boots. I am going to get the studs for the boots but my waders see far more hunting use than fishing.

The heavy duty Contractor bags work - usually - but by the time you carry a couple, enough tape or ties and such to secure the excess material, etc - it’s getting away from easy.

A micro fiber towel and water shoes will have more uses on the trip, than the two big bags you have keep secured for the return trip.

Micro towel and Crocks work great. I wear the crocks around camp.

But if it is cold then that changes things up.

Depends on how far from the truck the crossing is. If it’s close then probably whatever kind of wader you have. Far away, wade across barefoot or with sandals or even extra pair of socks.

My plan was the Keen Newports, hiking sticks, and a towel but left them at the truck. Made the first of seven crossing ok but took a spill on the third and that was it for that area that day. It was in the low 30s. Never made it back.

For very limited use, Amazon has these packable nylon slip on waders that go over your boots. They're cheap, too. For a 1 or 2 time use, they might work.

These. Double as camp shoes.

Are those some sort of hard(er) plastic like crocs or something? They look like they'd soak up a bunch of water, then be way heavier than 6.6 ounces. Without a back strap, do you have issues losing them in moving water, or do you just always face upstream when crossing?

I prefer my sourdough slippers, but do use cheap wading shoes in early season. I don't see camp much in the daylight so not having camp shoes is a non issue for me. It would also just seem cold to have open shoes on while hanging out at camp during most rifle seasons, whether they're dry or not.

Good gaiter like Kuiu for less than knee depth. I carry beach shoes for deeper water. Crocs are too dang slippery , uncomfortable in water. Take off my pants wade across in underwear with hiking poles of course. Done it down to high 20's. Cold but doable.

If truck hunting I bring waist high breathable waders and stash them by the crossing. Much preferable choice. This used to work great 20 to 30 years ago before people started doing this to access hunting areas. Now with internet much more doing it.

https://www.amazon.com/Barerun-Adul...a1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

On our sheep hunts we have had to do some sketchy crossings and a secure shoe is really important for that. Some areas we sheep hunt also have multiple crossings in a row that is unavoidable. If you have to change from boots to shoes every time we’d never get anywhere. So a shoe that you can actually hike in for a couple hours at a time is important for me. Also have had to cross long swamp areas on sheep hunts where anything but a secure shoe would have been sucked off our feet by the mud.

Don’t over think it. Sandals and a towel. At those temps it’s a no brainer

Crocs don't soak up any water at all. They also make great camp shoes if you don't mind carrying them in.

I'm not familiar with some of the products mentioned already but I've tried Crocks and they fill with sand and gravel. Might as well walk on the hard rocks with bare feet. OUCH

I like the KISS approach. You know it's not illegal to get your boots filled with water. Hiking boots are about the safest thing to wear when crossing a creek. Just stop on the far side, drain out the water and change socks. Then change them again and again. Requires several pairs of socks. But it's simple and it works.

That's warm. Some of the Nov temps here would turn you blue up to your crotch.

I carry a pair of running shoes for stream crossings. Of course, after the first crossing, the shoes are wet for the rest of the trip but my boots and socks are dry. I have crossed streams which were so cold (snow on the banks) that it about made me whimper all the way across. I would hate to think of spending the rest of the day with wet, cold, feet. GD

If I had to do it with my current string of equipment, I would just pack along a pair of my wetsuit booties, or my water rescue booties, not a lot of extra weight and keep my boots and socks dry!

Think about the mountain men standing in thigh deep water in January setting traps.

Crocs and microfibre cloth to dry off quick. Cheap and super light. No worrying about leaks. Once your feet are dry and boots are on, they’ll warm up quick.

These are another option:
https://www.wiggys.com/clothing-outerwear/lightweight-waders/

https://barneyssports.com/wp-conten...alaska_glacier_sock_wading_system_10.jpg

I wear them with regular hiking boots which gives you the best footing in the water....

You wear those all day long in your boots or do you carry them and a separate pair of regular hiking boots, which you put on only when crossing streams?
Being that rocks and what not won't tear a hole in those if you're wearing them with boots on, I am not seeing the difference between those and a regular trash bag.

I am not quite following you on this...

We don't encounter many "mountain men"...we do see more mountain women these days. Some have very nice thighs, but never think of them in thigh deep water in January!

They are coated nylon. I wear mine all day moose hunting but not waking more than a few miles. A lot of sheep and goat hunters I know take them off after getting above tree line or after they cross the bigger creeks. Wet feet are part of hunting at some level but wading glacial rivers is damn cold!!!

This is me as well.

One of the areas we hunt has the same issue, we use lightweight waders. Change them to cross, then back again. I have an aversion to cold wet feet.

I used to have a pair of lightweight rain pants. Coated nylon or some such. LLBean, I think, I used these several times in multiple years crossing a mid-thigh-high, fast and cold stream to access caribou hunting. My hiking boots were well waterproofed (I had extra socks along anyway), I tied the legs of the rain pants tightly around and below the tops of the boots, to make waders of sort.

Neither feet nor legs got wet. The rain pants and parachute cord were along anyway...

Also - for this kind of operation, you should have a staff or trekking pole to cross the stream, whether rocks or mud bottom.

I think it would be easiest just to haul a pair of trail runners with- under a pound and you have pretty solid footing fording. A little overkill for a camp shoe, but they are comfy and definitely better for crossing.

If the creek isn't too deep, gortex boots and waterproof gaiters usually don't have a problem.

I had the pleasure of crossing the New Fork River in Wyoming in my underwear and barefoot one time.....it was awesome. What made it even better was I had shot the wrong buck.



Sourdough slippers are the BEST for this as far as I am concerned.

I'll stick with trail runners for fording

This. A guy needs camp shoes anyway.

Trunk looks dry...could have walked across?




.

Excellent idea, and swimmingly so!

Simms is very good gear. Love their stuff.

Thank you for not posting a pic of that.

log was too low (or the water too high :)), your leg would dangle too low and then it tips you over and sweeps you off the log like
like a carnival game- it was a really steep gradient, high water and narrow channel with the added thrill of three or four small waterfalls right below it

we’ve definitely taken advantage of numerous log crossings in high water, several times it was find a log or we were completely SOL

Well, if you're not up to walking across, you could try 'bum scooting' across.

He was in a hurry, would've had to give it the bum rush.

And if I had to guess, "being up to it" was not a factor for Ward.

I might not have written well enough, but definitely not walkable (almost certain death if you slipped- super fast water leading to a series of waterfalls), we did contemplate scooting across it, but the water came up too high- the water was running swiftly enough that if it hit your dangling leg, it would instantly flip you off into the water. Hope that makes sense.

We’ve had to use logs (walking on top, scooting and hanging onto) a lot traversing the Bob Marshall in the spring at high water, without them you might easily find yourself where it’s impossible to cross.

definitely not adverse to "bum scooting" - whatever it takes

Yeah, I would have bum-scooted that one too! Choice of 2 evils. Good pic!

A couple crossings is one thing, but for frequent submersion over multiple days, this is the best idea. A lot of AK hunting happens in chest waders.

Great pics.

Two dead peckerpoles right behind you aka a bridge.

Hand line when possible.

Remember, if you fall off, your pack will NOT float you. Decide if you can balance your travel without chest and waist buckles connected...

one more- hard to believe he caught it on camera- Upper Middle Fork of the Flathead (late May)- one guy waded across and ended up swimming, we passed on that and found this log jam- always rememberer you want to go FIRST on any log crossings, he got it nice and slicked up with wet shoes- not sure how I caught myself, but it felt like a sure swim when I slipped!

Crossed more than a few streams in Alaska and one river in New Zealand in minimalist running shoes that I use for beach shoes.

Lightweight, doubles as camp shoes, dries very fast.

Been there. Not fun especially with a pack on

Great pic!

Log crossings - maybe the only time that blow-down is handy.

I'd agree, well unless you're in a raft

Having a pair of runners is my favorite solution. They will also get you home if you are blister blasted or a critter chews up your leather boots. I am not fond of crossing swiftwater and have baby feet so I don't mind changing shoes.


mike r

That's what the previously mentioned Keens are for.


BTW, we've gotten across marshy quagmires in snow country by downing a tree or two and then packing the upper part with snow to make a "bridge".

So......here’s how I do it:

GoreTex hiking boots, GoreTex gaiters, and Nite Ize Gear Ties.

When crossing swift water, the downstream side of the gaiter is pulled away from the boot which allows water to drain into the boot over the cuff. The upstream side of the gaiter is “pinned” against the boot and doesn’t let much, if any water in.

Take along two Gear Ties and wrap the Tie tightly around your boot and gaiter below the top of the boot.

It works. Not perfect, sometimes a little water seeps in but I just pretend it’s sweat........

I’ve tried the tennis shoe, Crocs, and water shoe things. With water so cold it’s practically heart stopping and feet aching from the cold a guy doesn’t pay as much attention to the crossing like he should.

I know this.......

I should mention if the water is over the top of the gaiter then my brilliant system is null and void........