Columbia Hiking Boots Review for Women

Anyway, my favourite place to hike is our farm, which is nestled in the foothills of the Appalachians.  It's a nice 300 acres with around 200 of it being woods.  There's steep ravines, caves, some large rock outcroppings and lots of large fallen trees to walk along and climb over.  Jeff likes exploring their hollow insides.  It's great fun and lets me spend time with the little rascal and get my exercise in at the same time.


Unfortunately, my hiking boots bit the dust and I'm looking for a replacement pair that's not going to kill my budget, and yet be of good quality so I'm not wasting money.  Yeah, I’m sure some of you are thinking I should just wear a pair of cross-trainers or something.  Cross-trainers are fine for hiking through your local neighbourhood park, but I live in the foothills of the Appalachians - wearing cross-trainers would only get my ankle broke.

Today, I ran across this little baby.  It’s the Columbia Sportswear Women's Ashlane Mid Omni-Tech Hiking Boot.  It’s a beauty.  Columbia is an excellent name in outdoor products, so you can’t go wrong with buying Columbia hiking boots.  Here’s the low down on this pair of Columbia hiking boots for women:

• The waterproof suede and mesh upper is backed up by Columbia's Omni-Tech waterproof breathable membrane.
• The gusseted tongue blocks trail debris from sneaking inside during your hike,
• The AgION anti-odor treatment prevents your fellow hikers from giving you embarrassing nicknames once you take off your Ashlanes at camp.

Anyway, I like them and they're now sitting in my wish list at amazon.  They normally run between $75 - $95, but you can pick them up at amazon for anywhere from 39 - 41% off the regular price, depending on how big your foot is.  I’m a size 8, so my pair of Columbia hiking boots is going to cost me $56.47.  Pretty good, huh!  One more very important thing - they all come with FREE shipping.


So there ya have it!  If you’re like me and after that next pair of hiking boots - grab these up while they’re still available in your size at amazon.  

   Have a great weekend!    Yo and Jeff the hiking cat


PS: Jeff the cat has his own blog. He hasn’t posted in it since his brother died.  But here’s a link to one he wrote after we got back from a long hike: How Dare You Human!

Stinky Feet and Watermelon!

Imagine your feet being on fire from an afternoons hike in very hot hiking boots. Can you feel the sweltering heat around your feet? Can you feel your feet burning? Can you feel them swelling in your boots? Is grass dying around your feet from the stench? That was my feet yesterday after going on two afternoon hikes. The first hike was voluntary. The second was because I lost a cat.

A little background on the hiking trip. I have three cats who love to hike with me: Bindi, Jeffie and Squeeky. I can't go near the hill without them running up to go on a new adventure. I love having them tag along. I'd miss a lot of things without them being my extra pairs of eyes.

The problem is, Bindi has a nasty habit of never staying with the group and this time was no exception. We were over half way home when I looked back and Bindi had vanished. I spent around 15 minutes calling him and finally surrender to the heat and thirst.

I went home, cooled down, drank, ate, pulled my stinky hiking boots back on and went in search of my little rebel. Anyway, long story short. He'd gone back to Good Medicine Camp and waited for me to find him.

Anyway, by the time we got back my feet were on fire. This was the perfect time to try out Avon's new Foot Works Watermelon Cooling Foot Lotion . All I can is my eyes closed, a little smile broke across my face and between the cool feeling on my feet and the smell of watermelon - I was in heaven. I'm so hooked. I hope they don't stop selling this one.

This is one to stash away in your pack or handbag. Don't wait until you need it. Put it on and enjoy the feeling of happy feet!

Skin So Soft vs The Ticks!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

The Coming of the Tick!

That line rather says it all! Anyway, rather than write about ticks, I decided to test out my new software toy and record it. Click here to listen to my little tip!

Lessons from a tinkle

Yes! You heard that right! Today, it's a lesson I learned from a tinkle and it goes like this.

When I go hiking, I take a little spade with me to dig tiny potties all over the hillside. The cats, Bindi, Jeff and Squeeky think it's a lot of fun attacking the spade and recovering the hole. On one occasion, Bindi thought the hole was perfect for him and snitched it. Anyway, my bladder finds the whole process a torture.

I'm not sure what triggered the awareness (duh, it took me long enough), but despite washing my hands afterwards, I decided I needed something extra to make sure my hands were clean.

I sat wishing I had something antibacterial-wise and remembered I had a small tube of Avon's Naturals Anti-bacterial hand gel on the shelf that no one had bought yet. Notice I said "on the shelf" so I was still stuck. :]

Yes, I know. If you read the first post on my blog about antibacterial soaps, etc., you'd know I'm not fond of them, but there are moments when they can be very handy.

Anyone who's been backpacking or simply hiking knows you don't get a good handwash when you're out on the trail. You sorta make do with what you have. I've used sand, mud, rocks and other interesting items to clean my hands.

The thing is, without a good wash, you stand a pretty decent chance of giving yourself some sort of bacterial poisoning like salmonella. What's that mean? Mamash bad cramps and lots of lovely diarrhea or worse! The perfect companion on a long hike. lol

So, take a lesson from my tiny potties and play it safe by keeping a bit of antibacterial gel on hand. Remember to make sure it's one with a restoring lotion to keep your hands from drying out. :]

Now, stop sitting in front of your computer and go take a hike and get some fresh air! :]

Windburn...ouch

Yesterday, our lovely 50 and 60 degree weather took a major dive down to windchill's 5 below. The nice winds were blasting gusts up to 60mph. It made hiking a bear.

Yes, I was crazy enough to be out hiking. It wasn't so bad the climb up, because the wind was pushing me. The way back was a killer. The cold air took my breath away and I could feel my cheeks burning. That's when my frozen mind woke up and I began thinking about windburn.

Windburn is slightly nice. It gives you that good red healthy outdoor look! It's also freaking nasty because it itches.

Not all blasted red looks are actually windburn, though. Sometimes it can be sunburn or both. We all know what a sunburn is and how we get it, but not everyone knows what windburn is. So here's the scoop! Windburn is the result of the top layer of oil being removed from the skin. No oil means major dryness, which means you turn red and burn.

Basically, you can prevent it from happening by using sunscreen. The moisturisers in it protects against windburn. However, technically, the moisturisers in sunscreen aren't enough to protect you from windburn, so you need to apply an extra moisturiser.

A great one you might want to consider is Avon's Hydra-Radiance Moisturizing Day Lotion SPF 15. With the SPF 15, you don't need to apply sunscreen - it's already there. The moisturiser is designed to penetrate up to 10 surface layers deep. That means, the wind can wipe out the first layer and you still have nine more protecting you. :]

Anyway, if you're like me and spend a good deal of time outdoors, you might want to give it a try! You can't lose and Avon gives you a 30 day money back guarantee, so if you don't like it - send her back. :]

If want to give it a try, you can order it through my Avon link on the side.

Make it a fun and exciting day!
Yo

Those achy, achy feet....

Just about every day I'm out on the hill hiking up ravines, along ridges, following logging trails or simply hiking to my secret spot soaking in everything around me.



Over the weekend, I went on a really tough trek up through a rocky ravine behind the pond. There was still patches of ice in places and the soft ground up the sides made the trek long and difficult. It was worth the trip though. The massive slab of ice hanging down from the waterfalls over the cave, with water still falling through the middle was beyond words.

By the time I got back, my feet were killing me. This was the perfect time to try out my new demo of Avon's bath brush.

My last brush was from Bath and Body. It breathed it's last breath several months ago. The bristles were so soft it made taking a bath a treat.

Avon's brush is my new favourite. The bristles are firm, so you know you're getting clean, something I wasn't always sure of with my old favourite. Where the B & B relaxed you, this one wakes you up and makes you feel great.

My favourite part about Avon's brush is the massage surface on the back of the brush head. You can't even begin to imagine how that felt on my aching feet. Let's just say I repeated, "Aaaaahhhhh...." with every stroke. :]

Combine the new bath brush with Avon's naturals strawberry and guava bath gel, and your practically in heaven. :] The best way to describe the new bath gel - it smells just like a homemade strawberry milkshake. Time to drool!

One last thing, I also like the hand grip. The finger groves makes it easier to hang on to.

Anyway! It's something you might want to check out. You definitely can't go wrong with it. So, keep dropping by the Avon site. I think it's coming up in the next campaign.