Tuesday, September 16, 2008

A $16 pair of purple socks.

Tell me you can stand one more post in which i go hiking. If not, well, best away with you then. I promise it will be the last one for.....at least a week.



First off, i had these fancy new socks to test. They're purple! They have toes! The toe part is supposed to reduce friction and thus prevent toe blisters. I was skeptical, but they're PURPLE! What could i do? They make me smile just looking at them.



Of necessity the are the innermost sock. :)


So i set off in my purple socks hiking to Cascade Pass.

Look at those fall colors on the hillside. Yummy. The blueberries and huckleberries were yummy too.


Can you find the ptarmigan in this picture. There were four of them. (Only one in this picture though, so you needn't look for them all.) A mom and three teenagers. I practically ran over them on the path and then mom, making the cutest cooing noises, herded them away.


As one of my hiking partners was noshing on a pear and leaving seeds behind, someone may have made reference to a ptarmigan in a pear tree, but i can assure you, it was not me. Nope.



This beautifully made rock stairway led up to......

The toilet! Kind of disappointing as it looks like it should lead a secret shire.

The view at lunch.

The report on the purple toes socks is that they rocked! I took my usual socks with me in case they sucked, but they actually performed as well as the marketing poo-rah claimed. When does that ever happen?

42 comments:

Princess in Galoshes said...

Oh! So gorgeous. I am so envious, I need to get hiking again before the snow starts really falling. I'd love to hike in WA someday....

Vanessa said...

OH! I want your socks! Those are all kinds of awesome, being that they are purple AND have toes!

Brad said...

We are dang tootin lucky to live here eh ?

meno said...

princess, you ever get your butt this way in the summer or fall, you are SO going hiking with me.

vanessa, i know! And they work, what more do you need?

brad, oh hell to the yes!

The Real Mother Hen said...

The last picture is breathtaking!

Aren't we lucky to have the whole Cascade Range as our playground? You have the northern end, while I've the middle, we are nonetheless very lucky.

Crater Lake is 2hr from my door step to the Rim, if you come, look me up :) and if you want to do hiking/kayaking around here, definitely need to look me up :)

Michael Knight Rambo said...

Nice shots!
I've been known to like the outdoors.
I just don't know how the heck anyone has the energy to haul all those rocks around to make steps!

QT said...

Oh those stairs, beckoning....

Beautiful photos. And the socks, really, when DOES that ever happen??

Anonymous said...

Blueberries?
Huckleberries?

Aren't they purple if you squoosh 'em? Are you sure you weren't running barefoot through the hillsides and you just THINK you're wearing purple socks with toes?

caro said...

Socks and scenery. Love it.

crazymumma said...

excellent socks providing an excellent view.

Bob said...

I remember when I was a kid, all the girls had rainbow knee socks with toes.

seems like your toes would be crowded in your shoes with the extra sock in between your toes.

I'm glad your 16 dollar gamble paid off. I can safely say I've never spent that much on socks.

jaded said...

Never underestimate the power of good hiking socks...Go for the ones with the extra thick cushion. They provide enough friction should find yourself climbing a tone stair with no toilet in sight.

meno said...

mother hen, i will do that, if i'm ever in that area.

mkr, i know, those trails gnomes are gluttons for punishment.

qt, too bad i got them after you were here or you could have basked in their glory with me.

daisy, i think you might be right.

caro, a fine combination!

crazymumma, they carried me up there all on their own.

bob, i am a sock whore, having dome much walking and hiking. These were very thin, so that the extra material didn't cause problems.

patches, and last night Zola brought me both of them in all their stinky glory, loudly proclaiming his kill.

flutter said...

a hidden shrine! *snort*

Anonymous said...

your piggies are so cute!

(sorry. foot fetish.)

Marshamlow said...

In Japan all the socks have toes. Workmen who came to my house always took off their shoes upon entering and they always had toe socks on. I would have a hard time not laughing. Rugged workmen in toe socks that often had different colors for each toe. Ha. The Japanese workers, often would take naps on the lawn or in the cab of their trucks. This was also done sans-shoes. It always cracked me up. Who knew the toe socks served a purpose other than to amuse me.

Cheesy said...

Oh meno I SO have to find a pair of those purple beauties for my sista... she is not only a sock whore but an even bigger purple whore! Care to share where you found them?? :o) Aren't we lucky to have the Cascades as a homeland backdrop?

Anonymous said...

Just beautiful, even the toilet path.

meno said...

flutter, much more apt than my idea!

de, thanks for sharing that information. :)

marsha, that would have made me smile too.

cheesy, REI! Try looking on line.

deb, prettiest toilet path i ever saw.

Joan said...

Those socks are waaaay cool. I've seen them at a sporting goods store and wondered how individual toe socks would work...now I know. Oh...and I never tire of looking at beautiful hiking photos...trust me.

furiousBall said...

that's awesome, love these pictures. those socks will make a kick ass sock monkey one day.

fiwa said...

Those are gorgeous pictures - specially that last one. Blog about hiking any time you want, it doesn't bore me at all.

I love the purple socks, but I'm surprised they worked. I have some toe socks - granted they're not hiking quality - but I can't wear them with shoes because my toes end up straining against the seams and hurting. Where did ya get yours?

Anonymous said...

cool socks, they remind me of the ones I had way back when, in high school. you know, the ones where each toe was a different color? I don't remember mine being that comfortable, though.

I love those pictures, such a beautiful place.

Lynnea said...

did these feel any different than the socks with toes that they sell at sock stores and so on? Like was the quality of the material so much better that the fabric between your toes wasn't irritating? Of course this would mean that you had worn those other kinds of socks before AND found them irritating - so have you? Did you? Were these better?

I hate things between my toes. I can't wear flip flops either.

Clowncar said...

Wow, you and my wife. Both seriously into the sock thing. I scoffed until she bought me a pair of "wool-smart" socks (or something like that) and now I'm hooked for life.

No toe on my socks though. That would drive me batty.

Imez said...

I have never, ever been disappointed to find a toilet in the wilderness. Only so very grateful.

Do you live in Oregon? You don't do you?

I should know this. We've been blog buddies for ages.

meno said...

joan, i think you would have to try the toes socks for yourself, we are all different.

furious, a high tech fancy-pants material sock monkey!

fiwa, they are from REI, my favorite store. They are some high-tech fabric, so they are quite thin and did not bunch.

holly, i remember those socks. My daughter has a few pairs now.

maggie, then DO NOT buy these socks. I have worn those other socks before, and while they are cute, they suck at being socks. I didn't think these would work either, so i was pretty surprised whn i was able to wear them for 7 miles with no problem.

clowncar, i would wear cheap cotton socks in a heartbeat if they didn't give me blisters on a long hike.

imez, nope not Oregon, a bit north of there. :) Sometimes i visit Oregon though.

PrancyPants said...

What hike is this?? So beautiful.

luckyzmom said...

Hoping to return to the area of my childhood and wondering, especially after your beautiful pics why I ever left. Oh, that's right, I went off to see the world with my military husband. Workin' my way back to you, Babe!

luckyzmom said...

For the scenery, not the cool socks.

Dianne said...

Purple and with toes!

that is awesome lol

the stone stairway is wonderful

great scenery, thanks

Say It said...

love the socks! love the scenery. See, with you posting such nice pics, I don't feel the need to get out there myself and hike. I can just enjoy your views!

Anonymous said...

Darlin', I don't know where you grew up or with how many others in the house, but a toilet IS a shrine. To quiet, to personal satisfaction, and to privacy, blessed PRIVACY. *sigh*

Plus when you use the toilet at work you're getting paid to perform an act that is wholly of Nature, something you have to do anyway, but you're getting PAID to do it. Doesn't that rock?

Yeah, I'm way too toilet-minded.

meno said...

jennifer, it's a hike to Cascade Pass, near Marblemount, WA. It was stunning.

luckyzmom, i sometimes wonder if i could ever leave here. Then winter starts.

dianne, yer welcome, i hike for you, really.

say it, you can take a mental hike instead, much less sweaty.

irrelephant, i just don't spend enough time, ah, sitting such that i view it as a shrine. But hey, whatever makes you happy!

sari said...

i love toe socks. i want some so I can wear them with flip flops.

Aren't I pathetic?? Such a fashion don't.

Sienna said...

So beautiful, so rocky! but same feeling instills like the mountains do here, peaceful and easy and oooohhh....

I'm counting 6 toes? :)

Pam

egan said...

I like socks with toe holes. Sounds like they performed really well. I see the bird too. Some day it would be cool to go on a hike with you. Let's hope my time with Meno isn't winding down.

Cheesy said...

Oh ty ty

heartinsanfrancisco said...

You and early Michael Jackson, although I doubt his purple socks had toes.

Gorgeous scenery. And don't knock the toilet as a holy spot. When you really need one, nothing else will remotely do.

ETK said...

I love your purple socks. I thought they would be annoying too, so I'm quite surprised to hear otherwise.

Susanne said...

I love posts about hiking, especially with pictures. Since I can't seem to get to the mountains any longer (this is the sixth summer that we haven't hiked at all! I counted), I have to live through you.

I would never have thought that socks like that really work.

Anonymous said...

One of my favorite Christmas cards received was one from my friend and his whole family (lots of kids) with their feet out - all clad in toe socks. There is nothing like a toe sock to make me swoon adorable.