Having attempted the track in mid November this year (the cyclone that hit PNG closed the track whilst we were on it) I wore short gaiters. I originally got some mid length ones, but found them to be a bit uncomfortable. The ones I got cost about $10 and just covered the socks and kept the mud out of the boot/socks. Even when I ran through some of the muddy parts of the track following some of the local kids. Others on our group had similar ones and they worked well.