Hiking and other such things

[McNulty]

sF, I tried kilted snowshoeing once and it was OK if you are moving real slow, but most of the time the snow that gathered on the back of the snowshoe got flipped up and hit the back of my knee and .... got uncomfortable after a while. I was wearing gaiters but still it was not fun and we were out for a whole afternoon. The snow on the Flattops that year was 6-8 feet deep.
McNulty

[wildrover]

I posted a long response in the Kilimanjaro thread.

The short version is make sure you're not chafing, sporrans are handy, long socks are great, wool is sturdy stuff, and anything Class 2 or below is fine.

[wildrover]

Exactly like that! We should get a roll call of kilted hikers in CO, and go grab a mountain or three next season. I'll bring my pipes.

[Standard]

I've been hiking a lot, both in trousers and kilt. My experience is that the kilt is the best hiking attire. It's keeps you warm when it's cold, and gives you perfect ventilation when it's hot. I have never experienced chafing, but then I don't use the sporran when hiking over longer distances.



Skål!

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but....Wow, that looks like a picture of the month candidate if I ever saw one. Where are you backpacking Oddern?

Back on topic, here in west central Illinois I'd be afraid of ruining a kilt in about 5 minutes on the multiflora rose bushes. Those babies can tear up carhartts in some cases. I've not backpacked kilted, but have hiked a fair piece on the lake front in Chicago (from the Planetarium up to north of the Drake) with no problems. I use Band-Aid brand anti chafe cream which comes in a container like a mini deodorant bar. It works very well.

[kiltedRTR]

Thanks for the input!

and Standard, I was wandering the same exact thing about where he was hiking. I thoguht that was a wonderful picture and view.

[Oddern]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but....Wow, that looks like a picture of the month candidate if I ever saw one. Where are you backpacking Oddern?

Thanks for the input!
and Standard, I was wandering the same exact thing about where he was hiking. I thoguht that was a wonderful picture and view.

Picture taken from my hiking trip in Jotunheimen (one of Norway's major national parks). You can see more pictures in this thread: Kilted in the Norwegian mountains

[wildrover]

I've been hiking a lot, both in trousers and kilt. My experience is that the kilt is the best hiking attire. It's keeps you warm when it's cold, and gives you perfect ventilation when it's hot. I have never experienced chafing, but then I don't use the sporran when hiking over longer distances.



Skål!

I linked through to your older thread...awesome pictures, it's been over a decade now since I saw Jotunheimen and hiked over Besseggen Ridge. Definitely worth seeing in person again.

[Tobus]

The weather here in Texas is FINALLY starting to cool off, so I went hiking yesterday at the Hill Country State Natural Area, which is only a couple of miles from my house. It was a nice cool 82 degrees in the afternoon, with dry air. I hiked a quick 4 miles without even breaking a sweat. Man, I love fall weather!

Anyway, I decided to wear shorts this time instead of a kilt, just to scope out the trails and see what I think about hiking kilted in the future (I plan to do a hike at least once a week over the winter). My observations:

1. There is a lot of tall grass to hike through. All I wore on my lower legs were short socks with my hiking shoes, and they ended up full of grass stickers and seed spears. Ain't no way I'd want to do this wearing traditional kilt hose, unless I had some sort of outer protection (like Oddern's in the pictures above). I'd never get the prickly things out of the hose otherwise. But I need something on my legs, to ward off scratches and scrapes from the overgrown parts of the trail.

2. Due to the high overgrowth mentioned above, there ain't no way I'd wear a nice wool kilt on the trail. It would end up full of stickers and would definitely snag on the brush. I'm thinking that possibly the best candidate for hiking is my Utilikilt, being that it's made out of heavy 'duck' canvas that won't snag or pick up stickers.

3. I need a good walking staff! Must search for one. I might just cut myself one from the woods on my property, but it's hard to find the time to make one that would look nice. Anybody got any leads on a place to buy online, or maybe even a cromach maker?

4. Within the first 15 minutes of my hike, I was wishing I had worn my kilt. It would have been perfect. My next hike WILL be kilted.

[Bill aka Mole]

Tobus: Regarding your quest for a walking staff, even in the WalMart sporting goods section there are some fairly good collapsable aluminum walking sticks. Perhaps a search for walking stick or staff may help you find what you are looking for. Mine is a twisted staff that I found and had to buy during a trip to Pigeon Forge, TN a few years back, despite the eye rolling from the missus. The bottom was unfinished as there are different tips for a walking stick that you would use depending on the terrain. I eventually placed a cane / crutch round rubber tip on mine as I'm never quite sure of where I'll be using it and that won't mar up floor tiles like a pointed end would. I hope that this is of some help.

[Fit2BKilted]

I wouldn't want to risk damaging a kilt by hunting in it. There's the risk of throns, mud, blood, grease, powder burns, barbecue sauce and who-knows-what-all getting on the kilt and staining or ripping it, so, if 'twere I, I'd stick with the Carhartts.

That's what the second-stringer kilts are for! :-D You know... the ones that didn't cost much, or that have fallen out of favour... Especially while hunting, why not cull-the-herd in your closet at the same time! ;-D