My bootlace broke on day 3 of the John Muir Trail and it saved the trip

I was hiking through a section near Evolution Creek when my left boot lace snapped clean in half. I had to stop and improvise with some paracord from my repair kit, which took like 20 minutes. That delay meant I hit the creek crossing right at golden hour instead of midday like I planned. The light was unreal, the water was glowing, and I had the whole place to myself because everyone else had already passed through. Has anyone else had a gear failure that actually made a trip better?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jason5d ago

Jumped right into tying my own paracord knots after reading this. @ruby290, you're totally right about factory laces being too thin. I actually ended up replacing both laces with paracord after that trip. Now I tie them slightly looser and they let my feet swell during long days without cutting off circulation. That stove malfunction story is wild too. Cold soaking forces you to stop earlier and just be present somewhere beautiful.

ruby2905d ago

oh man i just listened to a podcast about that exact spot the other day. this guy was saying how he had his stove malfunction and he had to cold soak for a few days which made him stop way earlier than he planned at this little lake. he said the stars were the clearest he'd ever seen because no one else was around. i mean i bet your paracord fix is probably stronger than the original laces anyway, those factory ones are always too thin. golden hour at evolution creek sounds magical honestly, i've seen photos and the way the light hits the water there is something else.