When I was 16ish, I went with Laurie–my sister to the High Uinta Mountains, on a 20 mile hike with at 40 pound backpack. Or was that a 40 mile hike with a 20 pound backpack? I can’t remember. The truth is inconsequential here. I know it felt like a 60 mile hike with an 80 pound backpack–and so I intend to remember it that way.
Before we left, my dad bought me a pair of “really good” hiking boots. You know…to keep my feet safe. I guess that “really good” meant really, really ugly and stiff and…well, they didn’t exactly go with my outfit. They were dreadful. But I wore them and before we’d gone half way up the hill, I had a grandaddy blister on the back of my heel. We stopped to rest and when I took off my boot to look at it, one of the leaders said he’d “fix” it for me and promptly pulled the whole top off. My scream is still echoing somewhere up in them thar hills–I sense it somehow. So, to say that it was an uncomfortable stroll the rest of the way would be putting it mildly.
We were there in camp three or four days and I tried to walk around barefoot as much as possible to air out the blister so that it would heal faster. It worked like a charm…that is, until the night before we had to hike back out. I was running back from the river to the camp and I accidentally kicked a nailed tent stake. It cut a one inch V shape in the bottom of my foot and bled like a crazy thing. It swelled up so much that I couldn’t lace my boot up the next day. But they stayed on my feet–in fact, I could hardly get my boot off when we got back that night.
It was with a heavy heart that I gave those nasty suckers to Good Will.
Oh, and don’t tell my dad.
That story brings back nightmares of my Girl’s Camp years! YIKES!!!
Ouch..I’d say that guy wasn’t very smart to just rip off the top. Didn’t he know it would get germs in it? Wierd.. I love seeing pictures of my mom when she was little too. So cute. 🙂
Oh, I know. I’ve been to girls camp so many times and I have to say–it’s just not my favorite thing. I grew up in LA for Pete’s sake. Not an incredible camper…it’s ok. But it’s always so cold at night–even in the summer.
Personally, I’d rather stay home and eat ice cream.
:]
Yeah–I’m pretty sure he was a crazy man. No earthly idea he was going to do such a insane thing. He was like, “Oh, wow. Sorry. I didn’t think that would hurt.”
duh
OHH that sounded painful! Good for you for giving them to Goodwill! They sounded like bad luck! lol I love camping, wish I could do it more often!
Oh freak… I remember the blister part… but I didn’t know about kicking the tent stake. OUCH!!!
That reminds me of that other funny story… “ONE STAKE!!!” Heh.
A few years ago we came out to AZ for Christmas and celebrated my daughters birthday while out here with a picnic lunch in the mountains and a hike up to the waterfall (only a couple of miles). Well smart me here only packed a couple pairs of shoes and none were true tennis shoes. So I put on a pair of elevated, slip on (no backs on them) tennis shoes, Well I made it up and almost back down when I slipped and twisted my ankle and it was all due to the smart shoes I wore. When I fell I banged my knee cap really bad and it was not the same for a long time. I don’t think I wore that pair of shoes much after that.
I’m ok with camping–but hiking is a bit more of a struggle.
My favorite story on earth! Remember how hard he laughed?
So funny…
I personally think we’d all do better being barefoot. Seriously. I have to walk on the treadmill barefoot or I nearly fall every time. Maybe the winter would be tough, but I swear–sometimes shoes really mess me up.
there is a huge barefoot running movement going on right now! seriously, people do it. even in the dead of winter, i saw someone running outside barefoot. they have like these special sock padding things. look it up. its crazy.
Too bad you aren’t sitting here right this minute to see what is on The Bald Kid’s feet. He bought a pair of them yesterday. They are called Vibram 5 Finger shoes and apparently, they feel like you are barefoot but your feet are still protected. They are sold out across the nation–but he found them because the wears a size 14 shoe. So since they only had mutant size left–he grabbed them up.
Very cool.