We have found when it's really wet, rain all night on huckleberry or slick leaf type vegetation, soaked after 200 yards of walking, it's best to put gaiters under the pants. Water wicks down the pant leg till saturated then hits the outside of the underlying gator, keeping socks dry. When on the outside of the pant leg, water saturates the pant mtl and wicks down and under the gator to the top of the socks.
The biggest issue I have with gators in those really wet areas is they don't cover the boot toe box hinge point. Once that area of the boot gets saturated, hydraulics from the toe box flexing forces water thru the gore-tex.