Why I LOVE my bogs boots

I've recently read a handful of blog testimonials regarding farm boots, and figured I'd throw my two cents in. I absolutely LOVE my bogs boots. I think the model I own is the classic high. Rubber boots with soft waterproof tops. Great for crossing creeks, slogging through mud and wet grass, fishing, hunting, yardwork... Awesome!

LJ bought me my first pair of bogs a couple years ago, during a particularly cold and snowy winter. I think he got tired of my jeans being soaked to the knees. :) I loved the boots. I could tuck my jeans into them to slog through the snow to work. The traction was great. When I got inside, I could roll down the tops so they'd be a bit cooler. Perfect! They officially became my favorite boot during the next hunting season.

LJ and I were way way way up in the clearcuts outside Molalla, driving the logging roads, about 30 miles from cell service. At about 2 pm, my truck's battery light came on. Showed a good charge, but the warning light came on. Strange. We decided to head back down to civilization. We were just getting over the mountain (where it had been snowing at 5 that morning), and my truck went haywire. The radio died, and the gauges redlined. LJ immediately shut the truck off. Turns out that the alternator was dead. We were stranded a couple thousand feet up in the middle of nowhere, truck windows down, not one bit of power. Awesome.

After tinkering with the truck for a bit, we gave up and started packing for a hike out. Blankets, snacks, water, guns, rope, first aid kit, headlamps, glow sticks... I'm always well prepared. A satellite phone would have been nice, but no such luck. Everything we didn't pack got locked in the truck box. I crossed my fingers that, when we came back, my truck would still have tires and I wouldn't find a bear in the front seat. We'd seen no other tire tracks during our scouting up there, which was good and bad. Truck was probably safe, but we wouldn't likely hitch a ride out of there. Ugh. So, LJ in his hiking boots and I in my bogs began the hike to the river at about 3:30 in the afternoon.

It was a beautiful day, and the hike out wasn't that bad. My pack was heavy and awkward, but my feet were surprisingly happy in my bogs. We didn't see a single person or vehicle on the hike down to the river. We hit pavement about 10 miles from the truck. We did another mile on the road without seeing a single vehicle. We finally gave up around 9pm, exhausted and frustrated, and set up a temp camp on the side of the road. LJ's hiking boots had turned his feet into so much hamburger. My bogs had been good to me, and while I was foot weary, I wasn't footsore. Woohoo!

We used a large garbage bag (like I said, prepared) to keep our bed off the wet grass. A short way down from us, we threw some glowsticks and hung a red led flasher, hoping to flag down a passing car. We hunkered down to wait for a ride, and perhaps get a bit of sleep.

Not 10 minutes went by, and I heard an engine. Tired as I was, I still flew out of the blankets and out to the road to flag them down. Get this. The jerks flashed their brights, tapped their brakes, and kept going. Girl by the side of the road, flashers and glow sticks, middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, and they didn't stop. Jerks. About 10 minutes later, miraculously, we heard another car. This guy actually agreed to give us a ride to a camp he had seen a couple miles down the road. We climbed in the bed of the truck, only to have him shout out as we got under way, "Hold on tight! Cuz I drive like a bat outta hell when I'm drunk!". Lovely. A couple terrifying miles later, we were walking down to a hunting camp, and yet another drunk dude. This guy was very very nice, though. He offered us food, booze, and water, and let us kip in a spare tent. At 6am the next morning, he drove us all the way home, 45 minutes away, even though we just needed to get a few miles down the road for cell service. An incredibly nice man, and we made him take a very nice tip. Running on just a couple hours sleep, I tried to call in for a day off, but my boss had the flu and couldn't come in. So, very fast shower, and I made it to work with just minutes to spare. It was a few hours before I realized that I had worn heels to work. Heels! My out of shape body was very very sore, but my feet were just fine. Let's hear it for my bogs! Not made for hiking, but they sure did get the job done. Love them!