Blast from the Past Thursday #29

I am clearing out my apartment, tossing the majority of the junk (not all the junk mind you - everyone's gotta keep some particularly good junk for art projects, don't they?), organizing, straightening, combining and packing items for a Goodwill drop. In the midst of all this freakish cleaning I came across my first pair of caving boots. I had stopped wearing them about 7 months ago after I discovered all the padding had finally worn out of the heels on a short hike that ended in some nice blisters. I've heard a 3+ year run for caving boots is pretty darn amazing, not to mention I'd used them for hiking during that time too. I decided I'd at least document them for posterity and then toss them in the trash. So I shot some photos, but as I lifted the lid of the trash bin I just couldn't do it. Was I really that sentimental about a stupid pair of boots? These boots have seen dozens of caves for the first time, been on hikes with a friend now lost, seen water, rocks, domes, and pits. A long, slow, moldy decay in a landfill somewhere for my trusty caving boots just didn't seem right. So I asked Paul if I could tuck them on a shelf in the garage so I could give them a more appropriate sending off at TAG. My boots are patiently waiting for next October, when the phoenix rises again from Lookout Mountain.