Where can i find cheap hiking boots?

It's sad that you doubt you have a lifetime of hiking adventures ahead of you, but to answer your question you can purchase a variety of used hiking boots on eBay that will weigh you down horribly and unnecessarily on a hiking trip with your class, or you could purchase of pair of cheap hiking boots or even work boots at Wal-Mart or the like and end up with some nasty blisters after a mile or two. But allow me to ease your mind and that of your parents completely: you absolutely do not need to wear hiking boots for any activity short of mountaineering with crampons on an icy glacier or carrying 50 lbs of gear off to war in Afghanistan. For a simple hiking trip, for camping, a pair of running shoes, cross training shoes, or outdoor type shoes is all anyone requires. I'm not talking about Keds, it has to have some kind of traction on the sole, and it should be fairly new, an old pair of shoes has lost it's cushioning, but shoes like New Balance and many pairs of Adidas, among others, ...  more