| | | |

Mid-hike posing (and my new hat)

What the well-dressed English hiker wears abroad – I’m not going to win any fashion awards. It’s just as well I didn’t meet any people on the trail. Day Two, Hercules Glades, Pees Hollow Trail. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

What the well-dressed English hiker wears abroad, along with my new hat, which has worked great so far in the rain and sun.

I’m not going to win any fashion awards. It’s just as well I didn’t meet any people on the trail.

The color treatment for this picture was prompted by a comment from a friend who saw the original color version. He said, “…only the token hi-tech gadget on your left shoulder strap shows that it’s not something out of the Boer War,” that got me thinking. I see exactly what he is alluding to, but I suspect that someone from that period would be stunned at the high-tech light-weight materials and the number of creature comforts I’m packing. The (empty) pack weighs about a pound-and-a-half, there is all the titanium cookware, the down quilts, my hammock, the LED lights, camera, my camp chair (using aircraft-grade aluminum), water filter, cell phone/GPS, and of course on my left shoulder, the tiny InReach personal locator/SOS beacon and texting handset with its worldwide coverage via the Iridium satellite network.

Finally, given that six-shot revolvers were the thing back then, I think they would really covet the semi-automatic handgun with 15 rounds.

Back to the hike

By this point, the skies had darkened to the south and there was a lot of thunder in the distance. If I was lucky the storm would pass to the south-east, if I wasn’t it was going to be a race back to the trailhead. I was thinking I ought to keep hiking rather than stop for a few vanity pictures, but what the heck? The worst that could happen was I’d get wet … or struck by lightning.

Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Comments