Calling Andrew Breecher

**Kid Cossack** · 27th December 06, 07:19 AM

Andrew: I've followed your Appalachian Trail hike and the PCT as well. I applaud you, first for marching to the beat of a different drummer, and second for showing how utilitarian the kilt really is. I don't think, however, that I ever heard the story of how you started hiking, and how you started kilting, and if the one in any way influenced the other, or if they just came together naturally.

I was wondering if you could give us a short recap of how you started hiking and how you started kilting, and your thoughts and impressions? I'm pretty sure that it would be a big hit, not only with me but with many many of our other readers and posters.

Hope this doesn't seem too forward!

Best,

KC

**Andrew Breecher** · 27th December 06, 09:30 AM

Not too forward at all!

Well as for how I started hiking, I've always hiked. My family went on many rambles while I was a kid, while on vacations and just around town. I didn't start backpacking until late in high school, but by college I was going out whenever I could in the Adirondacks with my ex-girlfriend, and out west a few times with my dad. In 1995 I decided to go for a week on the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut (doing the entire state) with my (then) girlfriend and another friend. We had a blast, and met several thru-hikers on our trip, and in talking with them we all decided that it would be a great idea to thru-hike the AT someday.

Jump forward to 2002, when I decided to hike for another week on the AT, this time in Vermont. Since I was hiking north in July, I met many thru-hikers, and in fact kept pace with several of them for the week. I decided right then that I wanted to thru-hike the AT not "someday" but "now." I had to save money to do so, but everything I did from then on was geared toward that goal. I got my pack weight down to an ultralight 8 lb base weight, and decided to thru-hike the John Muir Trail (only 218 miles) the summer of 2003 as a training hike for my 2004 AT hike.

I'd heard from someone on an AT forum that hiking in a kilt was extremely comfortable, and he had done so in a Mountain Hardwear Kilt on his 2003 AT thru-hike. I didn't like the look of the Mountain Hardwear "Kilt" so I got a Sport Kilt and wore it on my JMT hike. It was, as advertised, extremely comfortable, and I decided that if it was so comfortable while hiking that it was probably just as comfortable all the time. I was still a little nervous, of course, about wearing a kilt full-time, but I did some Internet research and found Tom's Cafe, and discovered some men who wore kilts all the time (and some men who wore just about everything else too). I got some kilt gear (belt, sporran, hose, flashes) and started wearing my Sport Kilt to work and everywhere I went. I got a UtiliKilt and a Bear Kilt. I got a "tank."

Then I thru-hiked the AT in my Bear Kilt, and after finishing I knew that I needed to hike the other two long trails in the US: the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. The PCT I finished this year. I'm planning on hiking the CDT in 2007, which will make me a "Triple Crowner," one of only a few dozen people in the world to have hiked all three trails, around 8,000 miles in total.

I hope this little biography didn't bore anyone. Feel free to ask more questions about hiking - I love it!

As a side note, while on the Appalachian Trail I was hiking with two sisters for a little bit, one of whom lived in Egypt (her trail name is "Cairo"). While on the trail her boyfriend flew over from Egypt to visit her - he'd thru-hiked the AT several years ago, and in fact had gotten her interested in it. When they met up I realised that I knew him - he was one of the friends who had hiked with me for that week in Connecticut in 1995!

Andrew.

**McMurdo** · 27th December 06, 09:36 AM

Originally Posted by Andrew Breecher

I hope this little biography didn't bore anyone. Feel free to ask more questions about hiking - I love it!

It did not bore me at all, thank you for telling us about it.

**Frog** · 27th December 06, 09:39 AM

Not at all boring, thanks for sharing!

Frog

**cessna152towser** · 27th December 06, 10:16 AM

Thanks for sharing Andrew, a most interesting read.

**Splash_4** · 27th December 06, 10:18 AM

That was an entertaining read, not boring at all. I, for one, would be interested in hearing any trail tails that you want to share. For example, how do the other hikers respond to seeing you in a kilt on the trail?

**Andrew Breecher** · 27th December 06, 12:01 PM

Most other long-distance hikers are a practical lot. You're out there hiking 10-12 hours a day, 20-30 miles a day, with a pack on your back, for 5-6 months at a time. You get a real sense of "if it works go for it" out there. I know that after seeing me hiking in a kilt many other hikers picked up kilts of their own (mostly Sport Kilts, simply because they're so accessible and have a rapid turn-around on orders). Most of the women who were hiking around me either started in, or switched to, skirts. Kilts and skirts are simply more comfortable to hike in!

Andrew.

**Kid Cossack** · 27th December 06, 12:17 PM

Andrew, thanks so much! You hit on one of the reasons I personally enjoy the kilt so much, the practicality of it as a daily wear garment. While I am proud of my Scots (and Irish and this and that and the other) heritage, it's the comfort that really makes the difference for me. I quite enjoyed your summary of hiking and kilting. I doff my hat to you, not only in recognition of your tremendous physical achievements (I saw some of those foot pictures, mister) but also of your stubbornly independent spirit. Salud!

**flairball** · 28th December 06, 02:21 PM

Andrew,

Isn't there more to the story? I thought I heard about plans to have your kilt framed after you complete the Continental divide. Come on. Out with it. No time to be humble.