Jasper National Park: The long way through

March 22, 2011Blue Creek to Three Slides: Jasper National Park: The long way through

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. But sometimes even the toughest boots give up at some time. Reflections on leather boots.

5th day. Blue Creek to Three Slides– 15 km – Start 9:30 – Finish 14:30

It rained the whole night again – of course. My boots didn`t dry, it’s just too humid. I felt a bit like in the movie groundhog day. Every day I had to slip into the wet boots, no actually I slipped into a bathtub.

Today the question was if I should wear the dry socks (I dried them in my sleeping bag) or should I wear wet socks, because the socks will get wet anyway. What would you have done?

I decided to wear the dry ones. Anyway- I think now it is time to light the reasons of the boot issue. I wear heavy leather shoes. German fabric- I would say great quality. I have been wearing them for the last 6 years and they have never betrayed me before. But on this trip, I guess, they just gave up. The Alaskan and Canadian Tundra was just too much for them. Mainly it is because of the lack of proper care.

Mona wears the same kind of shoes. Both of us hadn`t put any kind of protection (wax or spray) on the shoes since we left Germany. The rain of the last weeks literally washed all the protection away. And leather boots work well. As long as it does not rain too much and you care for them. Then they will give you great comfort and breathability.

I have to admit that I underestimated the problem. Actually I had not thought about it before… but we had good news today: for a change the campground was really nice. Surrounded by mountain tops, on the edge of an open field, lies this campground. I cannot imagine how this place must look like with crystal blue sky. We haven`t seen any hikers so far, but I can say the same for wildlife…