Rory Needs a New Pair of Boots

I've been thinking about getting a new pair of hiking boots for awhile now. I currently hike in my Hi Tec Cape Trail boots. They've served me well, and I've put a lot of miles on them, but I'm looking to upgrade to a sturdier boot with more waterproof qualities. The Capre Trails are a great lightweight hiking boot for warm weather, but they've left me wet a few times.

Hi Tec Cape Trail II

I picked a boot up off the shelf while shopping at REI last week, and was initially impressed with their construction and aggressive tread pattern. The boot I picked up was an Oboz Beartooth, and the salesperson in the shoe department mentioned to me that it was one of the store's better hiking boots. I thought, "At $200.00, they better be good."

That evening, at home, I did a Google search on the boots and came across an outstanding gear review site which I will share with all my readers here. Backpack Gear Test has been up and running for about 10 years and Rick Dreher, who reviewed the Oboz, has over 40 years of hiking experience under his belt. He gave the Beartooth boots a favorable review, so it looks like I'll be making an investment.

Oboz Beartooth

If any of you out there have any advice or tips in this area, please feel free to comment below. I would greatly appreciate it.

Happy hiking!                                                                                    3K3WV5U9MJR2

Mt. Whitney Lottery

Last night, Olma and I attended a presentation at REI on the subject of summiting Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Nevada.

The couple who gave the presentation, Ronald and Joan Breuch, have summited Whitney (14,505 ft elev) on several occasions and have also successfully summited Mt. Kilimanjaro and hiked to Machu Picchu.

The Breuch's inspired both Olma and I to apply for a permit to hike up Mt. Whitney this fall. I submitted our requests today through an online lottery system. With a lottery system, it looks as though there will be a lot of other hikers up there with us. We're both really looking forward to this next adventure.

I think we better start training.