Shopping

Tonight I bought my second pair of hiking boots in eight months. The first pair, which were the first ones I ever bought, don't fit me as well as I would like, even after wearing them on several hikes. So tonight I went through the agony and indecision of trying on several pairs in the Big Overpriced Sporting Goods Store in Trendy Downtown Neighborhood, the same place I bought the others. Just walking into that store is enough to give a person an anxiety attack--the variety of outdoor garments for every season and microseason, the shoes, the flip-flops, the boots, the socks, all divided into endless categories: women's, men's, walking, running, trail walking, light hiking, serious hiking. It's all very alluring, and there are many things I need (or think I need) for an upcoming trip, but also, like I said, anxiety-provoking. Too many decisions to make, too much potential for overspending.

At any rate, I forced myself to go through the ritual of trying on boots in different sizes to try to accommodate my inconveniently wide feet. The boots that are wide enough tend to be too long, alas. And then I'm still not really sure how they're supposed to fit. So, after much deliberating and consulting with the helpful but harried clerk, I settled on a really big size that I think will be okay with inserts in the sole. Who knows, though? Also, just as I was deciding to get them, a woman who was also trying on boots asked me about where they "fell" on me. I couldn't even understand what she meant at first--then I realized she was asking if I thought I'd be okay with boots that did not go up really high around the ankle, as the ones she was trying on did. I said I thought they'd be okay. Then her boyfriend, or husband, piped up in that annoyingly authoritative way some men have. He said, "Well, those are okay for relatively flat surfaces, but for anything steeper, like rock scrambling, you need something something with more support."

Great.

I sought reassurance from the clerk, as he was putting them in the box. "These are good for, like, going up and down, right?"

"You mean, like on the trail?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"Yes," he said, "as long as you're not carrying more than 30 pounds or so on your back. They might even be a little overkill. It's kind of like taking a motorcycle to a bicycle race--but like I always say, would you rather bring a motorcycle to a bicycle course or a bicycle to a motorcycle course?"

I wasn't sure this really helped me, but I had spent enough time in the store. (How much, you ask? Probably an hour and a half, all told. It was kind of a madhouse, actually. I was heartened, somehow, to see that the economic crisis wasn't stopping people from buying hiking boots.)

So I packed up the new boots, and the inserts, and the cargo pants that I also had my eye on, paid for them, and got out of there.

Now I'm going to sleep, because shopping is exhausting.