I’m such a gear geek and brand advocate.. I’m in Denver and decided to pay a visit to the REI flagship store. Lately with my friends getting excited about trail and ultra running, there has been plenty of talk about trail shoes and gear. I used to have trail shoes a few years back, and I’d been considering getting some anew. What better place to buy them than Denver, with the mountains ever present to the West? I AM going to Pikes Peak tomorrow, if only to take a train, not run..
Before I even made it to the footwear department, however, I had to walk past rows and rows of socks. Now, I am more of a sock snob than any other piece of gear. And there they were, row upon row of my beloved smartwools! I wandered the sock aisles, and noticed a promotion if you bought three pairs of socks. I also saw that they had Injinji socks, which I have always been curious about. I know my Mom has been looking for Balega socks, so I sought out a sales associate to see if they carried that brand. He said no, but he could recommend some other running socks if I liked. I asked his opinion, and he suggested my beloved smartwool. I grinned widely and complemented him on his taste. They literally had 15 or 20 different brands of socks, so I was impressed that was his suggestion.
I resisted the urge to buy the same socks I know and love, and decided to force myself to test out some different brands. In addition to the Injinji toesocks, I decided to go with the “anatomically designed” theme and also bought keen sox. Lastly I rounded out my purchase with a two-pack of wigwam cool-lite pro socks. Expect reviews to come!
Then I actually made it to the shoe section. I tried out a few different pairs (the store had a fake mini ascent to scramble up to try out footwear) before deciding on the Vasque Blurs. I remember the Vasque brand name from TrailRunner magazine, although I don’t remember what was said 
Now of course I’m anxious to hit the trail! Nothing like new gear to renew your excitement!
