I didn’t mean to walk that far this morning.  Now I’m tired. My body aches. My toes are sore. A two and a half hour hike should not be a problem on my day off, but wearing my boots on a hot summer morning felt a little like driving a moving van out to get ice cream instead of effortlessly cruising in my compact Subaru.

Yes, my summer Nikes are out of commission. They were free in the first place, handed down from my cousin in new condition after my old kicks went bald.  These tennies have taken me so many places over the past year; Rough Canyon, Mica Mine, Nothoroughfare Canyon, Monument Canyon, Liberty Cap, Echo Canyon, Black Ridge, Ribbon Trail, Ouray, Cedaredge, Fort Collins, Glenwood Springs.  But a couple weeks ago, I laced them on quickly and took a ramble over some wild property on Glade Park. On the way back to the truck, I felt like a nail was poking my left big toe. I had taken on a cactus needle from the plentiful pear cactus in the area. Since that time, I have prodded the shoe sole in vain in search of the renegade spine. Does anyone have a shoe sole X-ray machine?

Shoes and Choices The first day after taking on the cactus spine, I wrote: “Sigh, I am reduced to staying on the beaten path; and everyone knows how I like to hike off into the hills. But hey, at least I can still walk. And, I should be thankful I actually have a pair of shoes I can walk in – just not off the standard trail.” Converse are not bad for light hiking.  After all, they supported me down all the maintained trails on a spur of the moment trip to Arches National Park. But, the soles are rather thin for sharp rocks and small boulders, and the canvas sides?  Well, I’d best avoid the cactus by staying on the trail.

This morning I awoke in need of a challenging hike, so I pulled my boots from the trunk and added a pair of socks. Usually, the hiking boots don’t come out until the first snow and they were never meant to match my workout shorts, but it is August and western Colorado is a desert.  I headed up Holy Cross.  And up.  And up some more, and then opted to come back down the trail instead of meeting up with the road where heavy road equipment and 18 wheelers are going about their business. It not being winter, I was not wearing my great wool socks.  My toes started whining. Inspired by my boots, I decided to distract myself with beat-boxing.  “Boots’n Cats’n Boots ‘n Cats ‘n.”   I expanded my vocabulary as the sun sizzled and I perspired, “ “Boots’n Socks’n, Summer Socks ‘n Boots’n Socks’ n summer heat Socks!” (Ya just can’t dance to it).