Hiking Boots Adventure

     For this summer, I need new hiking boot. My old ones are really only suitable for day or overnight easy hiking, and this summer I plan to hike the Wonderland Trail (94 miles) and many of the other trails in Mount Rainier. On to the adventure, Gainesville lacks a good place to buy hiking boots, and the nearest REI store is located in Atlanta, GA (4 hours drive), and the nearest Gander Mountain is in Ocala, FL (1 hour drive). So on the way to my friends house in Orlando, I was going to stop and pick up some boots. This simple plan went wrong very quickly. The first issue was a wreck on I-75, so we took the back roads to Ocala. The next issue was finding Gander Mountain. According to their website, the store was located right off the interstate. It was, but it was hidden behind a couple of building and missing a sign by the road.
     Once in the store, my boot choices were quickly narrowed down to two boots:

• Timberland® Chocorua Trail-Hiking Boots
• Vasque® Boreas GTX Women's Hiking Boots  

     Both boots were light weight and water proof. They were the same style boot that provided ankle support. I decided on the Timberland boots, because they were slightly lighter and had a better fit. Also, while at Gander Mountain, I got hiking socks and liners.