My New Hiking Shoes!

I hope you thoroughly enjoy the above image of my new hiking shoes. It just took me 40 minutes to get this image up because I couldn’t get it the right size. LOL.

I absolutely love them. Bought them last night at Dicks/Field & Stream. What an amazing store. The brand is Danner. This seems to be a very good shoe company. The shoes were not cheap, but they were on sale. My birthday is coming up, soooooooooooo. Anyway, you want a good hiking shoe or boot. You want something that will protect you properly and last a long time. With the way the world is going, we may not have access to what we need the way we have always been used to. Everyone should go get themselves good, solid hiking shoes.

What do you want in hiking foot gear? Think about the scenarios you are likely to encounter in your area:

Water: get water-proof (mine don’t look water-proof, but they are!), Snakes: get very solid material with good ankle protection, Cold: get warm, Hot: get cool, Rocky/Slippery: get good soles that can handle all that, Ticks: get light-colored.

There should be good ankle support and I would recommend lace-up shoes for greater control of tightness (have extra laces in your bug-out bag). You may or may not want a defined heel. Try out shoes thoroughly in store for comfort and wear the type of socks you are likely to be wearing when hiking. I also recommend some sport-designed insoles, which you should also bring with you when trying on. This will make an ENORMOUS difference in your comfort level and health of your feet.

I also bought this great little prepper booklet, Disaster Survival Guide, which shows you what to do in many different situations and emergencies. I highly recommend getting something like this and reading it cover to cover. You will be amazed what you learn. You will become prepared for situations you never even conceived of, but could very possibly encounter (like the time the power went off at night when I was in my basement-very scary-you can quickly become completely disoriented-I will tell that story next week).

May go hiking again this weekend with my new shoes. If its interesting, I will tell you about it next week. If it’s boring, I will tell you about it next week…..

More About Hiking!

Important note: The following advice is for local hiking in well-populated areas only. Please always use your own discretion and consider your own unique needs. These are only suggestions.

My family and I spent the 4th of July in the exquisite New Jersey Highlands, pictured above. Appropriate, since the Highlands, according to the federal Highlands Conservation Act, is an area of “national significance,” due to, “the importance of the water, forest, agricultural, wildlife, recreational, and cultural resources of the Highlands region.” It is a national treasure. Instead of celebrating a nation rapidly descending into tyranny, we spent the day preparing for where this tyranny may soon lead us…out of Babylon and into the Authentic Life, close to nature, apart from the world.

Our son was the architect of the excursion, planning it out in advance from a map. It is always a bit dicey doing a hike you are unfamiliar with, because what you see on the map is only a vague semblance of what you actually encounter on the ground. He knew he would be going with his out-of-shape middle-aged parents, so he kept it to about a mile, which was perfect. I hope to increase my stamina over time. I said in A Tale of Two Realities (please read if you haven’t), that I had not hiked in years. Two hikes and I am now addicted. The peace and wonder I feel, along with the sense of empowerment and accomplishment, is intoxicating.

The hike evenly divided into two halves, the first being the difficult “trail connector” and the second, being an established, level trail. At the half-point, you see the bewitching vista above. The picture does not at all do it justice. It had more a sense of grandeur from the perspective of a bridge, over a large pond (the entire walk circumvented the pond). The creek you see comes down from the pond. The rocks there seem to be encased in sand, long petrified. It is interesting to think of the history of the formations and also the human history, when you encounter unexplained remnants like rock walls, perhaps going back hundreds of years. What the picture does portray is the mysterious, magical nature of those woods-you expect to see a fairy or an elf pop out any minute! It can all be quite romantic, you can easily forget the dangers of these parts, which are black bears, copperhead snakes, lyme and other ticks, poison ivy, falling branches and hunters in hunting season, to name a few. All these issues need to be kept in mind and prepared for.

We started by spraying ourselves with heavy duty bug spray, mainly for the ticks. I had my new mini backpack with water, first aid kit, two tick removal tools, compass, protein bars and tissues. The trail connector was a rocky, narrow path. We had to keep our eyes open for poison ivy and I learned that all boots are not hiking boots. My department store booties have zero ankle support. Real hiking boots are now on my priority list. You hike & learn! We passed a family fishing and learned the pond has bass and catfish. Good to know. Also muskrats and a swim team which has its own camper and porta-potty. Also good to know. Not really, nevermind…another issue one must be prepared for….you do you! Then there was a nice respite area in the shade where we took a much-needed break on this hot day. The rest of the way was easy and we exited at the “start” of the trail, where there were various instructions, including what to do if you see a black bear. At home, first thing: tick check and changing clothes.

We also saw these striking flowers:

BUTTERFLY WEED, a type of milkweed, great for home gardens. EDIBLE & MEDICINAL USES.

And here’s the itchy culprit from the last hike:

This appears to be STINGING NETTLE. It is widely known to have medicinal properties.

I have mentioned the need for provisions and awareness of the dangers of your area. In addition, maps and compasses are important when venturing out into nature. In our case, my son had studied the area, it was well populated and we had our cellphones. I would however, recommend not relying on your phone and always having a hard copy of a map with you (you may consider a laminated map in case of rain). Of course, getting lost is the main issue, but simple awareness of your environment is important too. As for getting lost, never rely on your “great sense of direction” or assume it can’t happen to you. Study the area before entering and have a plan. Know which direction you must travel if you do get lost-that is the purpose of the compass.

Rand McNally has many great resources for hiking and road travel. You might be interested in products like the following:

New Jersey Atlas & Gazetteer 2021 Road Atlas

Map It! Seek & Find: Fun, educational way to familiarize yourself with cartography-there are 2 volumes-great gift!

If hiking is too difficult for you, I hope you are inspired to bring God’s creation more into your life in some way. Nature is part of living life to the fullest and understanding God, the Author of the Authentic Life.