Without Boots

Up there with forgetting a passport or plane ticket, forgetting one's hiking boots as one prepares to fly to an Annapurna circuit start point ranks up there. My Dansko clogs - house shoes - had lulled my feet right out the door, right past my boots in the hallway. Look at all the other good trekkers on my flight - collapsible-aluminum walking sticks, North Face tip-to-toe and sturdy hiking boots. Me in clogs.

And trekkers abroad are a critical lot. Lots of eying - fleece (check), yellow pack (a bit small but North Face so check), stretchy, resilient-looking pants that appear sporty (check), yellow thread round wrist (some head-nod to Buddhism which is a big, though vague, check). Then they look down...I tuck my feet in shame.

UPDATE: Bought over-priced, under-padded hiking boots in Pokhara - sort of no-name, no-technology boots. You can buy everything in Pokhara, you can even rent a lot of things but not hiking boots if you have size 6 feet.