Kilts in Alaska?

[haxtonhouse]

I will be moving to Alaska this summer and was wondering if there are any kilt wearer up there and where are you located? I will be moving to Haines.

[lethearen]

No posts in the "Alaska" section of the forum, so not looking too promising

[sydnie7]

There are several members whose user name starts with "Alaska" (you may also be able to search for names containing "Alaska" but not starting with it -- I couldn't figure out how). Only one has been active this year but you could start with some PMs to them.

I do know of one kilt-wearer in Alaska who is active on another forum, but IIRC he is in Fairbanks area. Haines is a lovely part of the state, not that there are many shabby parts, be sure to post lots of pictures when you get there!

[wildrover]

...Mosquitoes.

Not just no, but hell no.

[Lallans]

Don't they have blackflies in Alaska? Because if mosquitos are the elegant striped trousered vampires of the North, then black flies are the raging and ravening werewolves- and their bite leaves quite an impressive welt, suggestive of something the size of a humming bird and not the tiny little buggers they really are. But you can't let them win, so I would pack lots and lots of Muskol in my kilt bag and wear it anyway. Also, with the male-female ratio up there, a kilt could be your much-needed secret weapon.

[n5rmj]

I have a new MacLaren kilt on order from Stillwater. I am located in Bethel, in the bush, so I am a couple of plane flights away from Haines. I've been here five years and I haven't seen anyone else in Bethel in a kilt. Your best chance to meet Alaskans in kilts would be at the Alaska Scottish Games in Eagle River, near Anchorage, the last Saturday in June each year.

[wildrover]

Don't they have blackflies in Alaska? Because if mosquitos are the elegant striped trousered vampires of the North, then black flies are the raging and ravening werewolves- and their bite leaves quite an impressive welt, suggestive of something the size of a humming bird and not the tiny little buggers they really are. But you can't let them win, so I would pack lots and lots of Muskol in my kilt bag and wear it anyway. Also, with the male-female ratio up there, a kilt could be your much-needed secret weapon.

A resounding yes to all of the above. Bring your pants, your deet, and your woman. Trust me on this, I grew up there.

One of the little bastards crawled up the cuff of my glove on a survey day...head net, boots, gaiters, the works...we were pretty much working in a constant, thick cloud of insects. It's not easy for a fly to get in there, either...gloves go over the cuffs of the hoodie, rain gear goes over the cuffs of the gloves...but he did, and it HURT, and my hand looked like Mickey Mouse for a while.

Not something you want on your landing gear.

I have a new MacLaren kilt on order from Stillwater. I am located in Bethel, in the bush, so I am a couple of plane flights away from Haines. I've been here five years and I haven't seen anyone else in Bethel in a kilt. Your best chance to meet Alaskans in kilts would be at the Alaska Scottish Games in Eagle River, near Anchorage, the last Saturday in June each year.

Right on...I grew up around those games, probably I was the one grumpy-looking little boy surrounded by a bazillion little girls on the Highland Dance stage, and my dad played with Crow Creek for a while.

The flies and mosquitoes are worst in the wetter, boggier, more rainforest-like areas. They're not as bad in the Anchorage Bowl, or in the dry heat toward the end of summer, but get back in the woods on a humid day on the Kenai Peninsula in your kilt, and if you are not properly prepared, you will experience pain and itching like you would not believe.

Oh, and there's devil's club, too.

Personally, while I might wear a kilt around town, I definitely would think twice about wearing it in the bush.

Over at the Bob Dunsire forums, I've noticed a bunch of guys around the state...ask there, too. Fairbanks and Anchorage both have pipe bands, I think Juneau does as well, and there are a few more guys scattered around too.

Alaska Grown!
-Sean

[Abax]

I'm in Anchorage and wear a kilt to work and out around town 3 - 4 times a week all year. I rarely see anyone else wearing a kilt in town (except at the annual games), but get lots of positive comments.

I doubt you'll see anyone else wearing a kilt in Haines. It's a tourist town in the summer, so for that part of the year you probably won't attract much notice.

I passed through Haines a few years ago and I hardly noticed the mosquitoes in town or in the nearby woods and shoreline. "I've been on the Yukon River midsummer where the mosquitoes were so thick ..." yeah, me too. People talk about mosquitoes, flies and midges like they're going to exterminate humankind ... I say deal with it as best you can, don't dwell on it after that, and get on to something more important.

Abax