Moose are totally color-blind. Everything appears in shades of gray to
them. White-tailed deer see color in the
blue spectrum, but cannot distinguish green, orange or red. How different the forest must appear to these
animals from what we observe in our woodland wanderings.
Coming from a family that enjoyed hunting, the fall brought
a lot of opportunity to be in the woods.
Once while scouting potential deer locations, I was sitting on a log
that fortunately was at the base of another tree and made for a wonderful seat
to watch for the movement of wildlife. I
was wearing my favorite deep brown jacket at the time, but don’t recall what else
I had on. Anyway, a doe came down the
ridge on my left and stood about 10 yards in front of me. She was definitely aware that I was there and
started snorting and stomping to get some sort of reaction from me, but I
remained as still as I possibly could be.
As she was trying to figure me out, I was trying to determine
if it was her sense of sight or smell that was alerting her to my presence. I was very amused by her bewilderment and
imagined that she was thinking, “I know I smell something there and the shape
of things doesn’t look right, but whatever it is, it’s not moving.” It was almost like a game to see which one of
us would flinch first. She continued
trying to get a rise out of me and I continued playing statute. Finally, after several minutes of watching
her antics and confusion, I decided to give us both a reprieve and lifted my
hand just a small bit and she bolted off with her white flag of surrender
flying behind her.
I came away from that experience with a feeling of
accomplishment. I had used the things I
had been taught about being still, being quiet and using color and camouflage to
blend into the woods to successfully have a close encounter with a very alert
and skittish wild animal. To this day I
don’t know how I actually appeared in the doe’s sight, but I speculate that she
realized a difference in the arrangements of grays and blues that she was used
to observing. No matter what she
actually saw, I was able to deceive her senses long enough to make a memory
that would last a lifetime.
Hikers are not like hunters though. A hiker’s primary goal is not to conceal themselves
from wildlife and they typically don’t worry about wearing any camouflaging
patterns or colors as a result. I would
even venture to say that the average hiker doesn’t give a lot of consideration
to the color of their gear as they are probably much more concerned about the
function of the item than in making a fashion statement. Color is probably the last item on their list
when selecting a particular piece of gear.
Once they have decided on the item, then they may consider their color
options, if any are available to them. On the other hand, I’m sure the marketing
research people give great thought to color and this is why the majority of
backpacks seem to be made with greens and blues accentuated with shades of gray.
These colors probably appeal most to
individuals who love the green plant life, the blue of the sky, or the gray
bark of trees. This generally is true of
the clothing that hikers wear as well.
The forest greens and deep blues are accompanied by a vast array of earthy
tones; beiges, browns, grays and the ever present, black comprise the majority
of clothing worn by hikers. Is this to disguise
the mud, dust and dirt acquired along the way? Maybe so.
There are other colors represented in gear and clothing to
be sure. Red, orange and yellow make up
the secondary set of colors most often seen on the back of a hiker. If any thought at all is given during the
selection process of gear and clothing, I would guess these colors are chosen
most by those who are more safety conscious and are concerned about being easily
spotted by rescue teams should some tragedy befall them. There’s nothing wrong
with that idea. And these colors can be
just as easily considered as earthy colors of nature. In spring, the blossoms of the flame azalea,
columbine and jewel weed are fine examples of such color. In fall, the blazing deciduous trees paint
the mountain tops with the warm fire of these hues.
Oh, and let’s not forget white, our billowy-cloud-in-the-sky
representative. Although, I would
suppose that white is a color worn more by day hikers than long distance trail hikers. Any white article of clothing or gear will
not remain white very long on the trails.
A long distance trail hiker’s life-style isn’t exactly the cleanliest of
hobbies and the earth itself will soon draw any such article into its arms and
change the item to a lovely brown by its embrace.
Now I am not a very fashion conscious individual at
all. I’m more of the
give-me-a-pair-of-jeans-and-a-T-shirt kind of gal. So when it comes to the gear that I have
selected for my hike, I haven’t really thought a lot about the colors or ways
that these colors may or may not go together—that is, until I chose my backpack
this past weekend.
I have decided on the ULA Catalyst backpack based on its
size, weight and all the wonderful features that it offers. The company normally offers this backpack in
two color options, a forest green and black combination or a woodsy
camouflage. Since this is not a hunting
trip, I immediately ruled out the camo option and on any other day, I probably
would’ve placed my order for the green pack without a second thought. But, I remembered that there were some
comments on their website’s homepage about some other colors being offered for
a limited time this fall. The shade of
green ULA uses is a favorite of mine, but I thought about the popularity of
this backpack among hikers and how the possibility of a row of similar packs
lined up outside of a shelter or resupply point could result in some temporary
confusion of ownership. Yes, it would be
nice to own a pack that maybe had a more easily distinguished color amongst the
piles of earth tones. Wouldn’t a deep
purple or maybe even a pink be nice? So,
I click over to the homepage to check out my options; red, navy blue, royal
blue, khaki, black, yellow and olive drab.
No purple, no pink and even orange was missing from the usual palette of
secondary colors.
Since I planned on emailing the company with a question
concerning the shoulder straps and they welcome comments or suggestions, I
decided to include a message stating that it might be nice to have purple or
pink added to their special color options.
Their response was expeditious and a little surprising. It turns out that they do offer purple, but
were currently out of stock and wouldn’t be getting resupplied for 4-5
months. (I’m leaving in a little over 5
months, so that’s too close for my comfort.)
They also offer a pink pack and if you order it, ULA donates 20% of the
purchase price to breast cancer research.
There was a picture included in the email and it left no doubt in my
mind that this pack will stand out in a crowd.
This is a deep, hot pink and black pack, not a subtle, soft cotton candy
pink. Still, how could I turn down an
offer like that – a color that is outside the norm and a donation to a worthy
cause – I was sold on the idea and placed my order.
Afterward, it occurs to me that maybe my initial assessment
of the overwhelming amount of muted earth tones among hikers’ gear and apparel is
wrong. Or maybe it’s just me and my
choices, but with my sea foam green shirt, beach beige pants, turquoise blue
wind jacket, tangerine orange pack cover, sunshine yellow tent, bright blue
sleeping bag and now, hot pink backpack on the way, my gear collection appears
to resemble a Caribbean marketplace more than an Appalachian backwoods
campsite.
I could say that I’ve chosen these colors to emphasize the
floral highlights of spring and thereby am concealing myself in the blooms of
the season, but my suspicion is that my selections may be camouflaging the
excitement of another upcoming trip that has nothing to do with hiking at all –
a seven day eastern Caribbean cruise that my husband and I will be leaving for
on Thursday in honor of our silver wedding anniversary. Whatever the reasons for my color choices, I
hope this gear will brighten up those gray, rainy days of spring in the
Appalachians. And maybe, just maybe, the
bears, who see colors as well as any humans, will appreciate the added variety
among the blossoms of spring.
