A Good Hat
/“It’s not the years, honey, it’s the mileage.” — Indiana Jones
Indie was, of course, talking about himself, but he could have just as easily been referring to his iconic fedora that was somehow able to survive anything that the intrepid archeologist (and Steven Spielberg) could put it through. I had a similar hat, one of my all-time favorites, when I was much younger and thought myself to be a good mountain climber. It turned out that I wasn’t all that great at technical climbing, but the hat did look nice. It got lost along the way when we were moving onto Nine of Cups. Maybe it was just as well – a felt fedora wouldn’t have done all that well aboard a sailboat.
I appreciate a good hat. For me, a hat should not only keep my head warm in the winter and prevent my sparsely populated pate from getting sunburned in the summer, it ought to look good while doing it.
My stepdad grew up on a small eastern Colorado ranch, and in all the time I knew him, he never went outside without donning his cowboy hat. He had quite the collection – everything from a couple of fine Stetsons for special occasions to a well-worn, faded, sweat-stained version he used while fly fishing. In my teens and twenties, I sometimes helped out on my uncle’s ranch or lent a hand to a friend moving cattle, but since then, a cowboy hat was never my thing. But while I may not have worn a cowboy hat in many a decade, I have had many other hats that I’ve been quite fond of in addition to that fine Indiana Jones style felt fedora I owned way back when.
A Fine Stetson
Panama Hat
We sailed to Ecuador three times, and with each visit, we took the time to do some inland travel. One of our journeys took us to the town of Montecristi in the mountains of Ecuador, known as the Panama hat capital of the world. You might think that Panama hats are made in Panama, but they are actually made in Ecuador, where they are called Jipijapa hats and have long been a part of Ecuadorian culture. The hats are hand woven from the straw of the toquilla palm, and became quite popular with the workers on the Panama Canal. When Teddy Roosevelt visited Panama to tour the canal site, he was photographed wearing one, increasing their fame. Montecristi is known for making the finest Panama hats, and we each bought one. That was in 20+ years ago and we still have them, although now, at their advanced age, they are rarely worn, instead adorning a wall in our office.
Australian Cork Hat
When we sailed across the Great Australian Bight, one of our stops was the tiny town of Eucla. Australia has no shortage of flies, but I can’t remember ever having encountered so many anywhere else than we did on the three mile walk from our anchorage to the town itself. This is from Marcie’s blog at the time:
“It was evident from the moment we set foot on the beach that flies would be a problem. There were two types: big guys (like horseflies) that bit and then there were tiny, pain-in-the-ass, persistent flies that flew up your nose, got into your mouth and wangled their way behind your sunglasses to get at your eyes. No matter how much you swatted and waved, they just kept on coming back at you. We now know why swagman wear the Akubra hats with corks hanging all around. Otherwise, the flies drive you absolutely batty. My arm was tired from batting them away from my face. I drank some of my water to wash down the flies that I couldn't spit out or up. David reassured me they were not red meat … a mild consolation. Taking pictures was a hurried affair. When we stopped for even a second, like to adjust a shoe or get out the water bottle, zoom …. the flies were on us like ... well, on us like flies.”
The hat we wished we’d had at the time was the Australian Cork Hat. Not quite as stylish as some I’ve worn, but quite functional.
Filson Summer Packer Hat
Another of my favorites. It’s cool in the summer, packs well and looks good. I do have an issue with it - It shrinks if washed. Filson says to brush it to remove dirt and stains, but this did little to remove the sweat stains. We have a hat stretcher, and risked washing it in cold water, then letting it dry with the stretcher in place. This seemed to work fine.
My Filson Hat
Sahara Sun Hat
Here in Las Vegas, the Mojave Desert sun is mightily intense. A ball cap is not recommended - even with lots of sunscreen, my ears and neck feel like they’re getting seared after only a few minutes outside. Instead, when I plan to be outdoors in the sun for any length of time, I like my Sahara Sun hat. It keeps my ears and neck protected, is breathable and lightweight. Not the most stylish though.
Tilley Hat
My favorite hat, however, is my Tilley Airflow sun hat. It’s ventilated, making it great for summer hiking. It repels rain, floats, is washable, and doesn’t shrink. It also has a tuck-away wind cord to keep it from flying off if the wind picks up. I can crunch it up and stash it in my backpack or suitcase when traveling, and it still looks good.
My Favorite Hat - the Tilly
Miscellaneous Hats
Then there’s the myriad of ball caps, boonie hats, and straw hats I’ve had over the decades. Most of them were expendable - I lost so many hats overboard while sailing, instead of a message in a bottle, I thought I might start writing contact info along with messages inside each one to see how far they traveled before turning up somewhere.
Ahh– so many hats, so few heads.
See you next time...