Travel Gear: Packing Hiking Boots

The first frost of the season nipped Minneapolis this week, signaling less cycling and more hiking. My boots are squeaky clean and ready.

Boots are bulky, which is an issue when flying with a small carry-on backpack. It’s amazing how much you can stuff into boots, then further reduce the bulk by tying the laces tightly.

I took the pictures at the top of this post a few years ago to show the contents of my boots. I no longer stuff anything metal or electrical into them since my collision with London Heathrow Security. I was grateful when the kind official put my suspicious-looking boots back through the X-ray scanner, rather than have me empty them.

Boot-cleaning station, Kirishima Kinkowan National Park, Japan.

Sometimes boots are subjected to an agricultural inspection at airports. I clean them before catching an onward international flight. When I get home, my partner gives them an extra wash, ready for the next trip.

Next week we’ll be walking parts of the Superior Hiking Trail. Packing will be easy: we’ll just drop our boots behind the front seats of the car.

My clean boots on the grubby carpet of a cheap Paris hotel room.