After a year of going to the gym, I’ve realized that the only thing that’s really comfortable for heavy activity is something form-fitting. (Now I understand why the ancient Greeks worked out naked.) I’ve also realized that if I’m going to be wearing a backpack while hiking, I need a really high waist on my shorts (or pants) or else I spend the entire time yanking them up as the pack pushes them down.

Enter: High Rise Booty Shorts.

The pattern is from a company called Patterns for Pirates and they’re the “Loggers“–i.e. the fit of a legging with the pockets and bands of a jogger pant. (Worn here with the DIY Smartwool Nikko top I made last year.)

I made the low rise/tall waistband combo in the shorts and added a few inches to the inseam (from 2″ to 5″; it’s fine to be proud of what lifting does for your legs but you have to be able to actually sit). The fabric is a really gorgeous thick “Dry-Flex Poly” from The Fabric Fairy.

These are tighter and shorter than I would ever dream of wearing a year ago but guess what? They were SO. COMFORTABLE. on the long Uintas hike. I’ve had varicose veins since high school; I nearly never wear shorts. But as I approach 40 and have learned to take up space, mentally and physically, my attitude has become: “Fuck it, I’ll wear what I want. If people don’t want to see my veins/butt/crotch/underwear lines, then they don’t have to look.”

It is a great feeling. As great as smol stretchy shorts for hiking.