REI has become my second home.  I began in January, just lurking around the clearance room, hoping to grab a few great buys on shirts, shorts, fleece, things that will dry in half a day and are lightweight.  I tried on several pairs of boots, all to no avail.

One Saturday, I wandered over to the back pack section and found Chad.  He is my backpack fitter-guru-supreme, apparently, though we didn’t yet find a backpack whose fit on my body made Chad happy.  Oh, well, I’ve got 18 months, I thought.  We’ll get there.

Back to the boots section the next weekend, after more backpack trials, as I walked around the store with 25 lbs in the pack. After the purchase of Asolo boots, silk liners, SmartWool socks, I called it a day.

Now, I think, it would be helpful if I’d just start walking.