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A Day in the Life of a Working Boot - Joe Leaper
BLOG 3: Meindl Vakuum GTX........ A Boot Made For walking
By Joe Leaper of Upland Access
The weeks roll by and as we work the path gets longer and so we walk further. An hour we walked today. From the car park at 635m, down the stairs, away from the tarmac and onto the gravel, the grit, and the granite. East, then southeast we go crossing Allt Coire an t-Sneachda over stepping stones, balancing and jumping between the boulders.
The Path swings southward and steepens as it rises up the ridge between Lurcher’s Gully and Coire an Lochain, the left hand arm of the vast armchair shaped corrie bowl left by the glaciers all those years ago. There is still snow in the corries, hidden away between the buttresses, even now at the end of July. The rivers still flow despite the unusually dry weather of the past week as the snow-melt feeds the lochain hidden in the corrie, which feeds the burn.
After an hours walk we arrive at the site, having gained just over 400m in elevation to a height of 1,060m and covered a distance of 3km. So at 60 steps per boot per 100m, or 600 paces a kilometre each boot has made 1,800 steps just on the way to work! So during this 7 day work stint each boot will make over 25,000 steps just walking to and from work… and that doesn't even count the number of paces taken during the rest of the day working around the site. It is a good job these boots were made for walking because that's just what they’re doing!
But equipment will only look after you if you look after it and these boots are ready for a little TLC. In the past month they have seen all the weather Scotland has to offer. Days of rain, wind and even snow, muddy bogs, puddles, water course, rivers and burns. Even some sun and dry dust. The recent dry and hot weather have also increased the heat and moisture coming from the feet within. The dirt and the mud are ingrained along the seams, hidden in the tongue and buried in the very soul of the boot, and the smell from within is of a certain vintage too.
Sooo 1,800 steps later and a short jaunt from the van to home, the boots get the treatment they deserve. They are washed with clean water and a soft brush, the dried dirt draining away. Laces are removed and tongue scrubbed in all those hard to reach places. Now the cleaner is used, Inside and Out. Sprayed and rubbed into the wet outer leather it foams and as it is rinsed away it takes with it the last of the dirt and muck.
The cleaner is mixed with water and sloshed about inside the boot, a boot full of water, I wonder if they leak…... ummmmm nope, not a leak in sight! Slosh the water away and rinse them clean again (must remember to remove the footbeds before adding the water next time). Once they are dry and smelling sweet I give them a little help, an application of Wetproof will revitalise the outer and help keep the water out longer.
So there they are clean, lean and smelling like a dream. Ready for walking and working, and maybe in another 50,000 steps (a month) they will need another clean but until then they can look after me just fine.
BLOG 2: Meindl Vakuum GTX........ Working Hard!!!!!
By Joe Leaper of Upland Access
That fresh leather smell has now definitely gone. These boots are being used and are in their prime. Stomping, stomping stomping up the hill they go. Crunching along the broken granite path and gripping the wet grass. The boots fit well and hug around their feet, every step helping to evolve them to a closer fit. They are comfortable and supportive to the feet within yet still rugged on the outside and weather proof despite!
The rain in Scotland is a wonder to behold, fresh sheets of pure wetness descend from the clouds. It is a wonder best viewed from the cottage window or a car windscreen at least, but when there is no other option it is best experienced face to face. It will awaken the senses and then soak you through. The only chance of dryness is through either modern technology or good old leather. So to combine the two in a single boot is the only hope to keep the water out and the warmth in.
"The luxury of dryness is a battle well fought
and dry feet are a luxury that must be well sought.
As these boots shed water,
as it beads, as it beads,
the toes of the wearer can relax and can breath.
The beads roll away over rubber and rind,
the days of wet feet now left long behind.
At the end of the walk there is work to be done.
(There is nothing exotic or romantic about digging a hole, even less about digging a hole in the rain, so here the poetry falls apart a little.)
The bottom of the sole hits the top of the spade that forces its way into the ground.
This breaks up the loose matrix of soil, grit and stone.
Digging all morning but not much gained,
the material produce is sieved and strained.
Mud and crud fly around and boots have to grip in the soft remains.
The fine material is used as the surface on flat sections of path, where, with the passing of time and many walkers boots it will strengthen and bond to form a stable and solid flat walking platform. The loosened rocks and bits can be used as an under layer for the top surface. They will go down first, smashed into place by a sledge hammer.
Consolidating the path surface by forcefully foot stomping up and down the path is a simple job but a satisfying process. Creating a uniform surface out of a pile of granite dust. The ground is sodden and the material is like like porridge but when it dries (if it ever dries...) it will set firm and solid and should last a while.
To have dry feet though a day of rain and work is both miraculous and great, and also quite rare. But it happened today and now these boots deserve some love and care...
BLOG 1: The new boots arrive... Meindl Vakuum GTX!!!!!
By Joe Leaper of Upland Access
The new boots arrive, neatly packed in their box. Wrapped in paper, they haven't seen the light of day since they left the factory in Germany.
The smell of fresh leather floats up through the air accompanied by the squeaking of new rubber as they touch down on the kitchen table for closer inspection. Whoops, new boots on the table. Is that not at least a few years bad luck? Ah, it doesn't matter, these boots don't need luck and they look ready to go anywhere!
For their first trial, a stomp up the stairs….
As the boots warm up, the material softens and each begins to take the individual shape of their new residents, one left, one right and both a little bit different.
For their second trial, a day working on Cairngorm….
The sun rises early as midsummer approaches. It rises and as it sneaks higher it illuminates the glens and mountains of Strathspey, waking the birds and melting the light frost, which midsummer or not, can still descend overnight. A new day, a fresh morning, blue skies and only a drop of wind - perfect conditions for a day in the hills. It would be great to be out roaming free, but a day working on Cairngorm is fairly acceptable in lieu. A great day to try some new boots.
They slip on a little quicker and lace up a little easier than yesterday. Comfortable from the off, as they venture outside for the first time. Each footfall, a new impact, growing one step older.
The number of footsteps taken grows rapidly. How many steps in a single day? How many in a week, a month, a year of work? And how many in the lifetime of a boot? They've got to be built to last.
Walking toward Cairngorm summit, feet warm and boots melding to the shape of feet-in-action. The sheen leaves the soles, rubbed away by the coarse granite underfoot. As an untried mass, the Vibram sole appears solid, rugged and sturdy but as contact is made with the ground the rubber will form and stretch around features, gripping and biting into the uneven ground. The greater the demand, the greater the grip! They hold the ground well as rocks are passed from one place and neatly fitted into another.
At the end of their first day, covered in a light layer of dust, with a few new superficial scuffs and scratches they start to look like a real pair of boots, and they are beginning to smell that way too! Their odour is no longer exclusively that of new leather, but that of the feet that wore them all day long, sweating and toiling. They are melded now to a new dynamic footprint. They've begun their individual journey, moving with the feet, flexing, taking the knocks and the scrapes. Their journey has begun.