Out with the old...
These hiking boots are being retired after 13 years of service. In this photo (cropping inspired by Anne's profile photo), they are hiking into the Colorado Rockies. They've also...
a) Waded through the waist-deep Mighty McKinley River, whose gray silt retired a pair of once-white socks.
b) Toe-kissed the iridescent blue of a glacier.
c) Hoisted the burden of 70-pound packs bearing a hiking diet of oatmeal, gorp, and the occasional, decadent Diet Pepsi. And then stood by a diarrhea-stricken owner 5 days into Yosemite.
d) Ascended into the fjords surrounding Bergen, Norway, bearing their wearer through their depths and out to the other side.
e) Explored their home state of Washington, picking up ash and gravel from Mount Saint Helens and carrying it to neighboring Mount Hood, Oregon.
f) Tiptoed across the lava fields of Etna.
g) Cooled themselves in Michigan, Superior, Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean, and a certain Spanish pantano.
h) Surmounted the 500 foot bluffs at Devil's Lake and trammeled the Ice Age's leavings: morraines, eskers, drumlins, and kettles.
h) Lead a Weimaraner puppy down Lake Superior's rocky Canadian shore.
I think they deserve the rest, don't you?
And in with the new...
You've got big shoes to fill, Asolo.
7 comments:
Wow. Them boots have been some purty cool places. Jealous! Not of the diarrhea incident, though.
:)
My hubby just got some Asolos before we hiked the Grand Canyon...he LOVES them. I still have some miles left in my Merrells!
13 years with the same pair of shoes. Does must be some real "kickers". They have seen some great places. Hope you gave them a proper send off.
I had a pair of hiking boots like that! They got their best workout in Ireland and New Zealand. I just trashed them last year. Instead of getting new hiking boots I ended up buying the ugliest, warmest snow boots ever made. (of course it's 70 degrees in January)
I hope your new boots get to see some pretty great places.
You can NEVER rest old shoes!! Wear them until they die!! They sure do have some great stories!
Don't listen to Steve. He really does wear them till they die. Death doesn't smell pretty:) Hope the new ones take you to even more amazing places!
13 years is a looong time. Your boots have such a neat story to tell.
So, did I hear that you're moving to San Diego? You are going to LOVE it!
Rest?! These boots need a blog of their own!
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