Sunday, March 16, 2014

Weak as a kitten.

We parked at the far west side of the Fairgrounds, and the Fun Show was out in the east end, so it was a schlep to get there and back. I had a spring in my step and a song in my heart on the way to the show, but after hours of walking the aisles and then loading my Maxpedition Sitka with 9mm and .22 ammo for the hike back, I could have pointed out the location of every screw in my shins and ankles.

I know part of it was that it was the first time this year I'd laced on my beloved Danner Melees. They're not exactly barefoot shoes, but they have no lift at the heel and relatively thin soles. Even the Asolos I wear in winter are like strapping boards to your feet by comparison. It's going to take some walking to get used to the lightweight boots again.

I feel like one of those emaciated grizzlies crawling out of its winter den all stiff and sore, except the grizzly's been burning calories and not spending all winter loading up on craft beer and pub chow. I need to hit the bike. I need to walk more than a few blocks at a stretch. I will be so glad to see this winter in my rear view mirror.

16 comments:

Old NFO said...

At least you're able to get out and about... :-)

Critter said...

I just bought new Danner Acadia for work and they're rather like Frankenstein shoes at present.

og said...

I WISH I were emaciated.

Anonymous said...

Yo Tam:

If yer gonna be haulin cases of lead, git yerself one of them cheap handtrucks and throw it in the back of the Subie. When you're done fun-showin, leave the lead with the dealer, go git the handtruck, and haul it back to the Subie in style. It's all kinds of slick the way it saves the back, shoulders, and feet, and everybody else at the show will hate you/think you're a genius. Yeah, been there, done that.

BSR

Tam said...

Oh, it wasn't enough ammo to warrant a cart. 300 rounds each of 9x19 ball and CCI Mini Mags.

HTL said...

No matter what shoes I'm wearing, I always add a set of Dr. Scholl's inserts for support/lift at the heel. Seems to keep all of my knee/ankle issues from acting up.

Anonymous said...

How do you like the Sitka? Would you do anything different if buying again?

Thanks in advance,
Drifter

Will said...

Do any of the backpacks used for school have the built-in extending handle and skate wheels?

I've got a rolling dufflebag that has shoulder straps, so I'm thinking something with the reverse orientation should be out there.

Chas S. Clifton said...

Apparently I am not tacti-cool enough to recognize the term "canteen boots," unless it is the operators' equivalent of après-ski.

Tam said...

Chas,

"Apparently I am not tacti-cool enough to recognize the term "canteen boots," unless it is the operators' equivalent of après-ski."

Dude, I don't fuckin' know. "Canteen" is the color.

There's "black", which is black, "tan", which is than, "multi-cam®", which is multi-cam®, and "canteen", which is a sort of medium brown color.

Anonymous said...

Hey Will:

I guess for the quantity Tam was getting, no big deal, but just for future reference, I tried carrying a case of nine (3K rounds) using a cart with skate wheels.

Once.

The wheels made it about two-thirds of the way back to the door-slammer before they literally melted, and ceased to roll. It was actually pretty funny, but I guess you had to be there to appreciate it. Best to go with a wheel that's a tad sturdier for any kind of load, which lets out the rolling backpacks and flight bags.

BSR

Anonymous said...

Back to harping on the winter: another warm weekend in t-shirts to be followed by 6" of snow overnight Sunday and closed schools on Monday.

Enough already.

We were out shooting in t-shirts Saturday and feeling outright warm while doing it. Today everything white and ice.

Anonymous said...

@BSR: why wait to verify a good ammo deal before you bring it into the show?

Do it Chantilly, VA style and just truck it everywhere you go in the crowded gun show. The upside is you get to clip the ankles of everyone in front of you, and your personal space just extended by that much more. Nothing says, "Elite Operator" like driving an empty handtruck through the gun show.

OK, I am still annoyed at the last show I went to. Annoyed because I borrowed the handcart from a vendor (who was happy to lend it out), instead of bringing my own to lay waste to the crowd before me.

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

Man, Maxpedition sure gets a lotta gun-blogger money...

Will said...

BSR:

I understand ammo and carts. It was just a suggestion for those spur of the moment odds and ends purchases, especially considering how far one usually has to travel to reach your transport, at the typical fun show.
Or flea markets. Screwed up my back big time, carrying a heavy object on my shoulder, back to my truck.
And, never bother using pneumatic tires with cases of ammo! Well, maybe one at a time, which sort of defeats the purpose, somewhat.

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 7:53:

'Cause at the time, shoulder-to-shoulder, can't move against the flow, standing-room-only crowds that didn't thin out until about 30 minutes before the end of the show, and, believe it or not, at the time ammo was so cheap it was always the last thing you did at a fun show. A case of 9 (3K rounds) was running about $285, and no, I did not misplace the decimal point, and yes, that was a long time ago, and yeah, it was a pretty long walk back to the 'ol race transporter too. Still pretty funny though. :-)

BSR