The hiker's new shoes!

The list of hiking shoe candidates finally narrowed down to these three. Which would be the winner?

If there's one inescapable reality about hiking it's the fact that it involves a lot of walking.

Now how's that for a profound statement?

But it's true -- and hiking in the wrong shoes can be a real killer of feet.

Looking at the trail miles total for Georgia's state parks, it occurred to me the other day that I was going to have to upgrade my footwear. New hiking shoes were clearly on the horizon, and this week's Job One has been to find 'em.

Buying hiking shoes, I quickly discovered, can be a complex undertaking. There are dozens of manufacturers, and most manufacturers have dozens of models. Then you've got all those sizes thrown in, with "regular" and "wide" versions just to make it even more interesting. You've got to think about your heels. You've got to consider your toes. You've got to find your way through the various materials the shoes are made of, the different lacing systems, the varying stiffness of the soles, the high-top vs. low-top debate, and all the rest.

Wow. What's a regular guy to do?

This regular guy started at one of the big-box sporting goods retailers. I know, I know...big-box stores may not be the best place to go for specialized technical outdoor gear. But it was convenient, so in I went.

They had shoes, all right, but I never got the help I needed. So...

I finally did what I tell my fly fishing students to do: I went to a specialty store.

A visit with the hiking shoe expert

The store I chose was Alpharetta Outfitters on North Main Street in Alpharetta. The business cards from this shop say that they're "passionately dedicated to furnishing fine outdoor gear as well as information and education." Passion for shoes? Well, that's what I needed, so in I went.

At the counter, I took a deep breath and admitted my ignorance in all things shoe-ish.

"I guess I need to talk to the resident hiking shoe expert," I said, and none other than Chuck Virgo, manager of the store, stepped up the plate.

Chuck Virgo, manager of Alpharetta Outfitters

To myself, I wondered if anybody could be passionately dedicated to something as mundane and potentially aromatic as helping people purchase shoes, but Chuck was up to the task. He was even enthusiastic about it -- surprise number one!

(And yes, I had washed feet and put on clean socks before going to the store!)

Chuck and I started by talking about what I wanted my new hiking shoes to do. We talked about the kind of hiking I was going to be doing. I told him I was in the process of hiking all the state park trails in Georgia for an upcoming book, and he surprised me again by actually being familiar with some of the trail challenges I was likely to encounter along the way.

Narrowing it down

As we talked, Chuck paused now and then to pull a shoe off the wall display and set it on the counter, commenting on various aspects of each model's design. We talked about the plusses and minuses of high-top vs. low-top. We discussed breatheability, tread pattern and the stiffness of the soles.

Later on it occurred to me that as we stood there talking about things shoe-ish, Chuck was getting the information he needed to make some specific recommendations. As we chatted, he would put one back and then another. Finally we were down to just a trio of different shoes.

"I think either one of these would be good for what you want to do," he said then. "Now it's just a matter of which one feels best on your feet."

Ahh -- time to try on shoes!

The first pair I tried, while nice in many ways, just didn't feel quite right. In particular they felt too tight across the top. So out came another pair.

I tried those on next -- and if it's possible to fall in love with a shoe, I did it then then and there. They felt, well, right.  I was ready to call it a deal.

But not so fast!

To the incline!

Down the incline!

Chuck now pulled out a small inclined board and invited me to try walking down it with the new shoes. There were, it seems, things yet to confirm about the behavior of toes and heels. So, feeling only a little bit self-conscious, that's exactly what I did. In fact, I walked down the little ramp several times, each time checking that the toes and heels were doing what toes and heels are supposed to do. And they were.

Check out time yet? No, not quite.

"Why don't you hike around the store a few times and be sure that they feel good?" Chuck said, and so I did. And they did feel good.

A bit later, Chuck asked, "So how are they?"

"They're great!" I said.

"Well, then," he said, "I think you've found your new hiking shoes."

Lessons learned about buying hiking shoes

So what did I learn from my adventure in the complex world of buying new hiking shoes?

I learned that there are lot of good hiking shoes out there.

I learned that it's not a one-size-fits-all affair and that it's great to have someone help you through the complexities of selecting the best ones for you.

I learned, again, how refreshing it is when the "buying" process is one that's service-driven and not just one where you are being "sold."

I got home from Alpharetta Outfitters about four hours ago, and I'm still wearing those new hiking shoes even as I sit here typing. They really are that comfortable.

In case you're interested, the shoes I got are Keen Targhee IIs, and I can't wait to get some trail mud on them. Of course, having the new shoes means that I'll retire their predecessors. But the old shoes understand, and they'll be looking on enthusiastically next week as my nice new shoes take me out on the next phase of discovering the hiking trails of Georgia's state parks.

Next time: History and resonance at Kolomoki Mounds