Waterfall path is slick mud — cheap rain boots from town or keep the sandals and go slower?

Mud and wet rock ask for different shoes. Cheap boots help the clay slog and keep leeches off ankles; they can be worse on polished wet stone at the pool because the soles are often slick. Strapped sandals with real tread are better on rock and miserable in deep mud. If the shop boots feel floppy, skip them. A closed shoe you already trust, plus a slower pace and a stick, beats a brand-new thin boot. I will not quote a falls ticket as gospel — pay at the official booth if there is one, ignore a helper who sells a 'government price' on the path. Turn around if the last pitch is a clay slide with no roots.