by Alicia MacLeay
The other evening, I was walking to a restaurant here in Maine. The town was happening that night — a summer festival, boat races on the river, people out and about on foot and bike near a rail trail — when two young, fit-looking men got out of a nearby car. One, presumably a runner or hiker, was wearing a hydration pack, which I naturally noticed (the same way I instinctively look to see what backpacks the contestants on The Amazing Race are wearing).
Then the guy got on his phone. "No, I can't meet you there ... because I'm wearing a camel pack!"
Do his friends have something against hydration?, I wondered.
"It's obvious that it's full of alcohol," he went on, explaining impatiently to the listener who also didn't immediately follow his logic.
My first thoughts on overhearing this exchange: Have I have been using my CamelBak (wait... I mean CamelPack) all wrong? Does everyone I run or hike by think I have a problem?
My second thought: How does he get the smell out of that reservoir?
Ahhh outdoor gear... its purpose can rest in the eye of the beholder.
