I've had a UK black survival II on my wish list for some time. One in my size appeared on the scratch and dent rack and I bought it. Has some side pocket repair that actually is under the belt when the kilt is worn. They didn't mention it but one of the vertical threads in the material was gray for about three inches. Showed on a pleat just to the left of the kilt apron. A black Sharpie took care of that in a few seconds.

My lady has been wanting to hike Cathedral Wash for some time. It's down by Lees Ferry, AZ. The wash goes from the top of the cliffs of Marble Canyon on down to the Colorado River. Its a flash flood hazard and not something to hike if there are any clouds in the sky. Yesterday was clear. No clouds. So off we went.

I decided to wear the new black Survival II. Its soft, but since we were hiking wore the notorious JDez "underkilt" and used Bodyglide.

To get an idea of the terrain here are some pics of Cathedral Wash.

http://www.americansouthwest.net/slo...otographs.html

Much of the journey was scrambling over rock ledges, inching along toe holds with serious drops below, and hunkering down under overhangs, like crawling through a cave with an open side. All on what's called slick rock around here, meaning sandstone with a coating of sand. Very slippery. Now I'm 61 years old and 60 pounds overweight... Got a little dicy at spots. There are three MAJOR descents and a number of minor ones. Any one of which can hurt you bad if you screw up.

Took a little over an hour to descend to the Colorado River and about an hour and a half to climb back out.

The Survival II survived with no damage. Did a lot of sitting down, then sliding my tail end up to the edge of a ledge, and jumping down. No apparent damage to the fabric on the back of the kilt. Only down side of hiking kilted is that doing that manuver lets the boys wave at any onlookers. Cracked my lady up a number of times.

Even when the hiking was easier along the bottom of the wash there were plenty of "ankle breaker" rocks. Hiking kilted greatly improved my ability to make sudden changes of direction when planting my feet. Coming out of the wash, clambering back up those slick rock ledges, the kilt helped a lot with flexibility, being able to put my feet where I wanted without having the restrictions of pants.

It was a brisk day. In the 40s and 50s Farenheit. In a slot canyon like that its noticeably colder in the shade and noticeably hotter in the sunlight. Seems like I was forever tinkering with putting my jacket on, taking my jacket off, but never felt discomfort in my lower regions. The kilt seemed to warm me up in the shade and keep me cooler in the direct sunlight.

I did get one roadrash ding below my left knee when I slipped on some slick rock while going up an overhang. If I'd had pants on might not have the road rash, or it could have torn the pants.

The Survival II pockets let me carry all my gear except the canteen. My lady brought a backpack for her gear and in a number of the overhang spots it was a hinderance, even a danger. And it the pockets helped when we were climbing out and the temp was hotter my lady offered to carry my jacket in her backpack. That was all the added weight, just the jacket, no "stuff" in jacket pockets.

There's a photo of the black survival down at the Colorado River on Page 7 of my gallery. I think I got a great deal!

Oh, and the underkilt was great. Gave me a little extra warmth, and after a challenging hike absolutely no irritation to the fire helmet.

Ron