Tula’s boot story

“I bought my Lundhags in 1985 or 1986, and have worn them everywhere and always. I wore them with my Tegsnäs skis in the winter and when I went hiking in Padjelanta and Björkliden in the summer and autumn. The pictures are from a hike to Kebnekaise in 2006.

Two years ago I sent the boots off to your shoemakers, who switched them to a regular trekking sole. It was so professionally done that they look brand new, after 36 years. I love my Lundhags, and I wash off the mud and condition them annually so they fit like gloves on my feet.

But once things nearly went very badly. A friend and I were on a hike and we needed to wade across a stream. The water was ice-cold, but it was just about okay to cross in my boots, so my friend asked if she could borrow them once I was across, so she didn’t have to get her feet cold. No sooner said than done. I waded across and then threw the boots to her. But one fell in the rushing stream and started to float away. Quick as a flash, I ran downstream and went barefoot into the ice-cold water to pick it up. After that, I never threw my boots over any more streams, and my friend had to wade across in her sandals as best she could.

/Tuula Kareketo”