On one of my “gettin’ lost” adventures with Terry Bailey we wandered down around the Elkhorn Creek near Frankfort Ky.   We were coming up on the put-in for a canoe livery where the canoes and kayaks were lined up and stacked in a bright splash of color.   A truck with a trailer load of additional canoes was pulling in so we slowed to wait for them before we drove in to go down to the creek.

As we waited, we looked off to the side and saw an old fence post.  Hanging on the post, a blown out pair of hiking boots.   Someone had run them hard, and finally the boots gave way under the strain of the miles.

I wondered as I looked at them what paths they had trod, what creeks they had crossed, what seasons they’d seen.   Forest paths, dry stream beds, mountain ridgeline trails.  Enough hills and valleys to finally wear down and give it up.

If boots could talk, I’ve had a few pair that could tell some tales, much as these just hanging there did.

Guess I’ll get out and make some more boot stories and enjoy it all.