Wanted: Actual Hiking Shoes – June 11, 2004
Written while preparing for my Colorado vacation this summer. I came across it today – it made me giggle, what can I say?
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I’m wandering around Briarwood Shopping Mall, looking for anything that remotely resembles a hiking shoe. I wander and wander, and must’ve racked up about a mile in walking distance. Final score for the night?
Briarwood 1, Me 0
It’s amazingly frustrating that a mall the size of Briarwood doesn’t have one hiking shoe present. I know the mall isn’t exactly huge, but I’d like to think that they harbor some small corner for women’s athletics. Instead, the mall seems to cater to hip-hop gear and only hip-hop gear; I guess the dress of the clerks should’ve been my clue. However, not everyone dresses like Missy Eliot or goddamned Puff Daddy. Jesus H. Christ, how is one supposed to do anything remotely athletic in an oversized Pistons jersey and Timberlands that are fucking pink!?
It seems as if Briarwood believes that women don’t work out at all. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve purchased anything remotely related to running there: Once. That was before Lady Foot Locker went stupid and started selling chunky fashion sneakers instead of good old fashion running shoes – the pricey kind here, not goddamn cheapo Nikes. I bought one pair of Nike Converge Triax running shoes there; my favorite shoe in the entire world. Since discontinued, but they left Lady Foot Locker long before I even dreamed of Mizuno Wave Riders. I still remember the day I walked in there and the nice professional sales people who knew about running shoes had been replaced by two high schoolers and a bunch of weird Sketchers. What the hell!?
Back to my point: No decent workout gear of any kind. All workout apparel is made from cotton (what is this, the prehistoric era!?), the shoes are simply slapped-together pieces of fabric and plastic and the sales people don’t know squat about the mechanics of running, hiking, what have you. Granted, it’s sort of my fault for not being a good girl and visiting REI or Cabela’s, but do you know how expensive those places are? While I’m perfectly willing to invest any kind of amount in my running shoes, with the hiking boots I can spend a little less. I just wanted something sturdy, something that fit well, something that wouldn’t give me blisters and make my feet sweat at the Great Sand Dunes. Was that too much to ask?
It apparently was. I walked out of Briarwood, defeated and grouchy. I promptly ordered a pair of North Face trail shoes on sale at backcountry.com, and I hope upon hope that they work for me. If they don’t, I’ll have a fit. A crying fit.
Well, at least I won’t be hiking in purple suede monstrosities with no traction.
