Presence of Mind to Ask the Right Question—Hiking the GR20

Hans Faber
Jan 7, 2021
4 min read

Updated: Oct 30

‘The path will provide,’ is a familiar saying among hikers while on the trail. The flip side 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.

Thru-hiking the GR20 across the mountains of Corsica is demanding—not only on body and mind, but on equipment as well. Like any long-distance hiker, the bastard travels as light as possible. For that reason, he always carries just one pair of trousers: a rain pair. Made from high-tech fabric, rain trousers are remarkably practical. They protect the legs from thorny vegetation, shield them from both sun and rain, and with long zippers down the sides, they allow for easy temperature control. They also do not start to smell bad right away.

While packing for his trip to Corsica, the bastard considered buying a new pair, since his current rain trousers were getting a bit worn out. He decided against it—a poor judgment, as we shall see.

On the fourth day, while hiking and scrambling through the sharp, granite rocks, the bastard slid down on his butt and heard a ripping sound. His trousers tore 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 on the trail! However, the next day, soon after he started walking, the tape could not hold the tear together. With all the climbing and scrambling of the GR20, 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. The place was also a small resort, with a hotel and a tiny grocery shop. After setting up his tent, he asked the shop owner if it might be possible to get a new pair of trousers. The man said he could try and would make a few phone calls. The bastard thought he could also check with the hotel reception; perhaps some guests had left things behind and never returned to collect them.

Upon entering the reception, the place was quiet, the summer season already winding down. The man behind the counter stood casually, left hand resting on the surface, right hand on his hip. Friendly yet reserved, he radiated a calm, reassuring presence.

“Can I help you?” he asked. The bastard explained the embarrassing accident with his rain trousers and turned his back to show the damage. His backside was patched with layers of grey duct tape, most strips hanging loose. Anyone who has seen the rear of a muskox would know exactly what it looked like.

Then something amazing happened.

Without moving a leg or taking his right hand off his hip, he grabbed something from just below it on the counter and handed it to the bastard, not saying a word. The bastard unfolded it. An identical rain trouser, black, and most importantly, the perfect size—just a different brand. Overjoyed, he leapt into the air, sending the last strips of duct tape holding his old trousers fluttering loose, leaving his underpants on full display. "How much do you want for it," the bastard asked. The man simply lifted his left hand, making it clear he wanted nothing in return.

The bastard left the reception, still in disbelief. Exactly the same pair of trousers—incredible! Indeed, the path provides. He went to the grocer and explained that no action was needed anymore to get new pants.

Back at his tent, the bastard realized he had just made the stupidest mistake of his life. That man could have given him anything. If he had asked for a winning lottery ticket, the man would have handed it over. Even better—a reservation for heaven itself. And he would have done it with the same effortless calm, the same lack of emotion, as when he had given him the rain trousers. Without moving an inch. Without asking for a thing in return.

Only now did the bastard understand: he had not recognized the encounter for what it truly was—an encounter with a genuine jinn, one of those spirits we all know from the tale of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp. How utterly foolish he had been, asking for a simple, used pair of rain trousers when he could have asked for the world!