Post-Mortem on a Sunday Hike

I limped my arse around the courthouse today. My left ankle was VERY sore from hiking on Sunday. I've already decided that I need some good winter hiking boots. The military bunny boots are perfect for keeping your feet warm and dry. They are not good for ankle support. In fact, they basically have a pocket of air around my ankle, so you might as well call that NO ankle support. No wonder I was sore.

By the afternoon, the Tylenol had kicked in and I could walk properly again. But I'm still recovering.

Anthony swung by tonight and we chatted about our outdoor needs a bit. I need new hiking boots, but he's going to let me try his on first--he wears a size 8 too, conveniently enough. He has a pair of Keen Oregon boots. I've got my eyes on the Keen Growlers on Zappos.com. They're a little cheaper, but basically the same boot. If his fit, I'll probably get some.

We also talked snowshoes. That hike would have been much easier if we hadn't been pushing down 6 inches into snow at random. It's hard on the feet. From what I hear, walking on that kind of snow with snowshoes is cake. The cheapest workable snowshoes seem to be about $60 a pair, which isn't horrible, but is definitely an expense. So Anthony and I are brainstorming some ideas for homemade snowshoes. Modern snowshoes are basically just a light metal frame with neoprene webbing and a place to attach your boot in the middle. That seems doable as a home project.

Of course, Anthony and I both agree that a AR15 with a .458 SOCOM upper would be the perfect brush gun to carry just in case of bears. (Which is more of a concern in the berry-thick, salmon-rich warmer months, admittedly.) But that's a little bit more expensive as far as accessories go.

Samara needs a good pair of snow pants and some better hiking boots if I'm going to get her to go winter hiking with me. She actually seems interested in doing it, too. Of course, she'll need her own snowshoes as well. Lots of Alaska accessories are going on the "to buy" list.

We'll see what actually gets bought on that list.

Did I happen to mention that it wasn't until after the hike that I realized that Anthony is pretty much the perfect hiking partner? It's not that he tells good jokes, or that he has an irrational attraction to the idea of finding a sasquatch. It's that he was in the Air Force Pararescue. Do you know what these guys do for training? They jump out of planes, escape from sunken aircraft, do extreme cold weather training, etc. They pretty much send these guys to pieces of every other branch's most elite training schools, just so they can act as medics in the most extreme situations.

Yeah, I think I'm pretty safe in the Alaskan back country with this guy. We just need to get that bear gun and we'll be set.