| 594 | I Like Your Hat! | 2012-03-07 |
On Barr Trail - Pikes Peak
When Amy, my wife, joined me in Colorado last summer we stopped in Boulder at the REI to pick up a few essentials. On the list was a new hat for her. As I browsed through the maps and books, she tried on hats.
She wanted a sun hat, that was also vented, so that she could still wear wear the hat even on a hot climb. After spending some time in front of the mirror, she finally decided on the Dorfman Pacific Discovery Boonie Hat. She wasn't looking for a hat to enter in a fashion show; but we both have learned - you need to like the way a hat looks, or you probably will never wear it.
The Discovery hat offered a wide brim, insulation in the top of the hat, venting all the way around the crown (the part of the hat covering your head), a hide away cape (to pull down on your neck when needed), and a under the chin drawstring (to help keep the hat on your head in the wind). The hat is sized (not one size fits many) and comes in a non-offending, neutral color (fossil - which is a greenish tan).
Perhaps, Amy had found her perfect hat. She liked the hat and began wearing it on most of her hiking trips in the mountains.
On one such trip she went with our friends, Jon and Laura, on a climb of Flattop Mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park. I was not on the trip but I heard stories... Jon, Laura, and Amy all three wore hats. Meeting another hiker, the hiker watched as Jon and Laura passed and then on seeing Amy's hat said, "I like yooour hat!" - putting the emphasis on 'your'. Now, if Jon and Laura had known they were going to be judged on the trail by the hats they wore, perhaps they would not have chosen their floppy billed bucket hats! Ha! They really didn't care about hat styles, but Jon and I did check out new Fedoras on our next trip to town.
Fashion police do not belong on a hiking trail; but it was a funny story!
A few Discovery hat tips ...
The hat has a sweat ban.
The brim is much wider than the one on a bucket hat.
I recently learned of a hat washing idea ... put the hat in the dishwasher and add a soap like Borax. (Regular dishwasher detergents have bleach). Don't dry the hat in the dishwasher, but take it out when it is still wet and reshape the bill.
Fashion is not on the list of needs for outdoor wear - instead functionality rules supreme. The hat is functional.
Happy Discovery Hat trails