Go take a hike

May 16, 2012

No, really — can someone tell me how to take a hike?

Or rather where I can go take a  hike.

I only seem to get the opportunity to hike when I’m traveling. I’ve done some great ones in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Scottsdale and Rwanda (OK, one of the hikes in Rwanda could be more accurately described as absolutely terrifying than “great”…more on that another time).

But I have no clue how to go about hiking in Toronto…or is Toronto not a hiking sorta city? Can someone tell me? (Note: I do not have a car)

Anyhow, yesterday I finally had the chance to check out Evergreen Brick Works with Wolverine (they’re the makers of rugged, outdoorsy footwear and apparel) where we did a “hike” (the quotation marks are because it was more of a very, very brief jaunt, followed by a super delicious lunch). It sure is purdy up at Brick Works (that’s where we hiked above).

We were trying out their new Wolverine Individual Comfort System. What is it? In their shoes outfitted with ICS, there’s an orange rubbery disc that you can turn and adjust based on the type of support your foot needs. You place the disc according to the stabilization that’s comfortable for you.

Yahn Lebo, product line manager with Wolverine, advises turning the disc gradually (rather than from one extreme to another) when testing out different settings so your foot can adjust more smoothly to the change. And if you use orthotics, he suggests putting the ICS on the cushioning setting. I asked if you can injure yourself by having it in the wrong setting, and Lebo said you’d notice symptoms (such as a blister) before you actually do any harm to yourself with the wrong setting of the ICS.

Now if only I knew where to hike….

Filed under: Fitness Swellness,Healthy Swellness

Tags: footwear, hike, hiking, ICS, Wolverine, Wolverine ICS