Shoes

One of the biggest issues with backpacking is shoes. I have boots that are great for Arizona, they are well ventilated, they have nice insoles in them, but will they work for the wet, muddy Highlands? The answer is to come. I have another pair of boots that I use for construction site visits. Will these work? All these questions will be answered and more.

1. Merrell Mesa Ventilator II's


and

2. Wolverine Work Boots (no steel toe, it's not required by OSHA)


Neither worked. Both failed miserably in my testing. I bought some waterproofing stuff that claimed to work after one application.



In fact, as you'll see, it scores a 100 on...some kind of scale.



Other products require two applications and it works better and lasts longer...than what?



I used 3 applications. What did my shoes score as far as waterproofing? 0. Both boots leaked when standing in a tub of water for 5 minutes. Butt.

I ran into some good luck though. I went into Ross and caught a glimpse of these beauties:

Wraptors

$140 seems like a steep price to pay for waterproof shoes. I agree. I found them at Ross for $24.99. I'll try to keep an updated list of gear that worked and gear that didn't work so well.

Adventure 1 Prep

The first post is always the hardest one. It sets the tone for the blog. Hope this doesn't suck.

I'm living right now like I've never lived. No job, a wife, a dog and a crazy black cat. I also have a friend that planned a trip to Scotland that was going without me. Until last week. One might say that deciding to go on this trip is financially irresponsible and a dumb idea. I agree that it's financially irresponsible but not that it's a dumb idea. After all, you only live once.

My friend and I planned the trip. Then we saw this article. We redirected our efforts to avoid certain parts of the hike. We avoided the dying bit and decided to travel from Milngavie to Crianlarich. Here's a map of where we'll go:


View Larger Map

The next step was to get any things I might need on the trip. I made a list of things.

1. 10 essential survival items
2. Pack
3. Clothes
4. Camera
5. Hiking Poles for rhythm, thanks Skip
6. Food
7. Shoes

This isn't an all inclusive list by any means. I just don't wish to bore my millions *cough* of readers out there.