Hiking

[Catrin]

Second hike in my new Salomon boots today. It was supposed to be a 3.7 mile loop, turned out to be closer to 4.5 miles. I am getting used to incorrect mileage postings. THIS trail is an intermediate mountain bike trail and, unlike last weekend's hike, THIS one has no pavement. Last week the bottom of my bad foot was tender to the touch afterwards, that didn't happen today - and it was almost a half-mile further. I think my boots and pavement don't mix - but that isn't what they were designed for. While the ball of my big toe did finally start bothering me - it took 4 miles to get there rather than the usual .25 mile with my trail running shoes. VERY happy with the new boots and they worked much better for me in the muddy sections. I intend to get as much use out of them as I can before my knee surgery, and hopefully the recovery will be quick so I don't miss most of the season. Of course, they ARE appropriate for cold weather hiking

Meanwhile, here is a picture from my hike today - it is of an intermediate mountain bike trail that I once helped to build. I can't seem to get images to either upload to TE or to share that isn't too large - hence my link.

Added: I had forgotten that I have a Vaude 3-liter hydration pack. I had been considering buying an inexpensive daypack, but this is so much better! This design gets the weight off my back allowing air circulation - and it also distributes the weight much better for shoulders and waist to prevent my nagging cervical spine problems from getting aggravated. From what I can tell Vaude no longer has a hydration pack, so I count myself lucky. They DO have a "bike pack" but they don't mention a hydration pack if it has one. This means I can't replace the bladder - but I am sure a Camelbak bladder would work just fine should the need arise. This works far better than my old book backpack from grad school days, and my body likes it much better than my Camelbak hydration pack. Thankful I finally remembered I had to buy it after my MTB injury! Re-using things is much better than having to replace them