Category — 601 Natural Places

Fairbanks’ cluttered G.I. Joe Surplus store has one of the last remaining stockpiles of genuine “bunny boots”. These white vapor-barrier boots (which make the wearer’s feet look like gigantic arctic hare feet) were originally made for the U.S. military and are rated for up to -60 degrees Fahrenheit. Fashionable they’re not, but they saved many an enlisted man’s feet from frostbite-or worse. In 1994 the army went to a different supplier, and the army-issue winter boots became more rigid, cheaper, and not nearly as well regarded. The pre-1994 Bata manufactured boots are preferred by Alaskans who have been known to spell out in their will exactly who will receive their bunny boots.

I was going ice-fishing. In Fairbanks. In early March. I wanted those boots. And I wanted them bad. [Read more →]