Man of Many Hats

I'm not known by the hats I wear. In fact, I don't really have a lot of hats that regularly don my head.

Photo by Scott Oakley.

I've worn my share of baseball caps, which are sensible over the summer for keeping the bright light off your face. I'd never wear it backwards—personally, I find it kind of looks dumb and defeats its purpose—except when I am shooting photography and the bill gets in the way as I bring the camera to my face.

One of my favourite ball caps is my CBC Ottawa cap, which I won by answering some trivia questions about CBC Radio during Westfest, in Westboro. I like travelling with it because the CBC logo is about as recognizable as the Canadian maple leaf (the hat also says 'Ottawa' on the back). And, when I wear it while taking pictures, some folks assume that I'm covering a story for the news outlet and tend to cut me some slack, especially at music festivals (no need for a media pass).

Sorry, it has just worked out that way. I didn't portray myself any way other than as myself. The hat did all the talking.

When I lived in South Korea, from 1997 to 1999, I wore some pretty funky hats. Summers could be brutally hot and the more shade you had, the better. DW often carried a parasol to protect herself from the sun's rays. As I don't like to carry umbrellas of any kind, a wide-brimmed hat did me just fine, no matter the looks I received.

And of course, I have my expedition hat, which I purchased in La Jolla, California, in 2016, after my old expedition hat of almost 20 years was lost to the Grand Canyon. My replacement hat is much better, with a wider brim, and I use it every time DW and I go kayaking or explore the great outdoors.

It keeps the sun and rain off my head, keeps the deer flies off my face, and never lets my head get too hot or too cold. It's my favourite hat and has followed me to Mexico, Cuba, and as far as South Korea.

DW and I will be going to Portugal in September, and we're already starting to plan what we want to bring in terms of clothes, shoes, and equipment. And, of course, we've been thinking of the types of hats we want to bring.

My first thought was to bring my expedition hat. It's my travel hat, after all. But sometimes, I find it's a bit big for taking on a plane. I can't wear it while I sit and can't keep it on my lap if I need to put the tray down for food or drink. And I hate putting it on the floor, where my restless feet constantly move and tread all over it.

There is a hat that I bought in Venice, Italy, in 2009, and don't tend to wear very often but might be a decent substitute for my expedition hat. It's a black trilby hat. I don't tend to wear it that often because even though it's an extra-large size, it looks small for my head.

I have a very large head.

The trilby hat might do the trick because I can keep it on my head during the flight and on the various trains that we'll be taking across Portugal. Though the brim isn't as big as the one on my expedition hat, it will keep the sun out of my eyes, and even allows me to put a camera up to my face without getting in the way.

But DW makes a very good point: it does little to keep the sun off the back of my neck. And sun is a factor in Portugal, which receives a lot of it, particularly in the southern region of Algarve, where we'll be spending a few days. We even have plans to kayak off the coast on a couple of days.

I can't imagine kayaking without my expedition hat.

What do you think? Should I stick with my expedition hat or should I take my trilby?

I'll also throw my CBC cap in my bag for good measure. After all, that logo is just like sticking a maple leaf pin in my backpack.