These boots are made for walking!

Brand new boots!

Never in my life have I walked so much in snow. Or, at least, not that I remember.

It is possible that I had better boots in my early years, when I was dependent upon shanks' mare for transportation. Though I contend that Ottawa gets more snow than either Burlington (where I grew up) or Kingston (where I went to university).


In any case, the boots that I have relied on for the past five years or so simply were not cutting it when it came to walking Kane.

They were attractive and "sensible" with very low heels, but had virtually no tread.

What little tread they once had has been worn down over the years. And the daily long walks on snowy trails and rough roads (our little neighbourhood has no sidewalks) was taking a toll on the seams and soles as well.

In desperation to remain standing while Kane was at his worst (and ice was ever-present), I invested in ice tracks (pattens) that fit over the soles of my boots.

Unfortunately, as you can see in the above picture, the heel of the tracks doesn't quite meet the end of my boot. As a consequence, it made me rather tippy if I leaned back at all. Like if I squatted down to adjust Kane's collar or take a picture.

Today, after slipping a little while climbing a gentle slope, I had had enough. So I went boot shopping. I had two requirements:

1. A long upper so I could walk through reasonably deep snow.
2. A seriously heavy-duty tread.

 The boots I found at Mountain Equipment Coop fit the bill. Check out this tread.

You can see Kane's paw in the upper-left of the picture. He wanted me to test them RIGHT NOW!

As a bonus, they have a thick furry lining to keep my toes toasty. They aren't as pretty as my previous boots, but they are more practical -- by a mile!

Happy trails to me!