I just spent a few hours between a couple of stores trying on a wide range of hikers and hiking boots. I deliberately didn't look at price, and I am not familiar enough with the brands to allow a brand name to influence my preferences. In all three stores I was able to work with a woman with a broad range of hiking experience and there were good discussions over my needs and desires. As it turned out, the footwear that felt the best in all areas turned out to be a true hiking boot - light in weight, a nice wide toe-box with narrow heel, felt great and and provided nice ankle stability. None of the light hikers really felt any different from my trail running shoes. These will suit me for hiking in southern Indiana, and also will be appropriate for terrain in East Tennessee/Kentucky and be cross-seasonal. I guess Salomon has a good name, and they felt better by far than anything else I've been trying on recently. While a bit pricier than what I expected, they are only $30 more than the Vasques I tried on and I think will work much better for me.

Now I just need to wait for some mileage reimbursement from work that will be more than enough to cover the cost - and I think that happens Monday!

Speaking of hiking, I got in another 3 mile hike today before some storms hit the area. It was a couple hours after my usual KB training and my knee was perfectly happy with it - and I never had to put on my brace - though I DID for the kettlebell training. I think it might be time to try a more aggressive trail