My hiking boots

(This post goes out particularly to my parents, Kat and Thomas, who were all unlucky enough to get caught up in the saga that I am about to describe.)

Purchasing hiking boots and getting them ready for this trip involved the following:

• approximately twenty hours of shopping in Covent Garden over five days in the space of a week
  
• trying on so many pairs that I wore away the skin on my fingers tying up laces
  
• purchasing and then returning five pairs after getting them home and realising they were not comfortable enough
  
• one in-store almost panic attack 
  
• three exceedingly patient and sympathetic sales guys
  
• one knight-in-shining armour of a friend who stopped said almost panic attack becoming a full one
  
• one pair of volume reducers
  
• one pair of custom insoles 
  
• one pair of gel heel pads
  
• a sum of money off of which I could have lived comfortably in Nepal for a month
  

Strangely, at no point prior to heading of for six months did I feel consciously nervous about my travels, but it seems that I poured every bit of lurking anxiety into the search for the perfect hiking boots. 

So, after all that and a day hike to start breaking them in, the big question is 'are they actually comfortable?'  Well, almost.  On flat ground and ascents they are perfect.  They hardly rub at all, fit very well and there were more than a few times in Shivapuri National Park that I was grateful for their strong ankle support and solid, good-gripping soles.  The only problem, and one I couldn't have predicted, is that I was getting terrible cramping in my right foot on the way down.  I hope that this will resolve itself as I continue to wear the boots in.  Otherwise, I will just have to carry running shoes and change into those for such stretches.  If anyone has tips for avoiding such cramping, please let me know.  Overall, though, I'm pretty pleased with them and, of all the pairs I tried, reckon that I ended up with the right ones.