No surfer has ever been so cool.
Many years ago when VAL website and perpetrator of after-the-fact wokeness The Inertia pivoted from “surf” to “outdoors” I felt it was a very silly move. What good are the outdoors that don’t directly relate to the surfing and/or snowboarding?
Camping is a hassle, ziplining is whatever, birdwatching is a snooze and hiking… well hiking is just about the worst thing a man can do with his time.
And look at the egg on my face.
Days ago, an 80-year-old hiker pulled a better move than any surfer ever by crashing the press conference set up to mourn his loss and appeal for people to go out and search for his, likely, lifeless body.
Harry Harvey, a very strong name in and of itself, had gone hiking on Sunday in northern England but became separated from his hiking partner when a vicious hailstorm hit. Police and the Royal Air Force spent four days combing the region, coming up empty.
The family scheduled a press conference but, little did they know, a wildlife photographer had found Harvey peacefully camping by his lonesome and drug him back to civilization, surprising all those in attendance.
Many hugs etc.
Harvey described his adventure thusly, “I had three really good wild camping nights where I was on my own and had all the kit I needed. The only thing I was getting a bit short of… I’ve got a hell of an appetite… and when I get hungry I’ve got to get something to eat or I can’t go on.”
When asked if he was happy to turn the mourning into dancing, he responded, “If I’d have known, I wouldn’t have come back. I could do without all of this.”
His daughter-in-law added, “He’s had a blast, we’ve had a nightmare.”
No surfer has either done, or responded, cooler.
I shall now take up hiking.
