So Brian has been guilted, goaded, ‘er “encouraged” to write something for our blog. This is Brian’s article on the saga of saying good bye to old boots and finding new ones. I hope you enjoy his style and the story.
The Story!
So where to start? What to write about? I recently came across my old boots … Yes, hiking boots with a story (lots of ‘em). Green(er)? Maybe, we’ll see.
It Started in High School, A LONG time ago
A long time ago, my high school on the SF peninsula offered a mountaineering class in lieu of PE for juniors and seniors. As you can imagine, it was very competitive to get into so I only participated my senior year. PE? Really? Oh yea. We killed it doing the President’s Physical Fitness test that they used back in the day to evaluate school fitness programs. We were the top class in the district (six high schools). Every day, we were either on a hill run, working out on a jungle gym in a corner of the school yard or climbing in the gym on an early version of climbing walls. However, not on synthetic rocks bolted solidly to a frame; we were climbing on real rocks that the instructor had cut at a lapidarist’s shop, then super epoxied to the block wall using something he’d obtained from a friend at NASA. Each rock supported you plus one ounce. No sport leaping in this gym; usually the rock and epoxy would hold, but the cinder block would fail.
Finding Boots was a Challenge
Climbing shoes were another deal back then: very expensive and not commonly sold like they are today. So we climbed in boots. Big heavy boots that you could hold a thin edge on, stuff a toe into a crack and stand on it, or strap into crampons for ice work. No sticky rubber for friction work, but affordable and multipurpose and good for learning a variety of mountaineering skills in. And very practical.
REI- Still a good place to shop
Mine came from REI in Berkeley. The only REI outside Seattle back when REI was a true co-op making and marketing outdoorsy gear for outdoorsy folk at great value. After trying several and not liking the fit – too much heel lift, the smart sales guy pulls out the old Bannock Foot Measuring device and proceeds to inform me that I have really skinny feet so no wonder nothing was fitting. But he has a trick up his sleeve and returns with a pair of Raichle’s that fit perfectly; better yet they’re 50% off since the style was changing to remove a side seam and they had these left over from a discontinued sale. They were left over because they were a women’s pair, size 11. But, a good fit is most important; last time I checked the trail isn’t supposed to be a fashion runway, and brown boots are brown boots. Sold!
Biologist and Boots in the Woods
We had a good run, those boots and I. We went to the Los Padres National Forest, Kings Canyon above timberline for two weeks straight, the Great Smokey Mountains doing trail work and a close encounter with a bear (long story, but the boots ended up with a bear bite hole (no, my feet weren’t in them) and I learned that bears have really bad breath), lots of trails and forests in Idaho, Pt Reyes National Seashore, and lots of others I’ve forgotten about since they became my work boots. Yes, they were heavy, but always supported my feet no matter how much load I was carrying, and, even on light trails my feet weren’t sore if the track was rocky. I had them resoled a couple times. The stitching finally started to rot. The last shop to work on them foolishly agreed to do all the repairs for $20, then spent 10 hours of hard hand stitching with a heavy needle and pliers to get them back in usable shape.
A Good Run came to an End!
When the soles began to separate, I reluctantly decided to begin shopping for a new pair. Raichle is no more; they’ve been bought by Mammut. So we began the drill: lots of try-ons, lots of less-than-ideal fit. Sure a lighter pair would fit and work pretty well, but I really like that big sturdy boot feel, even on a light day hike. PNW trails do tend to be rocky, and straight up/straight down so ankle support is a good thing. Then there’s snowshoeing … after months of off and on shopping, I finally settled on a pair of Meindl Air Revolution 4.1’s. An air footbed and Gore-Tex, new high-tech stuff for me (though not terribly new technology), but a durable brand and big/heavy enough to make me feel like I’m back in my Raichle’s. Hopefully they’ll last another 38 years (oh, wait, I probably won’t be doing much hiking then).
So, green(er)? Well, two pairs of big heavy multi-purpose boots rather than many pairs of short-lived lighter or special purpose boots is less consumption. A conscious choice? Yep. Trade-offs? Yes again. Accidentally green? Absolutely, but wouldn’t change a thing to do it all over again.
What about you? Do you have a favorite pair of old friends you’ve shared many miles with and struggled to replace? Tell us about it at …
