Taking a Hike – Reef Canada

Camping. Hiking. Tents. Bugs. Bears. Words that generally strike fear into my heart. A true city girl, I’m a total creature of comfort.  I like cozy king-sized beds and hot, fresh-brewed coffee in the morning right after a steamy shower in a non-communal bathroom. I do NOT tolerate mosquitoes and sleeping bags make me sad. Now, don’t get me wrong, nothing makes my heart sing like a like weekend spent at my family’s beautiful cottage, but I cannot bring myself to set foot in a tent. I can make all those tired camping jokes like: “Where will I plug in my curling iron?” and “Is there closet space in the tent??” (har har!), but seriously…where the hell do I plug in my curling iron and is there closet space in the tent?

In an effort over the past few years to be a little less “W Hotel Princess” and a little more “Queen of The Forest”, I’ve been taking to the trails in my wooded neighbourhood, taking in the lush greenery and creeks where you are sure to spot a heron or two. I’ve even mastered walking through the fields while deftly avoiding the wild parsnip (google it – scary stuff) that has popped up everywhere. Hey! I even got excited when I spotted a beaver.  I’m so Canadian.

Something interesting has happened during these mini-hikes. I’m feeling less stressed. Blog post ideas flow more easily and I walk a little slower and notice more of the natural beauty that surrounds me. It also feels great to just get out of my beloved car for a little bit and use my feet! Skipping over rocks, climbing over logs and stumbling into a stream are highly underrated and very fun activities. I feel I’ve found the little kid in me!

I took to the trails up at the cottage sporting my new Reef Swellular LE Boots – the perfect opportunity to break them in for a walk through the forest with the hubs. Let me tell you – these boots are like warm hugs for the feet! Supremely comfortable, I actually did not want to take them off.  The leather is also buttery soft, and I’m loving the medium-brown colour, which will look great this fall with the embarrassingly large collection of camel-coloured sweaters I own.

As we walked along, the Hubs had to keep poking me to look up at “that beautiful tree” or “that pretty red cardinal”, but this urbanite was too busy looking at her new boots.  You know what they say… “You can take the girl out of the city…”

A huge thank you to Reef for sponsoring this post in exchange for my honest opinion.