Scotland Gear: These Boots Were Made for Walking

Shoes:

As that old song goes, "these boots were made for walking." Unlike the song states, they're not actually boots.

There has always been this association between hikers and these monstrous boots that are made of all leather, completely bomb-proof, and weigh about 10 pounds. Unless you are climbing Everest, there is almost no practical purpose for these boots. In a nutshell, they are 'over-constructed.' Sadly, anyone whom has ever taken a weekend retreat or visited a popular state park has seen hikers with boots like these, tramping on like they're about to conquer the world, and now they have the boots to do it with!

In reality, the solution to this over-constructed boot is so simple: the shoe. Anyone whom has ever gone for a run in their favorite tennis shoe and ventured onto a trail knows that they still work. With a few modifications to the sole and some added stiffness, the cross-trainer was born.

Cross-trainers, or hybrids, are just that; a combination of the durability and safety of a boot with the comfort and lightness of a running shoe. Usually only ankle-high, the cross-trainer will almost always be marketed as "having the sole of a hiking boot." Yeah...right. While the cross-trainer incorporates so many fantastic things from both side of the spectrum, it is inconceivable to take the sole of a hiking boot and transpose it onto a shoe, partly because the shoe needs to remain flexible, and the sole of the hiker is simply too ridged.

It is important to note that the decisions you make about shoes (or boots) are 10% dependent on what others say, and 90% dependent on how they feel. After all, you will be the one wearing them. If you want to wear 3 pound boots that are more comfortable than their 1 pound counterpart, that is entirely your decision. There will be positives and negatives to every piece of footwear. You simply need to find the one that work the best for you.

For Scotland, I could come up with many good reasons to justify bringing a pair of boots with me. However, I feel that the cross-trainers are more comfortable and more in line with the way I walk. For that reason, I have decided to use of pair of Moabs by Merrell. There is a range of reasons I chose these shoes:

- I already had them from my last hike (as you can see from the picture, they are already quite dirty!). On top of not costing anything extra, they are already broken in. While this can be a long and tedious process, I found this pair quite easy compared to other shoes and boots I've used.

-They're lightweight. At a whole 31 ounces, they may not be the lightest available, but they're awfully close.

-Full Gore-Tex® XCR® protection. While no boot or shoe is 100% waterproof, these do a pretty good job with knowledgeable use, of course). In addition, they also are breathable, allowing water that did make it in, along with sweat and condensation, to escape.

-Vibram® soles. I love Vibram, as you'll see further on in the post. The soles of these shoes are made with TC5+ rubber, allowing for ultimate traction with plenty of flexibility.

-Durability. I was hesitant to by these at first becuase I'd heard many horror stories about them falling apart mid walk. But I have probably close to 500 trail miles on this pair and, after a wash, they look brand new. Trust me, this pair has taken a beating, too. Lets just say there was a small incident involving a bridge-less crossing of the Encampment River in spate. Through thick and thin, these shoes took it all!

While I really like these shoes and the price I paid for them ($50!!!!), there are shoes out there on the market I would like to try. Namely the GoLite line of shoes. GoLite has yet again innovated hiking. Their new shoes incorporate a 'metamorphic suspension' much like the independent suspension in a car. Which mean that instead of the cushioning the foot-bed of a shoe, they made the tred conform to the trail. While these would undoubtedly be some remarkable shoes, they are a bit pricey (think $200+) and are hard to find in stores.

However, there are times when a single pair of shoes will not cut it. There are other times when you just want to get those smelly things off your feet! For those reasons I have chosen to also pack with my pair of Vibram Five Fingers.

These shoes have been called many names by people who see me wearing them around (I think the best yet was 'duck shoes'). However, these are a pair of shoes that will never leave my side. The human foot is said to be one of the most complex parts of our body, with 26 bones and upwards of 100 muscles. In addition, research has shown that while shoes are sometimes necessary to protect us, they weaken our foot and leg muscles and leave them open to injury. Five Fingers help promote a more natural gait and are very ergonomic. Walking in them is virtually identical to walking barefoot, although the TC1 grade rubber on the bottom removes the pain, so much that I can and do routinely walk on graval and trail in them with no pain.

While walking in them is great, backpacking in them would require a little more effort. The main problem here is that they have literally zero arch support, so walking with a loaded pack is more strenuous than if you were in shoes. However, like all activity, ability comes with time. It took me several weeks to be able to comfortably walk for an entire day with these on. Given enough training, I'm sure I could manage with only the Five Fingers. However, I plan to restrict their use to river-fording and around camp/town use.

I am prepared to invest my full confidence in these shoes. I am comfortable saying I have faith these pieces of gear will only aid me in all my endeavors.

Scotland Gear: The Rucksack

In the next few posts I will be outlining the gear I will come to rely on when crossing Scotland on the TGO Challenge.

The Rucksack:

This essential piece of equipment has many different names, including rucksack, backpack, and campbag. Regardless of what you call it, it serves the same function; to protect you gear while making it all easily portable. Many years ago, almost all packs (the term I use most frequently) were built with little thought to not only weight, but also their ability to repel water. The fabric was heavy, although tough, and included many things that would be considered outrageous by almost anyone today.

When the lightweight and ultralight movements started (partly because of one company discussed a little later on here), we started to see the use of special nylons and polyethylene fibers. Soon, companies we 'impregnating' nylon with silicone, making it super strong and still rather light. The problem, however, is that the stronger the fabric, the heavier it is (generally). This is where Dyneema® gridstop nylon come into play. Although Dyneema is not fully waterproof, this allows the fabric to be breathable, allowing the wet air to escape. Dyneema is so light, in fact, that it will actually float on water. The fabric itself is also chemical and UV resistant. We've proven it's light, but how strong is it? Consider this: armed forces around the world use it as a bullet resistant insert, mainly because its twice as strong as Kevlar by weight.

Because of its high strength and low weight, GoLite has started building their packs out of Dyneema-reinforced 210 denier (medium/light-weight) ripstop nylon. In my opinion, Golite's quality is most evident in their Pinnacle pack.

Weighing in at a maximum 0f 26 oz, the Pinnacle (pictured at right packed full) is one of the largest packs by volume to weigh in as an ultra-light. With a maximum fill of 72 liters (4400 cubic inches), I will never have to worry about not having room. In fact, I chose this pack specifically for this trip because of its large capacity. With a no resupply at all I will need to carry 14 days worth of food. With nearly 28 oz per day, that's 24.5 POUNDS OF FOOD, which is far more than the average bag can hold, weight or volume-wise.

Another reason I chose this bag was the front pocket. While not too large, it is large enough to stash all my maps in, allowing for easy access when needed. Although I will still have to take off the pack, I won't have to go digging through everything inside the main compartment to find them. And with 8 different maps, I will be switching almost once a day. In addition to convenience, the pocket also has a light-weight zipper that is fully waterproof. This will allow me to put one more barrier between the rain and my only navigational resources.
You'll also notice in the picture on the left that the Pinnacle has a very bare-bones suspension system. There's a saying that the first place you should be ok with adding weight to is the suspension system on your pack. A good suspension can make a 40 pound weight fell like 20. I spent at least two hours in the store with this pack, trying it on and checking the straps. Here's a rundown of why this system works:

-The flat part you see at left is due to a foam insert that acts as the frame.At only 2 oz, its worth keeping in (I feel), and it's essential in order to keep things from shifting while walking and poking you in the back.

-The shoulder straps are padded from seam to seam. Although this adds a little weight, that's negated by not needing padding in the hip belt. There are also straightener straps that keep the top of the pack from tilting you backwards.

-The hip belt's main (and only) function is to keep the bottom of the pack nice and close, which improves your balance. While some hip belts will distribute a good amount of weight on your hips, I feel this not only hinders my natural stride, but is also unnecessary for weights under 40 pounds. I can, however, lower the pack a little and place a small amount of the weight onto my lumbar region for a short duration of time.

Another main problem I face is that once I near the end of the journey, I will have a lot less in my pack due to the consumption of food. One of the most annoying things a hiker can be forced to endure is the contents of his/her pack sloshing around because of empty space. Not with the Pinnacle, however! GoLite has invented a ComPACKtor system that incorporates two small compression straps on each side of the pack, allowing me to reduce it from 72 liters to only 26 liters. That means no matter how much is in my pack, I will be comfortable knowing nothing is sloshing around!

In short, this pack is both durable and light, the two main features I need. While I have not fully tested it in the field (kind of hard in snow and ice), I am prepared to invest my full confidence in this pack. I am comfortable saying I have faith this piece of gear will only aid me in all my endeavors.

-Shawn Grund

Route Planning 1: TGOC 2009

After my first four day weekend, I just sat down with my calender and realized that I haven't posted here in a full month.

Although, in that month I have been pretty busy. I worked full time for nearly four weeks while back home in the cities, stashing up just enough money to purchase my plane ticket. Which leads me to the next event. Prior to this past week, Challenge 2009 was still tentative. With the purchase of my plane ticket, there is absolutely no backing out now. It's either step up and do it, or take the $1000 hit I've spent on travel and accommodations.

Now that I have cemented my decision to do the TGO Challenge this year, I have tons of work left. The most prevalent of which is getting my route planned and submitted, where an esteemed vetter will look at my route and give me feedback on feasibility, safety, and underfoot. For this Challenge, the decision was made to have two due dates for route submissions. The first, which was the last day in January, was for an returning challengers. Clearly not me! The date I do have to worry about, then, is February 28th, when all other routes are due including my own.

The way the route criteria works is like this. Challengers fill out a Route Sheet, either a paper format or an electronic format, with the information of where they plan to go each day, elevation change, total distance in kilometers, and their stopping point for the night. In addition to my planned route, I need to plan a Foul Weather Alternative, or FWA. The FWA needs to be enacted to bypass any stretch of route that either leaves me exposed to severe weather, ascends above the 600 meter mark, or may become too long or steep. Most challengers take the logical path (no pun intended) and plan out where they want to go indiscriminant of FWA requirements. They would then plan the FWA as a backup to be used in case of severe weather where they are forced off their route.

Contrary to this I have been plotting my FWA from the beginning. My plan is to determine the most robust and clean-cut way across the country, which I call my Main Route. Rather than plan to take my high level route and switch to my FWA in times of need, I will follow the Main Route (my FWA) and switch to my High-Level Route only when/if the conditions warrant the more exposed route. This will lead to a more sure-fire bet that I will make it across, and will put me in fewer positions to have to make the decision to abandon a potentially dangerous stretch.

I encourage everyone to follow along in my planning process. I have been uploading route segments into Google Maps, where you can see the constant evolution of my route, and even leave comments if you think you see something I missed, either good or bad. Here's the link

TGO Challenge Route 2009

This is the part where I would usually try to be reassuring and tell everyone that this is in no way dangerous and that I will have no problem with this event.

That would be a lie.

The truth is this has the potential to be severely dangerous. Not only will I be on my own (for the most part), I will be navigating my way across a land I have never been to before, in possible conditions that trap even the best navigators. At the altitudes I'm reaching, It could still be snowing. Getting trapped atop one of the Munros would spell disaster. Anyone caught unprepared in these conditions would face numerous problems. Luckily, I will not be unprepared. I have plenty of experience in both long-distance hiking and cold-weather hiking. I've studied weather patterns and know how fast storms can come and go. I know my gear inside and out. Everything that goes on my or in my pack will be scrutinized and heavily tested before I put any faith in its abilities. In short, the set of skills I have are sufficient enough to help me make smart decisions and keep me safe no matter what region I decide to hike in.

As I finalize my route, gear, and other arrangements, I will post them here so that everybody can stay updated.

-Shawn

Operation Scotland: TGOC 2009

Every year, around the second Friday in May, 300 people embark from the west coast of Scotland with the intend of reaching the other side of the country within 14 days, all under their own power.

This year, The Great Outdoors Challenge (TGOC) will start on Friday, May 8th. Having started in 1980, the 2009 Challenge will be the 30th. In celebration, Roger Smith (Challenge Coordinator) and the Challenge Control have upped the limited number of participants to 380. In addition to the physical challenges involved with walking some 200 miles, participants must also plan their own route and supplies. Unlike the States, where hikers need to stay on designated trails to avoid trespassing, Scots Law protects walkers with the Land Reform Act of 2003, allowing them the freedom to roam as a public right. Because of this, Scotland has less a system of national trails and more a loose system of paved, gravel, dirt, and single/double-track paths. This presents the need for TGO challengers, especially those not from Scotland or familiar with the terrain, to spend months pouring over maps, planning and re-planning routes before the submission deadlines at the end of January and February.

With my nine Landranger maps from the UK's Ordinance Survey, I've spent the last three weeks meticulously looking them over, planning both my Main route as well as my Foul Weather Alternative (FWA) route. The progress I make will be uploaded to Google Maps under the user name grun0177. The direct link is here.

Currently, I am on semester break from college. Tomorrow I start work full time for the next three weeks, at which point I will return to Duluth and to college. With a loose schedule and classes on only two days of the week this coming semester, I will hopefully have ample time to finalize my plans for this trip, as well as ample opportunities to spend some four-day weekends out getting physically ready.

If all goes well, in five months I will be boarding a plan for Scotland.

-Shawn

Hiking With the Lake; From Canada to Two Harbors

On Saturday, May 17th, 2008, I embarked on my first major backpacking trip. The trip featured all 205 miles of Minnesota's Superior Hiking Trail. Hiking the first 10 days by myself and the last three with a few of my relatives, I thru-hiked the trail in 13 days with an average of 18 miles per day solo and 9 miles per day in the group.

Here's a quick recap I wrote shortly after returning home:


"Over two weeks ago, I left everything and everyone that I knew to seclude myself on the North Shore of Lake Superior. After a short car ride up the highway, I walked away from my family, not more than a stone's throw away from the Canadian border.

I set out walking not to commune with nature or to contact my inner self. I left for 14 days to find what drives us as individuals, as a society, and as humans.

The reality of my acts became apparent before the first day was out. The trip had been in 'proposal' mode pretty much up until the moment I started walking. It hit me within the first few hours the severity of the situations I had willingly exposed myself to. While I pride myself on my knowledge, I lack the ability to control the elements, and those were my biggest risks.

My second night nearly brought disatser. The pump filter I was using to clean my drinking water broke into several pieces. With the knowledge that the filter was beyond repair, I used my two emergency iodine tablets to clean two liters of water. I officially had no way to obtain more drinking water, as any and all groundwater could contain deadly Guardia bacteria or an even worse Crypto cysts. With the realization that I was 22 miles outside of Grand Marais, I woke at 5 am the third day and moved about as fast as I could to get into Grand Marais before the shops closed. I then opted to buy a chlorine dioxide solution called Aqua Mira, which is similiar to the process used to clean water in large city centers.

Without much human cantact, nor much to do, I decided to turn inwards and stretch the physical bounds of my body. Carrying 14 pounds of gear, plus 4 days of food (8 pounds) and 4 liters of water (8.8 pounds) at any given time, I woke at sun-up and hiked until the sun went down or until I fell down. Days four, five, six, and seven brought 23, 24, 26, and 20 miles, respectively. By days eight, I was 32 miles, or about a day and a half ahead of where I had planned to be. With this, I slowed to a mere 17 miles a day, and coasted into Split Rock Lighthouse State Park 24 hours before I was supposed to. On day 12, after a full day of zero miles, I left Split Rock once more in the company of my Mother, her husband Paul, and his duaghter Andrea. from there, we crawled a mere 9 miles a day for three days until we reached Two Harbors, offically walking 206 miles of trail, and 235 miles of total distance.

I learned that it is not nature that sets us free, it is ironically civilization. Human Enginuity is not an un-natural thing. We were granted the ability to manipulate, to create, and even to destroy at our own free will. We have the ability to eliminate risk and random chance from our existance. It takes, I guess, the partial removal of this gift to truly understand its full value. We take for granted the things that we define as normal. The ability to communicate with anyone at anytime. The ability to move and travel faster than our physical bodies can take us.

While time may be a concept of nature, it is certainly an invention of man. Hour, minutes, seconds, weeks...they mean nothing to the world outside humans. Time is a label we have placed on our day-to-day lives based the the solar movements. Nature cares not what time humans say it is. It has free reign to snow in May, to be 70 in January, and to hold back the morning light a few extra moments if it sees fit. While part of nature, humans are not considered in the grand scheme of things. Our planet does not rely on us, we rely on our planet. At any point it could shift slighlty and wipe a town or city out of existance with a tornado, or pour tons of gallons of rain on someones special wedding day. nature does not care what we plan to do or actually do. It is independent of us, while we are fully dependent on it.

Two weeks of solitude has not changed who I am at heart, it has merely effected the glass through which I see the world. The world is not a Human place, the world is not ours to dominate. Nature, and only nature, holds the true power and control over the happenings of this planet."


In addition to recaps such as above, I recorded the trip with the help of my trusty Flip Video camcorder. The documentary is in 3 parts, totally about 28 minutes. The video itself is pretty rough, as the idea to create a documentary was a last minute decision. Basically, the video will guide you through the experiences and situations I went through. It might be hand to have a coy of the guidebook at hand if you own one, or visit the SHTA website (link above) for online maps.

Note: The quality of the embedded videos is not so great. If you watch them on YouTube (keyword Shawn Grund) you can switch them to high quality.


Part 1


Part 2


Part 3

Welcome to Walking Adventures!

Walking Adventures is a new start-up blog by me, Shawn Grund. I'm a 21 year-old college student and am currently studying Communications, Mathematics, and Theatre at the University of Minnesota - Duluth. On top of my coursework, I work for Kirby Student Center Technology on campus as an A/V tech, I'm a research assistant in the Communications Department under Dr. Ryan Goei, and I also serve on the College of Liberal Arts Technology Advisory Committee.

I grew up in the south suburbs of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Having been a product of public schooling my whole life, I made the choice to continue my education at a public university. This is a strict contrast to almost all public figures we see on a day-to-day basis. The media are filled with people from affluent families who went Ivy League, just like their parents. I feel that the public school system in the States takes more heat and criticism than it deserves. People all over the country tell our lawmakers that the schools are not working for them, that more needs to be done to guarantee the youth an education. What people need to realize is that an education is not given to you merely by attendance. You have to want to learn, you have to need to learn, you have to be motivated to learn. If you do not apply yourself in you education, what can you hope to apply yourself to? The pursuit of knowledge is considered one of the primary goals of humankind. We constantly pursue knowledge, attempting to understand, to know, or to comprehend. In all my studies in public school, I have applied myself to the fullest extent. The ultimate quest for me is NOT to get good grades and graduate college to get a good job (although that is A goal). The main goal for me is to fundamentally understand and to pursue full comprehension. My goal in life is to be living proof that public schools work, but only if the student is willing and wanting to learn.

In this blog you will find The Travels Of One Man; Me. This blog will entail all the adventures I take in life, most of which will at least incorporate my love for the outdoors.

For me, technology represents the pinnacle of human engineering and modernization, and this is one of the reasons I choose to pursue it. Some would say that backpacking and hiking represent the exact opposite. This...primitive...idea of human survival, of relying on only nature for survival. Many people connect hiking with pre-technological days, and therefor see no need for these outdoor adventures nor a use for modern technology when hiking.

This kind of thinking leads to those weekend "camping trips" where people who generally wouldn't be caught dead away from modern cities take these "roughing it" trips to see what they're made of and to 'survive' or 'outlast' nature. This thinking, however, severally misinterprets the point. We are always surviving nature, even while I sit here in my apartment. After all, what is technology if not a way to better cope with he adversity the world throws at us?

Hiking is not about the destination, surviving nature, the summit of that mountain, or reaching the other coast. Hiking is all about the 'getting there.' Its about each view you encounter, every step up the side of that mountain, and every bit of the path you walk before you reach the end. Hiking is no longer a hobby for me; Hiking is a way of life. Hiking is the fundamental idea that there are vistas and landscapes out there that beg to be viewed, mountains that beg to be climbed, valleys that beg to be crossed, and paths that beg to be conceived. From all my education, I have discerned a few things:

1) Humans are nomadic. We were meant to go where the food and water are and in fact thrive where environmental circumstances are best.

2) Human Innovation has impacted our nomadic ways, but have not eliminated them. The technologies and ideas we produce help us to make our lot better by improving our situation and bring the things we need for survival to us. Regardless, we are still nomadic beings. We still travel in search of better circumstances, and will always be trying to find a better place for our family.

For me, hiking is no different than every day living, except I get to see and do many new and amazing things. Backpacking to me is about seeing the wonders of our God-created Earth while retaining my human identity and mobility. I fully take advantage of everything I have learned that might befit me in the back country, and use any technology I can create or find in an effort to heighten my WALKING ADVENTURES.

-Shawn