Chris here is a pretty good guy but take into consideration that the temps in Southern Cali are not the same faced by some of the rest of us. I live in the mountains just south of Pitt so my temps here should be similar to what you are facing. I don’t find it necessary to use the heavy Sorel type boots during the average winter day. A lightly insulated boot over good socks is light enough to move in but warm enough to keep warm. I walk about 5 miles a day in all weather and have settled on a good leather boot (very water resistant) because it is a lot more comfortable to hike in than the Sorel type boots. I add Yaktraxs for walking on ice and frozen slush and will only switch to a light Sorel type Bean boot when we get really heavy new snow or temps below 0F°.