So the Trailgoon suggests that for ultra-light hiking you don’t need to wear the big heavy boots. Now, don’t get me wrong. They still have their place, for example, on the trail with a 65 lbs. pack or in winter snow and ice. But, being that I’m going light weight on this trip I’m giving his suggestion to wear trail runners and trekking poles a try. Yes, nice light weight trail running shoes, which weigh ounces and not pounds. Wearing light weight shoes you do give up some ankle support so the trekking poles help with stability. I have never used trekking poles so that will take a bit of getting used to but, I’m game.
I headed back over to REI which is having its big year end sale. As I walked in and turned to my left what was the first thing my eyes fell upon. A stand of trekking poles and the beauty part was that they were on sale. I looked through the dangling rack and found they had not just the low end heavy poles but, the REI Peak UL Carbon telescoping poles. These babies weigh in at a whole 12.5 oz. Very comfortable padded grips and these usually go for $139.00 for the pair, where on sale for $54.00. It was a successful hunting trip and I had only made it ten feet into the store.
Feeling lucky, I continued and moved on to the shoe department. They have a very nice selection of trail runners and lightweight hiking shoes, so this was going to take 
a while. I found a friendly REI person and told her what I was looking for. She said, I needed to speak to Linda who was the resident shoe guru. Shortly, Linda came walking up and asked me how she could help. I explained what my plan was and she showed me several options. Then the light bulb went off and she walked over to the clearance rack. She handed me a box of Merrel's. I have heard of Merrell and know they make a good shoe, so I was happy. I pulled them out but, they were a little small. I went on to try just about every shoe she had. I loved the Merrell Moab Ventilators but, they are dry weather shoes and I like to do a lot of hiking where I have the potential to get wet. I also, can't presently afford both a dry and wet weather shoe. So I tried some of them on again and back and forth I went. Then for some reason I thought I would check the clearance rack one more time and presto there was a Merrell box under a larger box that I had missed previously. It was a pair of Grey and Red Merrell Chameleon Wrap Gore Tex XCR's. I tried them on and what do you know. They fit perfectly. But wait there's more! These usually sold for $120.00 and I got them for $60.00.
a while. I found a friendly REI person and told her what I was looking for. She said, I needed to speak to Linda who was the resident shoe guru. Shortly, Linda came walking up and asked me how she could help. I explained what my plan was and she showed me several options. Then the light bulb went off and she walked over to the clearance rack. She handed me a box of Merrel's. I have heard of Merrell and know they make a good shoe, so I was happy. I pulled them out but, they were a little small. I went on to try just about every shoe she had. I loved the Merrell Moab Ventilators but, they are dry weather shoes and I like to do a lot of hiking where I have the potential to get wet. I also, can't presently afford both a dry and wet weather shoe. So I tried some of them on again and back and forth I went. Then for some reason I thought I would check the clearance rack one more time and presto there was a Merrell box under a larger box that I had missed previously. It was a pair of Grey and Red Merrell Chameleon Wrap Gore Tex XCR's. I tried them on and what do you know. They fit perfectly. But wait there's more! These usually sold for $120.00 and I got them for $60.00.Well, that was enough for me. Wasn't going to press my luck and a good hunter knows when it's time to hike back out and be happy with what he bagged.
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