Lost My Hiking Boots: Searching for a Silver Lining

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a participant's missing hiking boots in the context of preparing for a hiking trip to Mt. Rainier. Participants share their thoughts on the importance of having properly fitted and broken-in boots for hiking, express empathy, and offer humorous suggestions while discussing the challenges of shopping for new boots.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses distress over losing their perfect-fit hiking boots, emphasizing their importance for the upcoming trip.
  • Some participants question whether the boots have sentimental value and suggest the possibility of getting new ones, though others argue that breaking in new boots is not feasible before the hike.
  • Humorous suggestions are made about wearing high heels or checking unusual places for the missing boots.
  • Concerns are raised about hiking in potentially dangerous weather conditions, including lightning, and the implications of hiking without proper footwear.
  • Participants share personal anecdotes about misplaced items, including glasses, and the common experience of finding them in unexpected places.
  • One participant reflects on the challenges of shopping for shoes, particularly in the context of being picky and the emotional toll of the shopping experience.
  • There are discussions about the weather conditions at Mt. Rainier, with some participants sharing their experiences of hiking in adverse weather and the impact of winter on the park.
  • A participant mentions an allergic reaction to lip balm, adding a personal anecdote about outdoor mishaps.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally empathize with the original poster's situation and share similar sentiments about the importance of having the right hiking gear. However, there are competing views on whether to replace the lost boots and how to handle the hiking trip without them. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the location of the missing boots and the best course of action.

Contextual Notes

Participants express various assumptions about the weather conditions and the challenges of hiking in the area, but these are not fully explored or resolved. The discussion also touches on personal experiences that may not directly relate to the original issue of the missing boots.

lisab
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:frown:

We're getting ready to go spend a couple days on Mt Rainier, and I can't find my hiking boots. This is terrible! They're my perfect-fit boots, nicely broken in but still in good shape. This is our first time out hiking this year...I don't even remember the last place I wore them.

I hate to think I may have taken them on a trip and left them there...:cry: !
 
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Do they have sentimenal value for you ?
Could you not like the idea to get brand new ones ? :smile:
 
lisab said:
:frown:

We're getting ready to go spend a couple days on Mt Rainier, and I can't find my hiking boots. This is terrible! They're my perfect-fit boots, nicely broken in but still in good shape. This is our first time out hiking this year...I don't even remember the last place I wore them.

I hate to think I may have taken them on a trip and left them there...:cry: !
Ask Wolram, his shoes and things go missing all of the time, they may be at his cottage.

You don't want to break in new boots on a hiking trip. OUCH!
 
I really hate shopping in general. The whole experience always leaves me drained...finding what I want (I am sort of picky), dealing with sales people, parting with my hard-earned cash.

And shopping for shoes is awful. Almost as bad as shopping for bras.

There's a long shot that the boots are in the back of my car, but my daughter is driving it to her class right now. Sigh.
 
Woolie, check your closet...are my boots there?!?
 
You live in WA?
 
Just wear high heels. You'll look sexier to all the bears.
 
These boots were made for walking
And that's just what they'll do
One of these days those boots are going to walk away from you...
:biggrin:

I think there must be some boot underground or speakeasy that they all sneak off to when folks aren't looking. Hope you find them. That would be awful to have to break in a new pair. And, yeah, when you find ones that fit JUST right, having to shop for a new pair is horrendous.
 
Have you looked on your feet? When my glasses go missing, I sometimes find them on my head.
 
  • #10
humanino said:
Do they have sentimenal value for you ?
Could you not like the idea to get brand new ones ? :smile:

Reason that wouldn't work is a few days is not enough time to break them it, and hiking boots are arguably the most important to have broken in.
 
  • #11
Did you check your feet?
 
  • #12
WarPhalange said:
Just wear high heels. You'll look sexier to all the bears.
And slower and easier to turn into a meal...
 
  • #13
DaveC426913 said:
Have you looked on your feet? When my glasses go missing, I sometimes find them on my head.

Hey, you stole EXACTLY what I was thinking !
 
  • #14
vincentm said:
You live in WA?

Yes, I live in western Washington.

Guess I'll have to hike in running shoes...too bad, because there's still snow on some hills. Looks like we'll have to stick to lower elevations.
 
  • #15
I could let you borrow mine! :rolleyes: But I may use mine too...:wink:

Find them boots! A girl without hiking boots in the Pac Northwest is like,... well... it isn't a good thing. And have a good time on your hike! Careful of the lightning though. Haven't heard any thunder in a couple of hours, but I heard it is expected to continue through the weekend.
 
  • #16
Ms Music said:
I could let you borrow mine! :rolleyes: But I may use mine too...:wink:

Find them boots! A girl without hiking boots in the Pac Northwest is like,... well... it isn't a good thing. And have a good time on your hike! Careful of the lightning though. Haven't heard any thunder in a couple of hours, but I heard it is expected to continue through the weekend.

The lightning has been really cool lately ! Now I know many folks on PF are thinking, lightning, so what? But in western Washington we only see it once in a blue moon.
 
  • #17
lisab said:
The lightning has been really cool lately ! Now I know many folks on PF are thinking, lightning, so what? But in western Washington we only see it once in a blue moon.
I'd gladly send you some of ours. We have been in a really crappy weather pattern - almost every day, we get electrical storms and torrential rains. Yesterday, we were pelted with pea-sized hail - luck that didn't get any bigger because the winds were driving it sideways at about 50 mph and I feared for the window-glass.
 
  • #18
Hiking with lightning? :bugeye: Yep, we definitely need to open up that PF Infirmary. :rolleyes:
 
  • #19
Moonbear said:
Hiking with lightning? :bugeye: Yep, we definitely need to open up that PF Infirmary. :rolleyes:
Yep, you need to get the ER staff on alert. lisab is going to be out on an exposed outcropping and when she sees some pretty lightning, she'll point at it with her aluminum hiking staff and say "look at that"!
 
  • #20
turbo-1 said:
Yep, you need to get the ER staff on alert. lisab is going to be out on an exposed outcropping and when she sees some pretty lightning, she'll point at it with her aluminum hiking staff and say "look at that"!

:smile:

I'll post pictures when I get back on Sunday - bye!
 
  • #21
lisab said:
Woolie, check your closet...are my boots there?!?

Sorry lisab, i am sure i do not have a white hole, just a black one, i looked just in case, i know what you mean about shopping, when i get up the the courage to go i can not find what i want.
 
  • #22
Whenever I find something that I had misplaced, it's always in the last place I look. So look there first.

Once I went to read a book but could not because my glasses had been stolen. I wondered to myself who would steal glasses. Logically it was either someone who needed glasses or someone who didn't. But if a person needed glasses, they wouldn't be able to find mine to steal them, so it must have been someone who didn't need them. But if someone who didn't need them stole them, what would they do with them? I supposed that they would wear them somewhere other than on their face. And sure enough there were my glasses, on my feet. Have you looked on your feet yet?
 
  • #23
lisab said:
Yes, I live in western Washington.

Guess I'll have to hike in running shoes...too bad, because there's still snow on some hills. Looks like we'll have to stick to lower elevations.


I lived in downtown Seattle for a few years, now I'm out here in the Tri-Cities.
 
  • #24
Ah, the best laid plans...

On our first trip hiking this year, this is what I had in mind - Reflection Lake, a beautiful Alpine lake near Mt Rainier:

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/2872/reflectionlakewebhr3.jpg

And this is what I got:

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/6992/reflectionlakejuly2008pq2.jpg

The weather was not good at all at the higher elevations, as you can see.

At the lower elevations conditions were much better, but the harsh winter has taken serious toll on Mt Rainier Park. We were thwarted again and again by washed-out bridges and once by trees that had been strewn about by an avalanche. Climbing over the debris was pretty dangerous, so we turned back.

We came back a day early, but still had a pretty good time.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #25
Oh but I did have one minor mishap.

As anyone who has ever spent time in the outdoors knows, it's common to get chapped lips. I used some Burts Bees lip wax on my lips last night before bed.

I woke up this morning with lips swollen up like bees had stung them! What the...?!? I guess I'm allergic to something in the lip wax.

Nice.
 
  • #26
:smile: Sorry, but I wasn't expecting that. Looks like Siberia!

Glad you are back and safe!

Edit:Oh, I can't use Burt's Bees wax either. The Evo child had a stick and I noticed it thrown in the back of a drawer. I needed chapstick, so I put some on and YIKES! The stuff almost burned the skin off my lips, seems it has a dangerously high level of "pure natural" peppermint oil. Idiots.
 
  • #27
Rainier + new boots = painful, long lasting agony of de'feet ( I just had to say it).

I wish I was there, the snow looks so cool to hike and wander in.
 
  • #28
Evo said:
:smile: Sorry, but I wasn't expecting that. Looks like Siberia!

Glad you are back and safe!

Edit:Oh, I can't use Burt's Bees wax either. The Evo child had a stick and I noticed it thrown in the back of a drawer. I needed chapstick, so I put some on and YIKES! The stuff almost burned the skin off my lips, seems it has a dangerously high level of "pure natural" peppermint oil. Idiots.

It wouldn't have been so bad if my lips swelled symetrically, but of course they didn't. My upper lip is swollen more on the right; my lower lip, more to the left.
 
  • #29
lisab said:
It wouldn't have been so bad if my lips swelled symetrically, but of course they didn't. My upper lip is swollen more on the right; my lower lip, more to the left.
Oh, no! Like a collagen injection gone bad.
 

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