As I continue to prepare for Peru, taking care of my feet during training, as well as on the Inca Trail, has been a concern.  I have an old pair of Merrill boots that are not only the cheapest boots I have ever bought, they are the most comfortable.  Unfortunately, they are near the end of their life-  badly worn soles and overall deterioration.  A few weeks back I went to REI and spent quite a bit of time picking out a new pair.  I settled on a pair made by Lowa.  They felt fine walking around the store and I was confident they would work great for me.  The next day I wore them and went to the Rec Center at Texas State University.  I did five miles on the indoor tract which is lightly padded, and 10 sets of stairs (3 stories each set).  By the end of the day, my feet were killing me, especially my toes.  So a couple of day’s ago I went back to REI and returned the Lowas and picked out a pair made by Vasque.  The measured size of my largest foot (the right one) is 8.5.  The Lowa boots were a nine wide, and they didn’t work.  The Vasque are a full size larger than my measured size (they are 9.5) and are also “wide”.   This seems to be the problem for me…it is difficult to find a boot that has sufficient room in the foot box without being so large that my heel slips.  Yesterday I did an intermediate walk (on roads, versus a hike on a trail) of 6.5 miles with a weighted pack.  At the terminus of the hike I did three sets on “the hill” which is not much (50′ elevation which takes 75 Alpine steps going up the East side and 95 steps going up the West side, ie a little steeper going up from the East) but is the closest thing to my house, except for the single set up stairs leading to my boathouse, which is only 14′ of elevation.  I experienced a little discomfort, but not much.  I am hopeful the Vasque boots will turn out to be the ones for this trip.  I have a pair of lamilite leather boots I bought from Wiggy’s (http://www.wiggys.com/footwear/boots/) which fit perfectly, but they are a little too heavy for the climbing I will be doing on the Andes trails.  I am hopeful that this piece of my gear puzzle is solved!