Cold Feet

Photo courtesy Flickr

That’s been the theme of a week of bitter weather. Several days of fending off chill reminded me yet again of the body wisdom of the old phrase. It is indeed true that cold feet affect courage and the willingness to press on.

A couple of years ago I realized that my vintage low-mileage hiking boots had become too small and were far too heavy for any kind of field use I can reasonably anticipate. I replaced them with an abbreviated pair of trail running shoes. Last week I realized that those shoes, realistically, had a good chance of killing me should I ever find myself outdoors in one of our rare damp and gruesome winter storms.

The odds of having to evacuate during bitter weather are too small to consider, I hope, but being immobilized in the house due to inadequate footgear is a clear and present danger to health and morale. I didn’t actually think about the Donner party, but the chocolate was running low.

It speaks volumes about the culture of the Great Big Hiking Co-op that when I called to see if I could return a pair of shoes I thought were dangerous, they didn’t snicker. One short trip later, I’m properly equipped with a snazzy pair of suede waterproof urban hikers.

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