Presence of mind to ask the right question
‘The path will provide,’ is a familiar saying of hikers on the trail. The flipside of this attitude is you might not have the keenness to recognize an exceptional opportunity. Your mind gets lazy. It is exactly what happened to one of the Frisian bastards during his solo-hike through the harsh mountains of Corsica.
Hiking the mountains of Corsica is quite demanding. Not only for your body and mind. Also your equipment. Like any hiker, the bastard travels as light as possible too. For this purpose, he always has only one trouser with him: a rain trouser. Wearing a rain trouser, of course of high-tech material, is very practical. It protects your legs against thorny vegetation, it protects them against the sun and the rain, with the long zippers on the sides you can regulate the heath very well, and it does not start to smell badly too soon. During packing for his trip to Corsica the bastard wondered if he should buy a new rain trouser, because his was already a bit worn out. He decided not too.
On the fourth day hiking through the sharp, granite rocks, the bastard slid on his butt down a piece of rock, when he heard a ripping sound. His trouser torn open at his butt. When he arrived later that day at Bergerie de Ballone where he would stay the night, he tried to fix his pants with duct tape. Always bring duct tape to the trail! However, the next day, soon after he started walking, the duct tape could not hold the tear together. With all the climbing and scrambling not even duct tape is strong enough. Never mind, the bastard thought, the path will provide.
In the afternoon, the bastard arrived at Castel de Verghio where he would set up his tent for the night. It is also a small resort with a hotel and little grocery shop. After he set up his tent, the bastard informed at the shop if the owner could somehow get his hands on a new trouser. “That was maybe possible,” the man said, and he would make some phone calls. “Why not also ask the reception of the hotel?” the bastard thought. Maybe some guests have forgotten stuff there and did not come back for it.
Upon entering the reception, it was quiet because summer season was already closing. The man behind the counter was casually standing. His left hand on the counter, his right hand on his hip. He was friendly and reserved.
“Can I help you?” he asked. The bastard explained the accident with his rain trouser. He turned his back to the man to show what was the problem. His backside stitched with loads of grey duct-tape strips, most hanging loose. Without moving a leg or a foot, without taking his right hand from his hip, he grabbed with his left hand something that was just below his left hand on the counter. He handed it over to the bastard, not saying a word. The bastard unfolded it. It was an identical rain trouser, black, and exactly the right size! Thrilled, the bastard jumped in the air. The last strips of duct tape that held the trouser together came loose as well. “How much do you want for it?” the bastard asked. The man only lifted his left hand to make the gesture he did not want anything for it.
The bastard left the reception. He could not believe it. Exactly the same trouser. Indeed, the path provides. He went to the grocery shop keeper and explained no action was needed anymore. Then, at his tent, he realized he had just made the stupidest mistake ever. This man could have given him anything. If the bastard would have asked for a winning lottery ticket. Even better, a reservation for heaven. The man would have given it to him. With the same minimal effort and emotion as he had done with the trouser. The bastard understood, he had missed the presence of mind to realize he had an encounter with a genuine jinn. A ghost as we all know from the fairy tale Alladin and the Wonderful Lamp. How stupid had the bastard been. Asking for a simple, used trouser when he could have asked the world!
Note 1 – Hiking through heartlands of regional cultures of Europe is exactly where the Frisia Coast Trail is also about. Read also our posts Support for the Corsican Cause in jeopardy, Croeso I Gerddwyr, and “My God, the Germans bought all the bread!” cried Moira.
Note 2 – For pics of the hike (GR20) click this link.
Further reading
Abram. D., Corsica Trekking GR20, Trailblazer (2008)
Dillon, P., Trekking. The GR20 Corsica. The High Level Route, Cicerone (2016)
Fabrikant, M., Grande Randonnée, GR20, À traverse la Montagne corse. Parc naturel régional de Corse, TopoGuides (2016)
Goscinny, R. & Uderzo A., Asterix in Corsica (1979)