Thursday, February 21, 2013

It's Hairy Out There!!

Have you ever given any thought to why we use the slang phrase “It’s hairy out there?”  Apparently the British are the ones who originated the terminology of events or experiences being “hairy”.  The meaning, of course, implies that some situation is frightening, difficult or hazardous and “out there” is any area outside the safety of our own home.  The mind rather naturally extends the origins of this definition to the probability that it came from fear of some hairy beast outside.

Beauty and the Beast, 1987-1990

Was there some large, hairy, terrifying beast loose in Europe somewhere in the past?  The legendary children’s story of Beauty and The Beast comes out of France and the stories of the werewolf originated in ancient Germany.  Could this be what the Englishmen were afraid was outside their door?  Or maybe it was something else.



Here on the North American continent, we also have legendary, hairy beasts that terrorize the imagination like the Chupacabra and Bigfoot.  While the official existence of these creatures continues to be debated, there are plenty of individuals who either claim to have seen these creatures or who believe that they exist.

There are also the animals of the fields and forest such as the bear, wolf, wild hog and mountain lion, all hairy beasts in their own rite that can strike fear in the heart of men when they are confronted outside the safety of our homes.  But I have come to believe that there may be another creature that can be added to the list of scary, hairies and that my friends, is the long distance hiker.

It is trail tradition for the male hiker to grow a beard during the length of his hike which at the end of four to six months on the Appalachian Trail gives this hiker the appearance of the rugged mountain man.  At least that is the plan.

For 37 episodes in 1977-78, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, based on the true story of James “Grizzly” Adams, aired on televisions and was quite a popular show. Dan Haggerty played Grizzly Adams and many women fawned over the hairy mountain man.  While Mr. Haggerty may wear the beard well and attract the admiration of many women, I’m not sure all our hiking men are so fortunate.  Many end up looking more like Harry from the 1987 film, Harry and the Hendersons.  Scary hairies!
Now, before the men revolt on me here, let me say that I’m a traditionalist at heart and believe that the guys should continue the hair growing habit and finish their hike furry-faced regardless of whether they turn out to be a Grizzly Adams or a Harry.  Beards are making a comeback in fashion right now and who knows, maybe the look will prove to be a good one for you or at the very least it will be good practice for playing the grandfatherly Santa Claus.

For many, this will be the one and only time that they will sport such a look and we all know that shaving on the trail can be quite a hassle.  Who wants to carry a razor and shaving cream around?  That’s extra pack weight and we can’t have that.  And let’s not forget that a beard can provide decent insulation against cold and wind.  So there are some practical purposes hidden behind the hair.

Oh, but what about the ladies on the trail?  You didn’t think I was going to pick on just the men, did you?  Although there are men who preen and fuss over their hair and body builders and athletes who shave themselves smooth, generally speaking, when you think of people who spend lots of time on their hair, you think of women.  I mean, come on, we have to shave, shape and style everything from the hair on top of our heads, to our eyebrows, armpits and everything from our waist down to our toes.  Hair, for women, is a full-bodied issue.

So, let’s start at the top.  The number of ways in which a woman can style her hair are phenomenal, but basically, as a hiker, women will end up in one of three categories—the ponytail or braid, the short cut or the shaven. 
The ponytail, which we know was developed by early cavemen as a handle to carry their chosen mate home, is simple to maintain, can keep the neck cooler and allows a woman to keep her long hair in a manageable fashion. The same can be said for braids which can be worn as a single or as multiple strands.  Hopefully, if braids are chosen, the hiker won’t end up looking like Pipi Longstocking in the morning which could easily be classified as another scary hairy.

The short cut, on the other hand, is another relatively easy hairstyle for maintenance purposes and I kind of like the word association of taking a shortcut on the trail.  Could this be the blue blazer’s preferred style? (Blue blazers are hikers who follow the “blue-blazed” side trails vs. the “white-blazed” official Appalachian Trail.)

Finally, we have the shaven category.  For a woman to shave her head is considered a very brave act by many women.  I have to agree that making the decision to shave your head takes a certain amount of courage.  Of course, this G.I. Jane approach makes for very low maintenance on the trail. I don’t know if men experience the same kind of anxiety that a woman feels when confronted with the buzzing blades of a razor, but I do know that I am not willing to go quite that far.

I spent some amount of time going back and forth between the ponytail and the short cut styles for my hike.  Unlike my two daughters with their thick hair that they can grow down to their waistline, my hair has a very fine texture and has never been longer than a few inches past my shoulders.  For some genetic reason, it just will not grow any longer without disintegrating into a tangled mess of split ends.   

While I generally try to maintain some length to my hair, mostly to please my husband, I typically prefer to go with a shorter cut and finally decided to keep it simple and cut it instead of pulling it back into a ponytail.  I’m not sure if my decision has anything to do with the many hours my mother spent combing the “rats’ nests” out of my hair when I was younger or the reported stories of mice climbing through a hiker’s hair at night in the shelters, but at any rate, I figured I wouldn’t be hunting for hair ties in my gear or waiting for long periods of time for my hair to dry.  

Remember, there are no electrical outlets to plug in the hair dryer and we certainly won’t be carrying all the mouse, gels, sprays, curling iron or brushes that a lady may use on a typical day.  So, with just a little of two weeks until I head out for the trail I took the plunge and got it cut.

All of this hairstyle talk may end up being a very moot point though since most of the time I will be wearing one hat or another on my head.  I am literally taking two hats, one to keep my head warm and the wind out of my ears and the other to shade my eyes from the sun and just because I like to wear a hat. 

As a matter of fact, I had a special hat made just for this hike.  The cold weather beanie does a great job but I’m hoping to not have to wear it very often.  No, the hat I prefer to have on is my trucker ball cap. Typically, I don’t wear this type of ball cap, but the mesh on the back side of the cap will help to keep me a little cooler and besides, it reminds me of my grandfather who wore this style of hat for years.  Either way, these hats will definitely help cover up the “bad hair days."

Victor Melling in the movie, Miss Congeniality, while prepping his beauty pageant contestant (ah-hem, that would be scholarship contestant) makes   the remark, “Eyebrows, there should be two” and I’m willing to wager money that the set of tweezers carried by most every hiker for the supposed purpose of the removal of ticks and splinters will be used by the women on the trail, along with their emergency signal mirror, to maintain the shape of their eyebrows.  For those of us in the slightly mature crowd, I’m sure we can find some other plucking uses for those tweezers as well.  I, for one, have no intention of trying to compete with the men in the facial hair department and plan try to keep my menopausal moustache and grandma goatee under some form of control while out there.  No, I have no desire to become the bearded lady and begin a career in the carnival after my hike.

As for the rest of the body hair, namely the pits and legs, most women hikers “go European.”  I don’t honestly know that the American assumption that European women don’t shave their pits or legs is true, but it certainly is what most Americans believe and have been told.  This shouldn’t be surprising as again, shaving in the forest can be a bit of a hassle. I’m sure most women hikers will be looking for those opportunities to catch a shower at a hostel or hotel when they can tame the wild, hairy beast they have become and once again, if only for a short while, feel like a lady.

So, as a non-hiker, if you happen to come across a large, hunch-backed, smelly, hairy creature coming out of the woods in the early evening hours please don’t freak out and report to the police that you’ve spotted a Big Foot.  In all likelihood, it’s just a long distance Appalachian Trail hiker coming into town for an evening meal, a shower and a shave, because it really is hairy out there.

 

Gotta love this one!!
 


6 comments:

  1. LOL! Nice job, April - after struggling with the same question, have decided to leave it long and braid it (am growing out the bangs - or fringe as the Europeans call it)...that may change when it heats up in the desert :) Best Wishes ~ Maps

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    1. A single braid I hope...I really don't want to have the image of you leaning over a map looking like Pipi.

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  2. Short hair is maintenance free and a great choice for many. I kept mine long and never had an issue. As far as shaving, believe it or not, no one cares when you are out there! And towns are every 3-4 days apart, so you aren't as remote as you may think. I thru-hiked in 2007 when I was 50 - you can check out my trail journal listed below and contact me if you have any questions. Good Luck on your hike.
    GA-ME '07
    Boo-Boo
    www.trailjournals.com/boo-boo

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    1. Shhh...I know that hikers don't care about their appearances and yes, we actually have many opportunities for shaving in town, but hey, we don't want to ruin our grungy, enduring hardship image, now do we?

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  3. I've wondered myself what I'm going to do with my hair on my thru-hike, which will be in a few years when I turn 40. I've decided that my thru-hike will be the perfect year to embrace the grey hairs I've been hiding since I was 24. And I'll probably cut it pretty short, into a somewhat disheveled-looking bob.

    As for shaving, I can see myself enjoying a good leg shave in the towns, every now and again :)

    Best of luck on your hike! Looking forward to following your posts along the way :)

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    1. I certainly can understand wanting to hide grey hair in your 20s, but by all means, embrace the grey. Some of the most beautiful heads of hair I've ever seen are grey and it's various shades. It's something like looking at a black and white photo; sometimes a photo looks sharper and better that way.

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