The Ginger Phenomenon
It’s about halfway through the season and I’m beginning to notice a pattern: the amount of red-headed male thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail… is disproportionately high.
I find freckles cute and sunburns endearing, thus in everyday life I have found myself wondering, “where are all the red-headed boys?” They’re not at the gas station or the grocery store, the library or the corner cafe.
And then I started work on the Appalachian Trail and I realized—it’s because they’re all out hiking.
As a ridgerunner, I keep track of the number of thru-hikers, overnight hikers, and day hikers I pass on the trail. But recently I’ve added a new sub-category beneath thru-hikers: red-headed males.
At least one in four men that I meet on the trail has red hair, while the national average for red-heads (male and female) falls somewhere between two and six percent.
What could explain this disparate percentage? “I think it’s our fiery passion for life,” says Sniffer, an undeniably ginger thru-hiker from Maine. Um, okay. But I have another theory.
Almost all of the men hiking from Georgia to Maine have beards. This makes sense, as there are few opportunities to shave on the trail. Almost all of these beards are noticeably more vibrant than their accompanying head-hair.
In this way, borderline auburns become distinct red-heads and strawberry-blondes become just plain strawberry. It is almost as if the red hue of the beard reflects itself across the rest of their head, and their persona.
If this theory proves correct… if all the men in the “real world” decided to grow beards, the world would be a noticeably rosier place.
