Clark Desert Boots & Mukluks -- both good concepts. If I ultimately fail at making my own, I'd probably want to get a pair of one of these types and have it resoled with a flat piece of 6mm vibram soling material. Having 1/2" or more of sole thickness seriously reduces ground feel.
The sodhopper is probably the ideal shoe for what I'm looking for. It's just hard to fork over that kind of cash on a wildcard outcome. At least if I fail at making my own, I learn some fun leatherworking skills in the process