A great adventure (like hiking the John Muir Trail), deserves a great hat. For example, there’s Indiana Jones. And Daniel Boone. And The Hatter.

My hat of choice for this particular adventure is the Honey Creek Safari Fedora, part of the Goorin Bros Grenadier Collection.

Why this hat?

It has classic styling, a stiff, durable brim that holds up under challenging conditions, and is made of water resistant cotton (which will be put to the test, make no mistake).

The 2″ brim is just wide enough to keep the sun out of my eyes even when it’s low on the horizon, yet narrow enough that I can take in panoramic views without obstruction.

It sounds perfect, doesn’t it? Yet it has a few distinct disadvantages for this trip.

First, it’s not compressible, so when it’s cold and I’m wearing my polka-dot Smartwool beanie (the style I have is no longer available, it seems), I’ll have to figure out a way to store the Honey Creek.

Second, It does not have a chin strap, so when it’s windy (and it will certainly be windy at some point) it might blow right off my head. Which might prove to be inconvenient.

Lastly, as mentioned before, it’s cotton, so it won’t wick moisture as well as some of the “technical” (what a funny adjective for clothing) hats on the market today.

So considering those points, the Honey Creek may seem a little extravagant, and perhaps a tad impractical. But, for me, the pluses outweigh the minuses.

Besides, it’s my adventure — and I like this hat.