Dispatches is a tumblelog by Thomas Sibley.

Boots well worn

When I moved just a few weeks ago, I decided to toss the pair of Columbia hiking boots above.  I kept them around for a bit past their lifetime, even though I replaced them at the beginning of the year with a pair of above the ankle Keens that still have cushioning and don’t have holes in them.

The low-tops above served my feet very well over the past four years, hiking in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania and the steeper hills of the Taconics, multi-day snowshoeing in Vermont and Massachusetts, walking the alleys and mountains alike in Morocco, clambering up and down volcanoes and through the muddy bush in New Zealand, and doing fieldwork on the apron of the mountains of Montana.  I knew they were shot though when stepping in a shallow puddle meant the bottom of my foot was now wet.

The new boots are real nice, but I’m definitely going to have to replace these great, wear-everywhere low tops.