The Return of the Hip Hiker

So between the return trips back to the string of outdoor stores lining Little Bourke St and my (very) novice questions about hiking, the sales people (unsurprisingly) start to recognise me. The guy at Mac Pac tells me that he suggested in a recent staff meeting that they should look at stocking smaller backpacks. 

"When I said that, I specificlaly thought of you," he said.

Really? Awww.... So if you see smaller backpacks in store, you know that it's all because of the Not So Lonely Planet.

For some reason, the sale people keep wanting to talk relationships.

The sales guy at Bogong tells me that he's just broken up with his girlfriend of eight years. I have to keep on redirecting his attention back to hiking boots. (Hello, concentrate on the shoes, here.) Even funnier is when he asks me if my trekking trip is my honeymoon. 

"Er, no." I say. "Wrong finger," (in reference to my diamond ring). Seriously, anybody who takes a girl trekking for her honeymoon......doesn't deserve to get laid.

S. reckons they were all trying to pick me up. I reckon not. 

So I've become resigned to the fact that there's no such thing as fashionable hiking gear. But as the trip is a combination of subzero freezing temperatures and warm tropical climates, what does one who is backpacking wear on the island getaway part of the trip?

Then I found these:

Not too short, polyster (which means fast drying and no creasing when rolled up into my backpack). I just need to add beads and a colourful scarf and I'm all set :)

Stay tune for more.