Every Trek Starts with the Right Pair of Shoes

Shoes 👟🥾

If Cinderella taught us anything, it’s that shoes are never just shoes. One glass slipper took her from scrubbing floors to dancing in a palace. Frankly, most of us buy shoes and get blisters. Cinderella got a kingdom. 👠👑😄

Jokes apart, One thing I quickly learned was that for a trek, you don't just need shoes... you need an entire shoe strategy, complete with its own system. Apparently, footwear has rules, roles and responsibilities. HAHA

Thankfully, not too many pairs, but each one serves a very specific purpose.

Trail Running Shoes

Let's start with the sneakers.

While regular sneakers might be the most comfortable option, for trekking you really need waterproof trail running shoes. I already owned plenty of sneakers, but I'd had a few close calls with slipping, and I also wanted something practical enough to use for gym training.

After much deliberation, and plenty of guidance from my friend Marina, I finally decided it was time to invest in a proper pair of trail runners.

When I mentioned this idea to my trainer Nathan during one of our training sessions, he immediately suggested trying Salomon shoes. Apparently they're excellent trail runners and, according to him, quite trendy too.

And trendy? Well, trendy I like. 😂

The next challenge was choosing a colour.

Pink or blue.

Never a good situation.

Both pastel shades.

Double trouble.

For a brief moment I considered buying both. Sensible thoughts eventually prevailed, and I decided to go with something completely out of character for me.

Blue it was.

When they arrived, I was thrilled. They are everything people say they are: lightweight, breathable, incredibly grippy, and designed to make uneven terrain feel almost effortless.

Needless to say, I'm very happy with that choice.

Tea House Shoes

The second pair of shoes needed for the trek are what trekkers commonly call tea house shoes.

These are lightweight, comfortable shoes worn indoors at the mountain lodges and teahouses along the trail. Their purpose is simple: after a long day of hiking, your feet need a chance to rest and breathe.

They're also part of mountain lodge etiquette.

Most teahouses are family-run spaces, and muddy hiking boots are left at the door to help keep dining and sleeping areas clean.

For this role, I decided to go with something I already own: my trusty old Crocs.

In fact, they're technically shared between my daughter and me, complete with our collection of amusing Croc charms.

The goal was to have something that:

• Is comfortable indoors

• Can be worn with thick socks

• Is easy to slip on after a long day of hiking

• Can double as shower shoes 🚿

Perfect.

The Big One: The Boots 🥾

Now we come to the elephant in the room.

The boots.

This was not an easy decision.

As someone who does almost all her shopping online, I decided to do something very unusual and venture into an outlet mall instead.

My sister Amna would absolutely say, "I told you so."

Every time she visits Australia, she insists on spending a day at the outlet mall. I usually just drop her off and collect her several hours later.

I am an online shopper through and through.

I love parcels arriving at the front door. There's something magical about it.

It's like receiving a gift.

From me.

To me. 🎁😂

Speaking of my sister, Amna is probably one of the most practical and intelligent people I know. Her clarity of thought never ceases to amaze me.

At the same time, she is one of the funniest people on the planet.

If my phone suddenly starts vibrating nonstop with messages, I already know it's her. Not one message. Not two.

Twenty-seven messages.

All part of the same story.

She can tell stories forever and somehow keeps them entertaining the entire time.

She has always been like that.

I still remember when we were little and another child used to steal my recess. Instead of me handling it, Amna would march over and fight the battle on my behalf.

Some things never change. 😂

To this day, she remains my go-to person whenever I need real-world advice, practical wisdom, and occasionally a little sister-induced yelling followed by:

"Well, I told you so... but no, you had to learn it the hard way."

Ouch.

We always have the best time whenever Amna and her husband Waris visit Australia. The jokes get louder, the stories get funnier, and somehow every outing turns into an adventure.

The Expedition to the Outlet Mall

Back to the boots.

One fine day, I set off for the outlet mall.

I visited practically every outdoor store I could find.

Macpac.

Kathmandu.

The North Face.

Anything that sold hiking boots.

I inspected them all.

I actually had my heart set on one particular pair, except there was one small problem:

They didn't have my size.

Being fairly petite means I can occasionally shop in the kids' section, but unfortunately hiking boots don't work quite that way.

After hours of wandering around, I gave up and sat down at the food court with a much-needed cup of tea.

And as is often the case in life, some of the brightest ideas arrive over a cup of tea.

I thought:

"Why am I even here? Online shopping exists."

Problem solved.

I left the mall completely satisfied... and somehow managed to buy a sun hat.

Mission partially accomplished. 😂

When I got home, I ordered a pair of Salomon Women's Quest 5 GTX Mid Hiking Boots from Macpac.

These boots have a reputation for being incredibly durable, fully waterproof, lightweight, stable, and agile.

Essentially, everything you would want when heading toward the Himalayas.

Why These Boots?

The Quest 5 GTX is a popular choice among Everest Base Camp trekkers because it provides the combination of:

• Rugged ankle support

• Stability on uneven terrain

• Waterproof protection

• Reliable grip on loose gravel, wet rocks, and occasional snow patches

While I'm not trekking during monsoon season and don't expect much rain, there is still the possibility of damp forest sections, muddy trails, and other mountain surprises.

I've also heard stories about leeches in lower-altitude forests and occasional snake sightings.

I'm sincerely hoping those stories remain stories.

I don't particularly like snakes.

Or worms.

Although I do make an exception for snails. 🐌

Snails are adorable.

Whenever I see one crossing a path, I carefully move it somewhere safe.

If you've ever watched Turbo, you'll understand. There is a scene where the snails hold what is essentially a daily stand-up meeting about "accidental squishing incidents," and ever since then I've felt personally responsible for snail safety. 😂

My daughter insists she doesn't like spiders, yet she once named one Darin. When we moved next door into our own place, she couldn't help but wonder about Darin from time to time.

We like to think of ourselves as brave. We'll carefully rescue a turned-over cockroach by nudging it upright with a leaf... only to scream and run for our lives the moment it starts making its way towards us. 😂

Nonetheless, I have no intention of attempting any of that on the trail.

From a practical perspective, high-cut hiking boots provide valuable protection around the ankles and lower legs, whether from rough terrain, stray rocks, prickly vegetation, or unexpected encounters with whatever might be lurking closer to the ground.

Better prepared than sorry.

The Shoe System

After much research, shopping, debating, tea-drinking, and overthinking, the final shoe system looks like this:

🥾 Salomon Quest 5 GTX Boots

The primary trekking boots and my main footwear throughout the hike.

👟 Trail Running Shoes

My backup option.

They will also be useful during:

• The flight to Nepal

• Time spent in Kathmandu before and after the trek

• The flight to Lukla

If my feet get tired of the relative stiffness of the boots, I can switch seamlessly to the trail runners for a lighter, more flexible option while still maintaining good grip.

🐊 Crocs

The post-hiking heroes.

After a long day on the trail, the first thing I'll want to do is remove my hiking boots and let my feet breathe.

The Crocs slip easily over thick wool socks and are perfect for tea houses, cold bathroom floors, and showers. 🚿

Final Thoughts

I never imagined I would spend this much time thinking about a shoe system.

My usual footwear collection consists of beautiful heels, Cinderella-style clear shoes, and Kolhapuri chappals from Pakistan. Never in my life did I expect to be comparing ankle support, waterproof membranes, traction systems, and shower logistics. Yet here we are.

A few months ago, I probably would have thought a "shoe system" was something invented by overly enthusiastic trekkers. Today, I not only have a shoe system, but I can discuss it in alarming detail. Learning curve, I suppose. 😜🥾👟🐊

The older I get, the more I think success has very little to do with money, titles, or achievements. Success is waking up with peace in your mind, purpose in your heart, and excitement about what's ahead.

Who would have thought a pair of hiking boots could symbolize so much? Yet here they are, sitting by the door, quietly representing courage, growth, and a promise to myself that life doesn't stop at reinvention.

If the 2016 version of me met the 2026 version over a cup of tea, neither would believe the other's story. And perhaps that's the point. We are not meant to stay the same. We are meant to keep growing, keep learning, and occasionally finding ourselves buying trekking boots when we once thought we were only meant for pretty shoes.

Life has a funny way of expanding our horizons. We set out thinking we're buying things, but somewhere along the way we realize we're collecting stories. And this little shoe system, surprisingly enough, has become one of mine. ✨☕🥾🌏