Are there no other female hikers with long, slender feet?
It appears not.
Standing 5’ 11”, it is not surprising that I have long feet to match – size 12AA Cdn. But good luck trying to find a pair of women’s hiking boots to fit.
That’s what I was told when I called several well-known suppliers of hiking equipment in Toronto. “No, we don’t stock that size,” were their repeated responses. Size 10 is common. Some styles go to 11. But good luck finding boots the size of boats.
Maybe the clerks weren’t that blunt, but I am sure that’s what they were thinking as they tried to envision a woman’s size 12 foot. It looks just the same as a size 8 foot on a 5’ 8” woman: proportional. Only size 8 is easier to buy.
Limited market demand may justify retailers not stocking size 12, but surely boot manufacturers have one or two styles for women with long, slender trotters.
Foiled again!
Email inquiries to three major boot manufacturers were met with polite apologies and promises to pass the suggestion to their product designers. But that doesn’t solve my problem today, my second day of training for a two-week hiking adventure in Tuscany next April 2012.
I posed my problem to the owner of Tent City in Vaughan, Ont. when I stopped to buy a rain poncho to ward off the showers that were threatening to dampen our hike in Caledon Hills.
He had a solution: Columbia’s Pole Creek™ Omni-Tech® men’s light-weight and waterproof day hiker. Too narrow for most men, the owner was planning to return all his stock to the manufacturer.
“Not so quick,” I lamented, and set out for Caledon with plans to return to Tent City by the day’s end.
This particular 12 km stretch of the Caledon trail took us up and down hills, testing my mettle and confirming that training months in advance of my overseas odyssey was a wise decision. It also taught me the importance of properly-fitting shoes.
I was surprised to find the ascents easier than the downward climb where my feet slid forward into my shoes. What were comfortable walkers in the morning, were toe crushers by the end of the trail.
Back at Tent City, I slid my tired feet into a size 10.5 men’s Pole Creek. Toe crushers on the decline.
“Don’t be concerned about numbers,” said the clerk when I reluctantly suggested a half-size larger. The boots fit, not quite like glass slippers, but I don’t plan on wearing them to a ball.
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