Baptism By Fire

I wanted to try something new for my feet. I was tired of hiking in boots just because everyone says I should. This may be a mistake- but if it is, it's one that I will be learning the hard way. After my last Adirondack hike I hated the way my feet were feeling so I decided it was time for a change. Instead of buying a new boot I decided to purchase these babies. Adidas AX1 Gore-Tex Hiking shoe, it is my pleasure to introduce you to my feet.

I recently heard the phrase Baptism by Fire and thought it was pretty applicable to my experience with these babies so far. The phrase has its origins in the bible- but is more commonly used to refer to a soldier's first experience in war or when someone tries something for the first time and it is a really difficult experience.

These shoes have experienced a baptism by fire in the past week and a half that I have owned them- and they have passed with flying colors so far. At camp we have a trail called Border Explorer and if you hike it you sign your name on a poster. If you are a staff person you end up hiking it so much that you put tally's next to your name for the number of times you have hiked it.

This past week I wanted to get ahead on the Border Explorer race. So I hiked it. A lot. So now my name has 20 tallies next to it and my shoes have been officially broken in. Baptism by Fire.

Of course, the fact that they were new did save them some of the more unpleasant experiences of the week at camp, namely walking into the bog and playing in the thick mud. That experience was reserved for my faithful (and abused) old sneakers.