Boulder, CO
I was already excited about my upcoming trip to Boulder next weekend to visit a BFF and then I pulled up the forecast. Woot! Perfect weather for our plan to:
hike
stroll
dine
shop
and shop
and shop
and rent bikes if the weather holds.
(fingers crossed that no more wild fires will threaten the area)
As usual before travel, I have started obsessing over what to take. Do I have the right bag? Do I need a NEW bag (any excuse)? No, no I need new hiking shoes more than I need a new bag. Do I have the right jacket? And on and on. Gah!
Anyway, just a few days before I’m due to leave, I have finally found a good pair of shoes and will be returning the cute, but unnecessary, bag I bought at Macy’s during my initial travel spin-up frenzy. I’ll be needing that cash anyway to buy trinkets in Boulder, right?
So the shoes. I don’t know if I’ve every mentioned how much I hate shopping for shoes. The problem, as I see it, is that shoe manufacturers cater to people with average to wide feet. So a girl with long skinny feet [raises hand] has to resort to all manner of trickery to get a shoe to stay on her foot. I’m talking inserts, thick socks, special lacing techniques. That also means I frequently end up trying every shoe in my size in the store to find something that will work. Time consuming enough in terms of sheer quantity but even more so when you factor in the switching out of inserts, changing up the lacing, etc., etc.
I heart my new kicks
Despite all of that, and thanks to the lovely folks at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, I finally settled on a pair of Merrel Siren Sport hiking boots. They are comfy, grippy, light-weight and not bad looking as hiking shoes go. I’ll keep you posted on how they do on the rocky Boulder terrain.
OK, I’m off to start sorting through my gear and clothes. And maybe take a shower since it’s already noon and I can’t seem to rustle up the energy to work out. Sheesh.
Filed under: * Heather, gear, life | Tagged: Merrell, shoes, Siren Sport, skinny feet, travel |
running in pants 
DON’T even with the weather….it’s going to rain all day here in London. I might stay in my jammies.
You are going to love it in Boulder. And perfect temp and sunshine. I could live there. I went years ago. Did a backpacking trip in the Rockies and also camped around Boulder where we stumbled upon some naturalists (aka nudies) at the natural hot springs.
Then onto the Rockies …awesome, but talk about unprepared. We were in the middle of nowhere and suddenly snow! When we pitched our tent I realized I didn’t have the rain tarp that goes on top, so we tried to attach our rain ponchos to cover the air vent…not very effective. We woke up very cold and wet with ice on the inside walls of our tent. But it was a beautiful sunny morning when we hiked out. There are places outside the natl. park where you can take showers for a couple of bucks…best shower ever. Have a great time!
Too funny Cathlin. David bought me a high-speed backpack years ago with all kinds of cool pockets (the boy knows me well) but I never used it other than to pack it full of survival gear after 9-11 (just in case). I don’t even know where it is now.
And I’ve never pitched a tent. The last time we went camping was in the mountains of NC when Kimbo was still a young dog. We slept out in the open air in our sleeping bags with Kimbo in a bag between us. She was not amused – too many spooky noises and no cushy bed!
Hope the trip was fun & the weather as promised!