Backpacking In A Belted Plaid - A Question Revisited

[TheOfficialBren]

I agree about the drawstring/beltloop thing. It seems very plausable.

Clockwork, you might consider wearing the "fly" portion of the plaid tucked into your belt. This way you can carry a backpack.

Are you an accomplished hiker?

[Sir Didymous]

The belted plaid that I took to using for reenacting has a look very similar to box pleats, but in honesty it's just the result of a drawstring. It was a gamble on the accuracy I was willing to take in exchange for the simplicity of wear.

[Clockwork]

I agree about the drawstring/beltloop thing. It seems very plausable.

Clockwork, you might consider wearing the "fly" portion of the plaid tucked into your belt. This way you can carry a backpack.

Are you an accomplished hiker?

Nah, I've never had the means (time or money, or both) to do any really lengthy excursions. It's been more of a weekend thing, but I am hoping that will change this coming year. I do like true camping though; actually being alone in the wilderness with what I have as opposed to going to more luxurious 'camp sites'. I want to try using the great kilt for a couple weekend trips in various conditions so I can get an idea of not only what to expect with it, but to see if it really could work as well as I'm envisioning it. I've been wrong about things and this may be another instance of that, but I guess I won't know until I try. Either way, I'll be left with newfound knowledge from first-hand experience, and in the end that's (to me) what matters most.

And good call on the "fly" plaid bit; I'll be trying different configurations to find what works best and report back.

Cheers,
-Jake

[TheOfficialBren]

Right on, mate. Have fun and stay safe. Experimental reconstruction can be a lot of fun!

[Alan H]

I'd say, from my umpty-ump years of backpacking in California, that choosing to backpack in a great kilt is not a good idea. There are reasons that people in the outdoors wear goretex, etc. Not that I have anything against wool. I usually carry along a pair of wool pants, despite the outrageous weight, if we go for a late Fall trip and I'm pretty sure it's going to get down into the 30's or 40's. Also, I wear a digital camo kilt when I backpack, and I've backpacked in a USA Kilts casual model, which is a 4-yard poly-viscose job that closes with velcro. So I'm not "anti-kilt + backpacking".

I figure, if you're going to do this from the historical re-enactment point of view, then wear a linen leinte under your breacan feile, and go barefoot, and your pack will have no frame and will be a simple canvas bag. Don't carry a stove or matches, if you want to start a fire, learn how to do it from friction or other heat source. Don't carry any prepared food besides maybe jerky and dried fruit. Don't carry rain gear, as you know, wool keeps you warm when it's wet. Don't filter your water to remove giardia protozoans. No tent, no sleeping bag...maybe a wool blanket. No first aid kit.

No thanks....not this grasshopper.. But hey, if you wanna, then go for it.

[Alan H]

I should clarify....when I think of "backpacking" I think of multi-day, multi-night outings where I am out in the wilderness with one other person, maybe two other people and anywhere from 5-30 miles away from the trailhead. I'm going to hike between 4-10 miles in a day. An overnight trip where I hike in 3 miles to a nice lake, spend one night and the lake is just off a fairly busy trail that gets a couple of hikers an hour, and hike out the next morning, is technically backpacking, but it's kind of on the edge.

I personally think that an overnight like that, done barefoot, with next-to-nothing with me rather like how the 17th century Highlanders might do it, might be fun in good summer weather. However, a 7 day outing that takes me 25 miles from the trailhead, out of cell phone range and off of any sort of main trail....with that minimal sort of kit, is just asking for serious trouble.

Car camping is where we drive up to within 100 feet of our campsite, unload 200 pounds of stuff and then (maybe) move the car. There might be a rock or steel woodstove or barbeque on-site, or not. In this case, wear whatever you like, go barefoot, whatever floats your boat. This is what all our local Nor Cal re-enactor groups do.


NOTE: last year, hiking out from our summer 35-miler we came across a family hiking in, and the teenage girl, who looked very much the TEENAGER.....was hiking barefoot. yeowch!!!

[Dale Seago]

Alan, I do like the concept but you lost me at giardia. . .

[Clockwork]

Alan, there's no need to worry my friend; I'm not aiming for anything as impractical as you described. While I do enjoy going unshod in the wilderness, I avoid it for the most part around here. I believe Pennsylvania has more cases of Lyme disease than any other. So, high boots work for me in the brush. But I digress; I find the great kilt appealing for the sake of saving space and possibly weight. I figure that if I could comfortably wear a great kilt with a pack, I could leave the pants, jacket, and sleeping bag/blanket at home. Weight wise, it might be equal to those three items, but it would certainly save space and the makeshift pockets could serve me well. I'll be testing something else new too; a Clark Jungle Hammock. I tried laying in one a friend of mine owns and it is simply brilliant. If you've not heard of or seen them, I recommend checking it out (and while you're at it, check its weight and dimensions when packed). I don't think I'll be going back to tents anytime soon.

I don't plan on trying any kind of historical reenactments; I just find the great kilt's diversity appealing. As I had mentioned earlier in this thread, I don't go to one extreme or the other in terms of modern vs historical, I make use of whatever I find can serve me best.

Cheers,
-Jake