So we've been on the look out for some hiking boots for months but was very indecisive about them. We've never owned hiking shoes before so we knew nothing about what to look for, just knew they had to be comfortable for long hikes and with a good grip. So we did some research and read reviews. I remember hiking Cedar Run and White Oaks trail in the Shenandoah National Park in my Nike Frees, and there were times where I almost slid off the rocks cuz my shoes had no grip at all! They were comfy, but lets face it, they weren't hiking shoes.

Since John and I plan on doing more hikes this year, we figured it was finally time to invest it some shoes. So we went to all the sporting places out here as well as Bass Pro Shops and tried on several ones. After several trips to the stores, John finally made up his mind on the Merrells that he first tried on.