Impressions...

Impressions: Dictionary.com lists 11 different definitions for this word.

When I walk in the woods, I see impressions left by all who travel the same paths as myself. It's a rather short season that footprints or paths are left for me to easily follow. The conditions need to be just right for capturing my fellow wanderers tracks.

I've tried my hand to identify mice runs and dog prints,

...opossum...

...chipmunk...

...raccoon...

...???...

...turkey...

...squirrel...

...fox?...

...opossum on the ice...

...and human. Me!

I am Keen on my footwear. I have found that having the proper shoes for my hiking is paramount to my feet being happy. Winston and I hike in all weather conditions. I expect my shoes to survive a lot...rain, snow, mud, water, sticks, rocks, tall grasses, ice. I bought a pair of Keen Targhee water proof hiking shoes last May. I wore them each day when Winston and I went out hiking. They are awesome shoes, but... here's where my husband's concerns come in...after a month, the heel cup on one of my feet was wearing a little too quickly, some of the stitching along the shoelaces was separating along the material line(sign of a dull needle used in sewing) and most importantly, after another month of daily hiking, I needed to Gorilla Glue part of the tread back together. By November, I was starting to feel I needed another new pair of hiking shoes. Voicing my thoughts to my hubby that I was going to purchase another pair of Keen's, he reminded me of my repairs. I don't think my second time of using Gorilla Glue on my shoes was impressing my hubby.

I decided to wait on getting a pair of shoes. I was still convinced I wanted another pair of Keens and Christmas was approaching. Maybe I'd leave my hiking shoe purchase up to my husband. For Christmas, I did receive a new pair of Keens, but they were hiking boots, not shoes. My husband just couldn't bring himself to but me the shoes I wanted.

On December 26, I laced up my new boots and headed out for a four to five mile hike. My feet felt like they'd been wearing these shoes forever! Inspired by how wonderful Keen shoes feel on my feet, I decided to e-mail Keen and just ask...How long should I expect my shoes to last? In my old running days, I knew I should replace my shoes every 400-500 miles. Hiking shoes obviously wear too, so what should I expect?

My answer came from a very kind customer service rep., Nina. I asked my questions and stated that I was just looking for answers to convince my hubby that I was making a good choice. If you've ever lived with someone who has had the opportunity to say, "I told you so!" then you know just how annoying THAT can be. I was trying to avoid that if possible by arming myself with answers.

A few weeks later, I received a replacement pair of Keens in the mail! :)

My hubby was surprised. What did I need to do? Didn't they want my old pair? What if I made up my original ownership? He can be such a skeptic.

Winston has on his favorite foot gear, and so do I! We leave our marks all over the snowy or muddy trails.
Just last week I crossed paths with another hiker and I noticed that we all check out one an other's footwear, whether we realize it or not, and he was the one who commented..."I see you wear Keen's too!" Nina, did you plant him here? :) His name was Blue (I suppose that's a nick name and spelled that way) and both he and I went on and on about how we love our Keen shoes! He's had his for over three years.