100% the https://dirtygirlgaiters.com/
They are light,dry quickly,and have kept me from getting rocks in my shoes or boots for thousands of miles. They also last. I still use the same ones I hiked the AT with.
Pants. Sigh. It is a struggle honestly. Light and quick drying? Rugged and durable? It is a fine line. I have yet to find pants that meet all of my needs honestly. I have loads of them,but not all fit for any given hike,and around half of them zip off into shorts for cold morning starts. What I end up using most hikes are Colombia Amazon product ASIN B01MSOLAEO
They are not perfect, but better than the northface ones that have some of the cheapest thread and have come unstitched one to many times do to wear. The cloth of the northface is better,the thread though is not at all durable and once an unravel starts forget about it. Rather it be a pocket or leg seam they just fall apart(quickly). I still own some northface pants. I do like the material feel and fit more,but they are more for a day hike than even a long weekend one(trust issues lol).
Do you need pants or could your solution for debris in your boots be gaiters? These are cheap and light and used by lots of thru hikers.
https://dirtygirlgaiters.com/
Been hiking in Prana Zion pants for a couple years. Been really happy with them even in 90+ degree heat. Dry really fast and have been durable although I am not hard on gear. Like the sizing available based on waist/inseam by inches rather than SML... On the expensive side but been happy with the bang for the buck.
Here is a good forum discussion on pants with post from folks with a lot of days in the backcountry every year.
https://hillpeoplegear.com/Forum/Fo...#/list/forumId/23/threadId/34440/postId/35219
Here we are wearing our Prana Zion pants while hiking in Zion National Park in August.
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I really appreciate the gaiter idea…… I guess this belongs in the 1st world problems thread…… it is only a 4 mile walk I don’t want my preparation period to take as long as the walk itself lol I already have knee braces - water - shoes - driving doesn’t sound like a lot but at 4am I want to keep it simple stupid so I stick with it. I could just wear jeans they are just very restricting and hurt if I synch the knee braces down