New New Boots

I liked many many attributes about the Vasque boots, but. . . . they had to go back. They had a niggly litttle achilles seam that drove me batty, so I've moved onto these boots now: Merrell Chameleon Arc Mid Waterproof Hiking Boots.

I gambled and wore these new Merrells (with no break-in at all) on a ten miler up to Castle Peak at Donner yesterday. That was my first hike in them, and they performed beyond splendidly. Grippy, comfortable, no hot spots or blisters. The PCT and Castle Pass trail are composed of a variety of terrain--floury dust, hard-packed dirt, sharp-edged granite, and loose scree/gravel/tiny rocks. The boots worked like a champ on all the surfaces with no problems at all.

I am going to exchange them for a full size larger, however, because my toes kept touching the toe-end of the boot, but I'm confident that these boots, once they're sized correctly, are the ones. And they're supposed to be waterproof.

And, for the first time evah, after the hike I have little to no problems with my plantar fasciitis. None! Normally, with my other shoes/boots, after my day-hike, I've ended up walking around truly crippled that night, stretching my feet on a tennis ball and taking ibuprofen, but with these Merrells, I have no pain at all. Nada. Zippo. Zilch. I've used green superfeet in all my shoes/boots, so the only difference is the boots. I'm sold.