Au Revoir, Louboutins – Hello, Salomons!

I gave myself a trail name – not just to pre-empt being given names like Snot Rocket or Grandma Slowpoke, but also to be something those  following my journey can really relate to.  Hey, if it worked for AWOL and Badger, it will (hopefully) work for me.

So my trail name is Katwalk.

It comes partially from my first name. It includes my means of getting to Maine. And it is also part of my destination – Katahdin.

Of course another kind of catwalk is all about fashion. Well, I like fashion – a lot.   I like looking at the photos and videos from international fashion weeks and awards shows and following another Kate who is married to a Prince, but my fashion fascination will be taking a big change. Pretty soon it will be all about performance and not so much on looks.

I have a pair of these shoes. I love them. They hurt my feet and I still love them. They are the ultimate FMPs and are the most expensive shoes I will ever own.  (Don’t judge me – if you have never experienced shoe lust, you can’t imagine the longing…)

 

The second most expensive shoes I have ever bought look vastly different – like this. I have a funny feeling that there will be days (like, maybe everyday) that my feet will hurt in these, too.

 

The AT is a place where I hope to learn about what is important to me.  Will six months of living in the woods cure me of a shoe addiction?  Will it make me appreciate the wild parts of our country more….or less?  Will I become more resilient…or realize that I am a big crybaby and give up?

Somewhere along the 2189.2 journey to Maine, I hope I will also have a journey to me…sixty years into life, sore feet and all.