According to author Jason Stevenson, "your choice of footwear will influence the success of your hike" (Stevenson 129). This shows the great importance of wearing the right footwear while hiking. This was especially important of my last hike to Little Si due to the cold conditions making the trail slippery in places. In this blog post I will explain how the right footwear helped me on my hike and why having the right footwear is important.
During this hike I wore midweight hiking that I purchased this summer. Like my book recommends, I tried the boots on in store instead of buying them online so I had the correct size. This is recommended due to your regular shoe size most likely not matching with your hiking boot size (Stevenson 134). I experienced the different sizing first hand when I ended up purchasing boots a half size bigger than my normal shoe size. Another important tip the book explains is tightening your shoelaces before heading downhill (Stevenson 135). By doing this you can avoid repeatedly slamming your toes into the front of your boots. This was very important on the Little Si hike due to the 1400 feet gain causing lots of downhill hiking on the way back. Before I headed back down the trail, I used this tip and it worked very well. My boots also helped me be more stable while hiking on slippery parts of the trail.
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| My hiking boots |
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| My hiking socks |
Along with the right boots, my book also recommends you wear the right pair of socks. The socks I wore are made of wool which is recommended by the book. This is recommended due to wool's quick-drying and comfortable properties (Stevenson 139). By wearing the right boots and socks, I was able to be more successful on my hike.
Overall, I learned that wearing the right footwear is very important while hiking. Do you own hiking boots, if so are they helpful while you hike?
Thanks for reading, make sure to read my next post!
Stevenson, Jason. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Backpacking and Hiking. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha Books, 2010. Print.
Great post Jaden! According to your book it is more helpful to buy boots on in store rather than online. Do you agree?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed my post Katie! I agree with my book that buying boots in store is better than online. I say this due to the possible sizing problems if you order online. Thanks for reading!
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