Lessons

I learned two important things today. Against all odds, it happened to actually be a nice day. No rain, not even cloudy! Since the sun's presence is somewhat of a rarity around here, I thought that I should take advantage of it. Besides, what better way to help break in my new hiking boots? A slow, and daunting task. It usually takes me a while to break in boots. They fit awesome the first time I try them on, but then as I slowly use them, they become uncomfortable in several different ways. Then begins the process of them becoming comfortable once again as they conform to my strange, strange feet.

Since I'm on the subject of my new boots, I'll begin with lesson #1: Don't walk in streams with light hiking boots! There are a few good reasons why I went with the Vasque Breeze, and the first, as the name of the boot implies, is that they offer respectable ventilation for a waterproof boot (obviously they're Goretex, but they also have several patches of mesh-y cloth to allow ample airflow. Which is great for me, as my feet are prone to sweating. And if I'd gone with heavy, sturdy backpacking boots, it wouldn't matter that they were waterproof if the weather was warm. Second, I've heard that heavy boots can take days to dry after getting wet (because given enough water, there is no boot that is completely waterproof). This was confirmed by Julie today. And even my previous boots (which were also lightweight), could easily take about a day or two to dry if they were kept indoors without ample airflow. And there's nothing worse than putting your dry feet into a still-wet boot before a day of hiking! So I'm glad I went with boots that will dry faster. However (and I did read this previously), they also get wet faster, despite being Goretex. To be fair, the insides were merely damp after walking in a creek. Sort of like how the inside of a Goretex jacket will be damp on the inside if it's been out in the rain. But it usually doesn't get any more than just damp, and my clothes stay dry underneath. So we'll see how the boots work. I'm sure that it's impossible to find a truly adequete hiking boot. One way or another, your feet will get wet! Whether this be from sweat, or external sources of water. The question becomes, is it better to get your feet wet more frequently but have boots that dry quickly, or have boots that keep water out in all but the most extreme circumstances, but take forever to dry. Also, in warm weather the sweat will be a problem in terms of comfort, though this certainly won't soak the boot and therefore drying isn't an issue. So what's the moral of the story? Yes, it's a tradeoff, and I think I made the right choice. I just need to get used to limitations (i.e. instead of walking through many puddles on an otherwise dry day and risk reaching that dampness threshold, avoid getting my feet when when possible).

Now onto lesson number two that I learned today. Nettles here are kind of a bitch. The nettles I've run into back on the eastern side of the country never really bothered me that much. Sure, they were a bit painful, but it was like a very mild sting, and gone after a couple of minutes. Still, some people really hate nettles, and I just figured they didn't affect me as much. That was until today. Perhaps it was because I encountered a species that I hadn't come in contact with before, but the effect was definitely exaggerated! When I first came in contact with it, the initial "sting" was a little more painful (still not very high on the scale of painful things though) and then the lingering painful numbness. Which usually dissipates after a few minutes. This didn't. In fact, at 10:45 pm as I type this, I can still feel the "sting." Perhaps whatever toxin/acid that this species has is more persistent in animal tissue. Interesting. I wonder how common this stuff is.

After WA

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted anything on here. This won't be very long since I'll have to leave for work soon. Yay for late days! I spent the extra time I gave myself in the morning doing research for the road trip at the end of August. So far Olympic NP, North Cascades NP, and Banff NP (Canada) are the three main targets for the return journey. I'm tempted to head up to Alaska, but I think that would be pushing it in September.

I've also thrown around the idea of substitute teaching when I get back to OH. The demand is high, and I honestly don't think I'll have much success finding an appropriate job in October or so. I can just teach until I hear about some seasonal positions in NPs. They'll most likely start in spring. Not sure which park yet, but that's the general plan that I'm leaning toward. Of course who knows what else might come up.

Yesterday one of the kids found a western red backed salamander (Plethodon vehiculum) at Stillwater. This place is basically a meadow, and the adjacent riparian forest that we're widening is not the greatest quality for Plethodontids. Oh well, it was a pleasant surprise, and I taught them about mimicry :D