Date: 2010-03-08
To: Look Marvelous.
Miles today: 0.0

The following entry is a shallow, superficial take on looking good ¢ No¢¦ looking marvelous while thru-hiking. It¢s been said that it¢s more important to look marvelous than to feel marvelous (quote from Saturday Night Live). I concur with this whole-heartedly.So what is looking marvelous in thru-hiker speak? Simply put, appearing to have your act together (even if you don¢t) by having an orderly approach to your gear in camp and visually while hiking. Looking marvelous is as simple has having everything inside your pack. If it doesn¢t all fit inside you might be schlepping too much, only your knees and shoulders can say for sure. Having all your gear tidy and buttoned up inside says you either have one big ass backpack or you know what you¢re doing ¢ you¢re the master of your universe. Quoting another wisdom, ¢The more you know the less you need.¢ Others will be overheard saying, ¢Did you see how marvelous So-and-so looked!? I have a hiker crush.¢ You¢ll be the envy of the shelter. Dare I be so bold as to say that knowing you look marvelous may make you feel marvelous too? I hiked one year with a hiker who actually had as much stuff outside his pack as in ¢ resembled one of those One Man Bands with the drum, and cymbals and kazoos poking and hanging everywhere. There were bags dangling, shoes wobbling, pads poking and thingmagigits squeaking. He sort of sounded like a music band warming up before a performance as he walked. Or you can have everything zipped tight and silent and glide along with nary a sound except for the tic tac of your hiking sticks.Looking marvelous does have practical benefits other than trail Vogueing. Despite the enormous efforts of trail maintenance groups, the AT isn¢t exactly a sanitized corridor free of obstacles. What can be snagged will be snagged. Of course having your gear inside does pay dividends in regards to keeping it rather than losing it. I¢ve lost count of how many individual camp shoes I¢ve come upon on the AT. Not sure why so many think the ideal spot for camp shoes is dangling to and fro on the outside of their pack? Branches and rocks have a unique ability to pluck them off without you knowing. I¢ve even found the hikers actual hiking shoe, a left shoe on two separate hikes (so pay extra attention to your left one if I were you.) I¢ve also found sleeping pads that fell off the pack, Sierra cups, socks, hats and fleece pullovers. Once I found a cast iron skillet, but I¢m pretty sure that was left on purpose ¢ can¢t blame them really.You can dial up your trail Vogueing by color coordinating your wardrobe to your pack color and accessorize with a matching bandana or gaiters. If done well, you¢ll be poising for more photos than anyone during Fashion Week in Paris. And ladies, don¢t think we male hikers can¢t give you a run for your money when it comes to looking marvelous. A tidy pack with everything inside knows no sexual boundaries. So, strike your best Vogue pose, we¢re ready for you. Once you saunter into camp with all your marvelous style dialed up, don¢t blow your excellent first impression by having the contents of your pack resemble that of it throwing-up. I suppose organization isn¢t everyone¢s strong suit, certainly wasn¢t a hiking buddy of mine. His dangling, banging swaying load on the outside was only out done by what has been described by many seeing his gear in the shelter as that of a bomb going off. Zip locks and Baggies numbered in the dozens, lying everywhere with him wearing that, ¢Now where¢d I put that?¢ puzzled look on his face. It was a comedy to behold. Another hiker of similar organizational skills actually headed out one morning without his sleeping bag ¢ got about two miles before it occurred to him. Funny stuff to observe. The trail never fails to entertain. Trumping all your glamorous, marvelous style in donning a tidy, stowed backpack and buttoned-up fashion sense will be your arrival across that first Stateline of North Carolina ¢ now that¢s looking marvelous, isn¢t it? And thankfully, for you who can only be described as fashion challenged, your entrance into Virginia will surpass that first milestone as well as presenting yourself to Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. By then you¢ll become ho-hum about the countless requests for a photo of your marvelous self. Until, that is, the granddaddy of all photos, the most marvelous of all the marvelous looking (and feeling) moments ¢ You and a sign named Katahdin.