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| Hiking boots by Merrill |
It’s a strange bit of irony that I’m writing a post about what our family bought and considered essential for hiking the western National Parks as I’m waiting for Hurricane Irene to hit the New York tri-state area. But in a sense, the two are also connected because it’s all about being prepared.
In the case of Hurricane Irene, I’m writing this post on Saturday because I expect to be without power for several days. With regards to essential hiking equipment, I think it’s safe to say that being prepared means having the right shoes . . . or rather . . . boots.
Although I didn’t expect our family to be doing strenuous seven-mile hikes, I also knew we would be walking over rough terrain and regular sneakers probably weren’t going to make the grade. Enter our local outdoorsy store, American Terrain Outdoors.
We could have gone to a nearby big-box store that carried a variety of sports equipment for our boots . . . and in fact, we did. But when I realized we weren’t going to get the individualized help and service I thought fitting my sons’ boots required, we left. Quickly.
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| Wide variety of kids’ hiking boots |
Not only did our local outdoors store have equipment that was solely focused on hiking and camping equipment (i.e. we didn’t have to battle our way through the lacrosse sticks to get to the outdoors section), but they also had knowledgable people to properly fit my guys’ feet.
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| Sizing is important in hiking boots |
You might be asking if I went a little on the overkill side with the hiking boots . . . I mean, regular sneakers would have been fine, right? At our store, however, we were able to test how the boots felt on rocky terrain and when going down an incline . . . both real-life hiking scenarios that are the rule, rather than the exception.
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| Walking down an incline in American Terrain Outfitters |
Needless to say, I’m glad that when we got to places like Bryce Canyon and the Badlands, we HAD sturdy hiking boots rather than flimsy flip-flops that some hikers were wearing along the trails.
Last, but not least, although the main essential needed for hiking is a good pair of boots, we didn’t forget another essential piece of equipment . . . a good water bottle!
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| Nalgene water bottle plus easy Splash Guard |
We loved our Nalgene water bottles, filling them up every day before we headed out for a hike or a long car ride. And for anyone who’s ever been frustrated with the wide mouths of these water bottles (like me, the ultimate sloppy drinker), there’s a nifty Splash Guard insert that makes drinking out of these bottles a breeze.
Good boots and water – everything you need for a hike out west!
