trek diaries: the shoes

We're about 6 weeks away from trek. One of our YW presidency members has started issuing weekly challenges to the girls, and if they do it, they get to choose a little treat the next Sunday, something they can bring along in their buckets - mints, lip balm, etc.

This week's challenge was to get the shoes you'll use on trek and start taking walks in them, several this week.

I shopped hiking shoes over the weekend and I went back and bought the pair that seemed the most practical and was the most comfortable. I'll be doing some hiking with the family later this summer so I've been meaning to get hikers for a while.

First I thought about Timberland leather "White Ledge"- they might look a little more authentic, and they were really comfortable. Leather hikers are classic.
I tried on a few other kinds in the store, too, and I couldn't decide. When I asked my husband for advice later he just looked at me and said no one does leather any more. It's so old school. Well, that almost convinced me to get them - "old school" is not an insult in my book, but in the end I decided on Gore-tex - a little lighter, will breathe better, and have a better-quality Vibram sole. If I were just shopping for trek all of this would be kind of obsessive overkill, but I was needing good hikers anyway and I think these will last a long time. So this morning I went back to the store and I ended up getting the others I liked, Merrell Moab Mid-XCRs (Zappos reviews here):

I'm wearing them around the house today with hiking socks and will take them on a road walk later & will wear them a few times a week to break them in.