What Five Years in the Same Boots Taught Me

Five years, one pair of Timberlands. I bought them thinking they’d last a season—maybe two—before Canada’s trails chewed them up. But they held on, stubborn as I was. There’s a photo I never posted: mud-caked boots on a rock, knees scraped, rain in the background. I remember thinking, I should feel more accomplished. But mostly, I just felt tired. Not the kind of tired that sleep fixes—the kind that settles in your bones, the kind you carry home. Everyone talks about the views, the summits, the gear. No one talks about how your favorite boots start to smell like every mistake you made along the way. Or how you keep wearing them anyway, because breaking in something new feels harder than another mile in the old ones. #Travel #TrailTruths #HikingConfessions