Hiking Breakneck Ridge in a skirt

[AMM]

This morning, I hiked a trail I've hiked before, but this time I did it in a skirt.

The trail is called the "Breakneck ridge trail," and it starts at the Hudson river and goes up a steep, rocky ridge to about 1,100 ft. (about 340 m) above the river. Most of the trail involves "scrambling," which means crawling over numerous rock outcroppings using whatever finger- and toe-holds you can find. Once you get to the highest point, it follows the top of the ridge to the North-east, until the ridge peters out. I usually take a side trail that comes down from just past the highest point, which is less steep and gets me back down without too much damage.

For some reason, the trail up the ridge was harder than I remembered it. I noticed that there were numerous painted-over blazes, so I suspect that the trail had been relocated (maybe more than once), and there were some blazes that said "Alt", not all of them painted over. There were numerous places where I need to go on hands and knees, and some where I had to lie on my belly and wriggle onto a rock far enough to get up. The trail ran mostly along the southern side, where there was a sheer drop, so I had not only aching muscles, but acrophobia to fight.

The skirt I wore was a 33" denim skirt. The skirt was workable -- I don't think it hindered my climbing -- but it was not ideal for this trail. It was too warm, and I sometimes stepped on the hem when reaching far up for a foothold. As you can see from the picture, I tried to roll it up from the waist, with not much success. One virtue: when I had to crawl on my knees, the skirt provided some protection for my knees. And when I slipped one time going down, it provided some protection for my backside. I think I would go with a 26" skirt (mid-calf) next time. (Time to dig out the old sewing machine....)

[sapphire]

WOW! I would NEVER attempt a trail like that in a skirt. I've done my share of scrambles, including one up Mt. Washington, and skirts just do not work. The get caught on things and provide great access for mosquitos and not enough protection from scrapes and mud.

Years ago, I lived at the base of Mt Toby in Sunderland/Leverett MA. Like your ridge trail, Mt Toby is about 1,100 ft high. It is the peak of a short range that provided a great hike. I would take the fire road to just below the peak and turn onto the ridge trail and about 5 miles later come down into near the center of the town of Sunderland. Now, that is a nice hike and perhaps suitable for a skirt except for the mosquitos. For those, one needs head to toe covering and insect spray.

Mt Toby also provides opportunities for good scrambles, either up to the caves or down to the big (50 ft) waterfall and again up to a smaller, secluded waterfall that I call "the barrel", a fall about 7 ft tall into a boulder eroded into a circular shape and a smaller, 3 ft waterfall. A great scramble was getting into the base of the barrel and standing under the larger waterfall..

Or, if you knew the way... There was a beaver pond at the base of the mountain and if you knew the way, there was a great skinny dipping beach

And if one wanted an unusual place for hiking that had fewer bugs, there was Rattlesnake Gutter. If scrambling up the side of the gutter in a skirt, a trip on a hem wouldl result in death. But reaching the top afforded wonderful views.

The bottom line is that in my experience, hiking in the places of my experience requires pants, or give yourself over to bugs and trauma. Perhaps that is not the case in other areas, this is just my experience.

[AMM]

I'd heard all about how it's impractical to hike in a skirt, which is why I (perverse fellow that I am) wanted to try.

Tripping on the hem: I was surprised that this never happened to me. Of course, I'm kind of a slow hiker (I generally take at least twice the guidebook time), and particularly slow when it matters where I put my feet. The few times I stepped on the hem, it was when I was placing my foot on a knee-high bump of rock, and I could just lift my foot and pull the skirt away. Also, I'm not very flexible -- think of a whale trying to crawl along that ridge -- so it's hard to get my foot into a position to step on the hem.

Catching: I didn't find that the skirt caught on anything. It is made out of denim, and there aren't any ruffles or lace or even horizontal seams. It did catch the occasional updraft, though.

Bugs: it was fairly cool, maybe 60 F, and there was a breeze coming off the river, so I didn't encounter any bugs at all until I got past the peak, and then it was just a few flies. An August afternoon would be a different story, I'm sure.

I can't help thinking of all those Victorian-era women who hiked in the White Mountains a century ago, in outfits that were far less suited to mountain climbing than mine...

[crfriend]

AMM, that is one spectacular view! I see why you go to the trouble to get there. Thank you for sharing the photographs!

And Sapphire -- skinny-dipping? How delightfully naughty! Of course in this day and age if you get caught you'll wind up on all sorts of lists...

[JRMILLER]

AMM,
Thanks for pushing the boundaries of skirting and discovering afresh what works and what doesn't work. I have a Macabi which is supposed to be for hiking and for wet areas. It has all manners of snaps whereby the user can easily roll it up as required. However, it is made of very light nylon like fabric and I don't think it would offer any protection for what you were "up to".

My inclination if I ever try climbing would be to go with the jeans, seems like they would offer the best combination of protection and utility.

The Highlanders wore kilts in the Scottish Highlands, they must have done a wee bit of climbing. It would seem like a kilt would work in these conditions except for the knee protection and the bugs ---

[AMM]

My inclination if I ever try climbing would be to go with the jeans, seems like they would offer the best combination of protection and utility.

I hate hiking in jeans, especially scrambling: the denim sticks to my legs, so when I try to bend my knee to reach a waist-high toe-hold, I'm fighting not only my natural inflexibility, but also the denim. And they drag on my calves every time I take a step. It's also bad when I'm going back downhill, because I'm tired and because going downhill is more of a strain on me than going uphill, and you need to place your feet exactly, or you turn an ankle or fall. These problems get even worse if you get wet. The denim skirt presented none of these problems, and I think if I had a 26" denim skirt, it would have provided the same protection, plus a bit more freedom of motion.

If I can't wear a skirt, I wear shorts; if it's too cold for shorts and knee socks (and maybe a nylon warm-up suit), I don't hike. (At one time I had a pair of pants that buttoned just below the knees, like what they wore in Colonial times, made of Loden. But it shrank )

The Highlanders wore kilts in the Scottish Highlands, they must have done a wee bit of climbing. It would seem like a kilt would work in these conditions except for the knee protection and the bugs ---

They actually wore "plaids," not kilts -- kilts are a late 18-th Century invention, and by then, the Highlanders had been mostly wiped out as a culture.

A plaid is sort of like a blanket which you belt to your waist. If you want knee protection, you adjust where you belt it so it hangs down a bit more. If you want more leg ventilation, you slide it up a bit more. If your shoulders get cold, you drape the upper part over your shoulders like a shawl. And at night, you find a dell that's reasonably protected from the wind and take it off and use it as a bedroll.

As for bugs -- I've never found anything that is an effective barrier against bugs. The ones I've met can bite right through 14 oz. denim.

[Since1982]

Isn't the "Little Kilt" the recent late 18th century invention? and the "Breacan" the same as a "plaid"?

[Departed Member]

Isn't the "Little Kilt" the recent late 18th century invention? and the "Breacan" the same as a "plaid"?

A "Breacan" is a lightweight (less material and relatively modern) Kilt - probably more suitable for when the temperature soars into the '60' range, than the 'traditional' model. Designed (I believe) for the hiking fraternity, they sometimes have pockets 'built in'.

[AMM]

Isn't the "Little Kilt" the recent late 18th century invention? and the "Breacan" the same as a "plaid"?

I'm not up on everybody's terminology. But, to continue a pointless discussion , by "kilt" I mean the waist-to-knee thing with the sewn-in pleats that kilt-makers make. By "plaid", I mean the blanket-like thing you have to pleat yourself when you belt it on. (As per my Highland Folkways book, a plaid was usually two 4-yd lengths of 25-30" wide wool, sewn together to make a double-width piece of cloth.)

I am not familiar with the term "breacan."

[PatJ]

http://www.kinlochanderson.com/highland ... e-breacan/

Check out the link to be clear about the term breacan. It is a kilt - just less expensive and for less formal occasions.

PatJ

[Departed Member]

But, to continue a pointless discussion , by "kilt" I mean the waist-to-knee thing with the sewn-in pleats that kilt-makers make. By "plaid", I mean the blanket-like thing you have to pleat yourself when you belt it on. ...I am not familiar with the term "breacan."

Uh? Why is this a "pointless discussion"? Seems to me a perfectly logical thread to include a garment specially constructed for hikers, does it not? Or does the term, "hiking", have a different meaning in the USA, i.e., mountain climbing? Breacans seem to be an increasingly more popular outdoor option (to a Kilt or 'walking skirt'), and have certainly spread to the USA in recent times, if other forums are anything to go by. They're still relately expensive, of course, but have the advantage of 'wearability' (and physical comfort) over cheap 'alternatives', such as (yeuk!) jeans!

[sapphire]

Or does the term, "hiking", have a different meaning in the USA, i.e., mountain climbing?

To me "hiking" generally means navigating one's way through the woods, hills, mountains without specialized equipment other than perhaps a stick and "mountain climbing" is navigating through steeper terrain and requiring special equipment.

Hiking trails are rated as to their difficulty from fairly flat and easy to you-must-be-in-need-of-psychiatric-help/suicial.

In the US, old rail lines are being converted into hiking trails. These are fairly flat. I'd hike one in a skirt. The fire raod on Mt Toby is steep, but wide and navigable by a truck. I'd hike that in a skirt if the bugs weren't bad. But for going up a slope where I had to hug the slope, I wouldn't wear a skirt, if for nothing else than to protect my skin from the inevitable bruises and scratches. While the ridge trail on Mt Toby is fairly rolling, it is narrow. I wouldn't wear a skirt because of the brush.

[Big and Bashful]

I find the kilt works well for hiking, As it is only knee length it is above most long grass and vegetation so it doesn't get waterlogged and muddy, it also is well clear of getting trodden on. For protection of the lower legs you have the kilt hose, woollen socks which offer a good degree of protection, As they are natural wool I find I have no problems with them, even wet they keep the legs warm.
As for mosquito protection, in Scotland we have the ultimate bug, the midge, but as long as you are moving the movement of all that kilt swinging around and the protection of the wool socks on the lower leg seem to work rather well.
I have to admit that II find the massive amount of pleated wool rather inconvenient to sit on, no amount of sweeping seems to get it flat and for some reason as you sit in a kilt the back end always seems too short. Ordinary skirts of knee length or longer don't do this and are far more confy when sitting. Is this because of the high waist of a kilt?

[AMM]

Uh? Why is this a "pointless discussion"?

I meant the terminology discussion, especially as I'm obviously not up on all the names other people use for various items.

Or does the term, "hiking", have a different meaning in the USA, i.e., mountain climbing?

I don't know what counts as "hiking" in the UK. I've climbed to the top of plenty of mountains and called it "hiking." If you'd need rock-climbing equipment (ropes, petons, etc.), we wouldn't call it "hiking." Or if you're one of those crazy folks who climb up the same cliffs with no equipment at all, I'd still call it "rock climbing." But we have plenty of "hiking" trails in the Northeast of the USA where you'll find fields of van-sized boulders where you have to pick your way from rock to rock, or where you have to climb over outcroppings of rock by wedging your boot in a crack and pulling yourself up. And places where if you slip, it's several hundred feet straight down...

[Departed Member]

Ah! So there is something which hasn't changed in meaning - phew! Most hikers in the UK seem to prefer the 'long plod' over what I would call 'easy' terrain. You could travel into Derbyshire on a Sunny Sunday afternoon, hoping for a quiet stroll over the 'rolling' hills and there would be bodies (oft dressed for the Arctic!) as far as the eye could see! Erosion as you walk! It never seemed to matter what the weather was when you left your start point. By the time you'd reach the 'half-way' point, someone would notice a few clouds over the next ridge. Before you knew it (and no shelters!), you'd be enveloped in cloud or steady rain! Your legs would be chafed to h*ll, by the time you got back to the bus, all except for the girl who refused to be 'talked into tr*users' and insisted on wearing her gabardine skirt, which the water just ran off. So while we all sat in soaking clothes, she'd have swopped wet stockings (& ankle socks) for fresh, dry ones.

There a few 'scrambles' such as you encounter (not to say there aren't 'climbable' possibilities, too) in some of the more exposed areas. The Cotswolds (an area favoured by the narrow boating enthusiasts) has no real climbing potential, but does see a huge influx of 'hikers', although some barely leave normal highways! "Long walks" might be a better description!