Tag: hiking

Taking back the red hat

On By aftheadIn politics3 Comments

This is my favorite workout hat. It’s a great sweat wicking material and it reminds me of my family’s trip to see the World Junior Hockey Championship in Edmonton in 2022. When we were vacationing in Canada it was a lovely hat. When I got home to the United States I remembered that red hats had been claimed by a demographic I don’t support.

In this latest election cycle, Democrats are reclaiming patriotism. They are claimed the flag at the national convention. I’m jumping on this wave of progressivism and taking back my red hat.

Let me be clear, my anti-red hat stance goes both ways. One, I don’t agree with the red hat folks on values or presidential candidates. I think that January 6th 2021 was an abomination: antithetical to one of the basic tenets of the United States of America — the peaceful transfer of power. Second, I am a middle aged white woman, and people who look like me are often right-wing Christian, forced birther, pro-authoritarian-white guy supporters. I don’t want my red hat to make me or other hikers uncomfortable – even as it’s wicking properties make my head super comfortable.

My first brave hike was with women, all in their 30s to 60s. We were in an area of Colorado where Trump won in 2020 by 7.1 percent. We saw a few folks in trucks and four-wheelers, but the only people we interacted with were two men taking down trees with chainsaws. They were friendly and joked with us. I don’t know if they felt camaraderie because of my red had, but I know it didn’t make them aggressive or violent, which is ideal when when dealing with chainsaw wielders, so this was a win for the hat.

Second hike was nondescript on the human front. I was solo and saw three sets of women – two with dogs and one with kids — no one commented on my hat. I also saw 14 amazing fuzzy caterpillars who had no hat opinions and was divebombed by one hummingbird, who though my hat was a giant flower. Total hat win. I like being mistaken for a flower. After the hike, I went by the grocery store and the clerk checking me out pointed to my hat and asked if I’d ever been to Canada. When I said I had, he started a litany of all his relatives who live in Toronto and asking if I knew them. Several minutes passed with me saying “no” to all the names he could remember, but the conversation was amiable, so a hat-neutral encounter.

The final hike was lovely. I was with my husband who wore his Colorado hat and Fleet Farm t-shirt. (Fleet Farm is another thing I would like to take back, if it’s been claimed by the right. Alas, the one we visit is in an area that Trump carried in 2020 by 19 points, but we still love it.) The trail was busy, but everyone was friendly. Some ladies horseback riding warned us of trail runners ahead who weren’t sharing the trail. By the time we got to the trail runners, they were sweaty shirtless walkers, and stepped out of our way. It would have been a completely neutral hat encounter, except I got to take this cute picture on a bridge of me with my controversial hat, my patriotic sunglasses, and tiny “Vote” earrings. (You can’t really see them in the picture, and they are upside-down anyway.)

There’s a chance that I blew this whole red-hat thing out of proportion. When I see the other red hat I get an instant rush of fight or flight, but that doesn’t mean those red hatted people are going to confront me. Or it doesn’t mean they are more likely to confront me than any other hat wearing person. I don’t go around espousing the advantages of Canadian Hockey when I wear my red hat, but I would recognize another Canada hat wearer. That’s my final concern. I’ve yet to see the other red hat in the wild while I’m wearing my red hat. I don’t want some Vance wanna-be to chase me down on the trails, thinking I’m a kindred spirit and then try to convince me to join his red hat clan. If I got trapped in a conversation around a women’s rights to bodily autonomy, or the guns used to kill children in schools, or the legitimacy of the 2020 election, or even school vouchers I would feel unsafe. Again, probably won’t happen, but there’s a reason the man versus bear meme exists. Anywhoo, tomorrow me and the red hat are going leaf-peeping, just the two of us. I’m cautiously hopeful that me and my head will be safe in the Colorado woods.

Hiatus and Compromise

On By aftheadIn Tickles my afthead, Uncategorized10 Comments

Oh my dear blogging friends, I have missed you.  The insanity of May flowed into the craziness of June and my poor blog suffered.  In hindsight I should have told you all I was going to be missing from this space, but alas, I just went and left no forwarding address.  Now refreshed and full of stories from a week’s vacation I return ready to blog again.

For starters, let me just say I have finally figured out this “vacationing with a child” thing.  Now, 8+ years of parenting has taught me that the second I utter such words that hubris will destroy me leaving me in the land of horrid vacations for years to come. I shall not be daunted!  I believe this knowledge will endure!  The key to successfully vacationing with a kid is… duh duh duuuuhhhhh…. compromise!  Let’s look at some pictorial evidence from my recent Tour de Soutwest Colorado, shall we?

In order for child(ren) to enjoy the seven mile hike to Lizard Lake, you must first incentivize them with a gnome home contest.  Then, when the whining and complaining part of the hike begins you may be lucky enough to notice a bonanza of snail shells (What?!?  In Colorado in the mountains???  It’s like Mother Nature was on the parent’s side) which will lead to the creation of a snail-shell-walkway which will result in a champion gnome home.  Everyone is happy, especially the gnomes.  Tune in, because I am certain this home will be featured on gnome HGTV for years to come.

Oh, not more hiking.  We adults love hiking, and somehow we think if there is a waterfall at the end the children will like hiking too.  That may work for you, especially if the hike is short and the waterfall is amazing like this one is, but maybe, just maybe, giant inflatable pool toys are more amazing?  Try coupling the success of passing a swim test with an hour of “Water Ninja Warrior” competition – where your child legitimately crushes you on 6 of 6 obstacle runs. (She’s over a foot smaller than me, how was I supposed to fit?  And don’t get me started on her strength to weight ratio….)  The whole way up to that waterfall there will be nothing but joy, especially if you couple the hike with really great rocks in the path.

Oh dear God. You are not done hiking yet?  You want to hike to a cave?  A dark creepy cave?  Well parents, just stick a horseback ride on the front of that cave hike and let Yuma the horse do the majority of the hiking for you. Sure, you won’t be able to walk for a couple days while you develop real understanding of the term “saddle-sore” but your kid will love every minute of the ride there, and then might even surprise you by being the only family member willing to follow the guide “just a little farther into the cave.”  Try not to hang your head in shame while you let your kid go spelunking into the depths of a cave with some guide you met less than an hour before.  She’ll probably be fine and besides, your butt hurts too much to crouch.

EVEN MORE HIKING?!?!  What are you insane?  Is this a death march or a vacation, I ask you?  Well, if you can hike in a creek and, I don’t know, pick up even more cool rocks then maybe you can squeeze one more hike in.   Note: we may have failed on the rock portion of “take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints” goal of hiking, but that’s okay, because you are done hiking now, right.  RIGHT???

Let me tell you, at some point you have to put your butt down.  Sure the top of the sand dunes are very tempting, but that sand is hard to walk on and after awhile there is so much of it in your ears you can’t hear the pleading, “Can’t we just go a little farther?”  Fine, go a little farther, but me and your backpacks of water and snacks are staying here, far away from the sand ledge of death – which somehow didn’t claim my family (or any other lives) during our trip.  You go on to the top.  I’ll wait for you, even without any rocks to gather.