Which 🧙wizard was in Fangorn?

[Sartr]

In the Two Towers, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli camp out for the night near Fangorn. They see an old man who disappears when they spot him. Readers assume this is Saruman, since Gandalf was believed dead in Moria.

Aragorn notes that this old man wore a hat, not a hood, unlike the description Eomer gave him. Further, Legolas speculates their horses recognized a friend and went to greet him, instead of being stolen. So now it seems like the old figure was Gandalf, who is reintroduced shortly after.

>>They could not see his face: he was hooded, and above the hood he wore a wide-brimmed hat, so that all his features were over-shadowed,

But Gandalf is wearing a hood AND a hat, and tells them "You certainly did not see me." It must have been Saruman all along. Gandalf says he's been in the neighborhood a while and passed by Treebeard.

So the only possible conclusion is that both Gandalf and Saruman are roaming the woods that night, each wearing the other's signature headgear!

 

[grendel]

I have always assumed that is was Saruman. Gandalf himself guessed that Saurman had come to watch the battle and spy on his messengers (or words to that effect) but for once, had come too late. So he would have been in the area at the right time.

 

[Aldarion]

So the only possible conclusion is that both Gandalf and Saruman are roaming the woods that night, each wearing the other's signature headgear!

This is actually logical. Saruman had long imitated Gandalf (including in his obsession with pipe-weed), while by this point Gandalf had essentialy taken over Saruman's job. Both of them had acquired characteristics of the other, so why not headgear?