Pantless Hiker......

Yes! I said pantless hiker! I failed to mention it before even though it was one of the major hightlights of the trip. As I saw him approach I was looking very intently and at first I thought he must be European or something because, well, I don't know, I think there are some cultural differences regarding wearing pants in some European countries. I simply could not contain my wonder. I mean, I think men are socialized to be more inconspicuous when they are staring than women, at least this woman, because I was very openly gawking at this man. I"m sure it was very rude, but I could not help myself. It wasn't because his long, skinny, pale legs looked good, I was just trying to figure out what the hell this guy was (or wasn't) wearing. When he spoke, there was no accent. There went my first hypothesis. This had to be one of the strangest things I have seen on a backpacking trip to date.

I think our open-mouthed stares finally made him uncomfortable because he suddenly felt the need to explain himself. He said that some other hikers, that he had recently passed, had told him that if he took his pants off, they would not get wet. Well, that is.....true.....technically, and we were somewhere in the midst of the freezing pools at that point, but that wasn't going to protect those pale legs from the icy cold waters or keep those mesh-looking whitey-tighties (or loosies from my vantage point) dry. Eeeww, I can't even take my imagination any further with that one. Nevertheless, as quickly as he strode up (not very quickly, actually), he strode away (probably much more quickly), but not before I was able to snap this shot with my camera.

Needless to say, that was one of the most hilarious things I have ever heard or seen in the wilderness. It provided some much needed comic relief for the rest of the day, and trip. Who were these other hikers? I ramped up my hiking pace, in hopes of seeing more pantless hikers. Had they been hiking pantless too(?)...or had they just played a cruel joke on this unsuspecting guy? Maybe, they had just given some really sound advice. We searched in vain for other pantless hikers and/or someone that we could give this terrific suggestion to. We couldn't seem to find anyone else to take the bait.

I wrestled with my conscience about whether to post this poor man's story on the internet, as I am sure he thought he was safe to do this in the middle of the wilderness, but I finally justified it with the good of the many theory. I will not pretend that my own selfish motives did not also bear into this decision, BUT......Let this be a lesson to all of you: If you are somewhere that some other human being MIGHT be with a camera (which means ANYWHERE that you are) then DO NOT do something that you do not want to end up on the internet.

Thank you unnamed pantless guy (wherever you are) for bringing so much joy (not to mention horror) into my life! I look forward to the start of your new adventure club "The Trouserless Trekkers" and all the possibilities it might have to offer, and may your pants always remain dry.

Comments

[Kelli]

This is hilarious!