Breaking in the Boots (Part I)

As anyone knows, after buying a new pair of hiking boots, it must be broken into first. So that is exactly what I did this past Sunday. The pair that I bought was already comfortable enough I decided to go out on a short hike with it. As I said in my last post, I bought two brands of socks (three different kinds). Naturally, I tried out one on my little hike to see how it performs. :)

That's the liners. I bought two of those. Someone once told me that it's great to use liners under socks when you're just trying to break in a new pair of boots because they prevent your feet from getting blisters. These FoxRiver liners are "wick dry," which supposedly means that they take your sweat and pass it on to the outer layer. If you are wearing a pair of socks over the liners then they absorb the sweat from the liners. These liners are also supposed to regulate the temperature of my feet.

Overall, I think they did a really good job. I had some moments when my feet were heating up, but they would go away and didn't bother me for long. Moving on to the socks itself.

This is Thorlos moderate cushion Light Hiking socks. On the night that I bought my socks, I tried all of them on with the liners, and these fit very comfortably. This pair actually has a system called Coolmax which is supposed to make your feet cooler than the regular backpacking/hiking socks. The label also says that they wick moister better.

While I was hiking they felt really nice on my feet and supported them really well. There were no discomfort or overheating. The socks also didn't restrain and squeeze my calf so much, which I really liked. It didn't even leave any mark when I took them off after my hike (which lasted for four hours). Overall, a good pair of socks I plan on sticking with.

My "short" hike was at the Malibu Bluffs Park. It was actually my first time going there, although I've been living across from it for two years now. I guess I was too lazy to walk down the hill. Actually, I was too lazy to walk back up. Hahaha! Anyway, I heard many times that there are trails there leading down to the ocean, so I decided to go down and have a little adventure of my own.

Regrettably, I forgot to bring my camera. It was a nice day out; I put on my sunscreen and everything. I brought my work along, but didn't end up doing them. Hehehe. The trail starts at an area further into the park where there were white picnic tables. I gotta say though, the start of the trail seemed pretty discouraging. It was hella steep!

I was so scared I was going to slip and break my leg or something. Thankfully, I didn't. I took really small, baby steps down. Also, there were these plants that look like they have flowers, but with closer inspections, those things have thorns in them! I guess I was lucky because I was wearing my long pair of jeans. I get pricks every now and then, but nothing serious.

The trail that I chose actually leads down to a road with rows of houses right by the beachfront. I decided to walk along the small road all the way to the end. There were some public entrances to the beach along the way hidden between the houses. I went down one of them to take a rest and there were some people there with their dogs. One of the black labs ran up to me and smelled my hand for a bit. Hahaha. He was cute.

The beach at the end of the road was pretty crowded, despite the fact that it's pretty secluded. Well, a lot of cars passed me by while I was walking, so that shouldn't be surprising. Then, along the way, I saw a dead squirrel in the middle of the road. I was like, "awww... poor little thing." On the trip back, I was walking up to the place where the squirrel's body is and I saw this big bird.

It was a vulture.

First of all, how the heck did it know there was a dead squirrel in the middle of the road? Second, we're by the beach for crying out loud! I didn't know vultures live near the beach. I know the Santa Monica Mountains is not too far from there, but still. A vulture? Really?

It was interesting nonetheless. The bird was picking at the dead squirrel in the middle of the road when a car came along. No, the car didn't hit it. But the bird got up and flew past my head. Nature at its best eh? Cleaning up after herself and all.

I was so tired when I got to Alumni Park I had to rest under a tree and eat my mushy tuna sandwich. The sandwich would have been gross in any other situation, but I was too tired to care. :D I lay there for a while before hiking up the hill back to my dorm.

I later figured I should have either brought a hat with me or sunglasses because my eyes were somewhat red. I used to think sunglasses were only for fashion and people with really sensitive eyes, but now I know better. Hah!