New Boots

My hiking boots are old and have lost most of their soles and all of their waterproof properties, and I haven't worn them in at least two years. 
I still have a pair of Raichle full shank hiking boots suitable for crampons, but they are stiff and uncomfortable and I don't really see crampons in my future. In fact I'm not really even sure where they are.

 I could probably make it through our upcoming weekend in Yosemite in tennis shoes, but prudence dictated getting a new pair of hiking boots, and how they have changed. I'm sure these boots, with no breaking in, would carry me comfortably to the top of Yosemite falls, but I'm less sure about my legs….  

We haven't been to the mountains since we moved, and getting ready for this trip has taken a fair amount of hunting out and rounding up and replacing of items such as hiking poles, rucksacks, water bottles, and long underwear. After the warmest March and April in recorded weather history here, it is now dreich and chilly and rain and even snow are predicted for the Sierra.

There was a time when all our backpacking stuff was ready to go with the  only last minute addition being shorts, a few t-shirts and a pair of jeans for the chilly evenings. But that was then, and this is now. We will not be taking a tent this time, but will be staying at the beautiful Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley. We will not be cooking freeze dried food on a camp stove, but joining our friends Anne and Harold for dinner to help them celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, and we will probably not be doing much hiking, but I can hope….