Kelsey Scott
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The Boots Are Here!

8/19/2016

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Picture
The Hanwag Alaska Lady GTX. Specially designed for multi-day backpacking with heavy loads though deep backpacking country. There might also be a little halo around them.

I’ve been salivating for their arrival, for weeks. Forgive me for not exaggerating there. Now, I can officially begin breaking them in and prepping them for the rim to rim.

Because I chose my boots online, I snagged a couple of sizes, to ensure the proper fit. The winner gets to experience the beautiful outdoors. The other pair gets a second date with FedEx.

According to REI’s very helpful hiking boot guide (https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/breaking-in-hiking-boots.html) the boots should be ‘snug everywhere and tight nowhere’. And you’re supposed to wear them indoors for a while before giving them a public debut. 


That leaves me clunking around on hardwood floors (the boots are lots-o-rigid right now) to help bend these babies to my will. Literally. Oh, yeah. My downstairs neighbors are LOVING me.

Hoping to get them dirty by next week. They might get a few odd stares among some of the Runyon Canyon fashionistas. Or maybe not. I’ve seen much odder things at Runyon than appropriate footwear.

Like, venti lattes.
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It's Getting Real

8/14/2016

3 Comments

 

It was two, possibly three, years ago when my sister initially asked me to hike the Grand Canyon with her. Aside from the camping aspect of the journey (I require few things in this life - but indoor plumbing is usually a deal breaker) it seemed like one of the things I enjoy most... a challenge. As the years passed (acquiring permits and arranging schedules proved more complicated than we anticipated) it still felt very theoretical.

Until now.

I've learned quite a few things about the Canyon and about extreme hiking this year. One such nugget is that you should break in your hiking shoes for at least three months before embarking on the Rim to Rim. And I do my best work on deadlines. I've even been known to procrastinate a bit to heighten the stakes. But those stakes have never been life or death (maybe I've learned too much about the Canyon and about extreme hiking this year). So when I looked up and realized I'm two weeks late for the start of the 'break-in' process, I panicked a bit.

I mean, we're really doing this. In a couple of months. Backpacking 24 miles through multiple ecosystems and acute elevations, amid drastic temperature changes and weather conditions, while carrying around 35 pounds of equipment. One website had the nerve to say the choppers don't do rescue, just recovery.

So, yeah, it's getting real.

But I'm the gal who takes dare over truth, tries (almost) anything once and considers the word 'no' a hurled gauntlet. In other words, let's do this.

My days of consistent journaling are memories of a bygone era. And I'm a much more private person than I might appear to be on social media. But this seems like an ideal opportunity to defy my comfort zone, get back to the 'page' and share this journey. 

My entries will be neither 'just the facts' nor solely an exercise in verbal yoga. I'm striving for a hybrid:) While I'm certain I'll experience reflective moments as I confront my physical endurance, I'll also share the nuts and bolts of preparing for this adventure.

If you find it interesting, I hope you'll stay for the duration of the 'trip' (I could use the company). If nothing else, it's sure to be entertaining:) Here we go . . . !

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    Author

    I'm an actress, a writer, a singer, and a move well-er. I love Scrabble, spades and air hockey. And P90X changed my life. But hiking the Grand Canyon is an entirely different beast. If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space, right? Well, here's to the edge...

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