[pct-l] Hiking in a dress -skirt - kilt

[Luvtobkpk at cs.com (Luvtobkpk@cs.com)]

Last year Huff n Puff (young man) hiked in a flared skirt from Aqua Dulce to 
Kennedy Meadows, he looked quite dashing! Really!  A "mini skirt" wouldn't do 
at all but Huff n Puff said the flared one made him feel much cooler and, of 
course, his stops to "see a man about a horse," were much quicker and easier.  
I believe Happy, a Quebecian young lady, hiked in a dress part of the time.

It was getting off the trail that Huff n Puff ran into some difficulties from 
the towns people, including an invitatioin to fight from a rather irate man.  
This occured while he was in town shopping, but after the initial few days 
hiking on the trail everyone seemed to think he had a good idea. Another draw 
back for flaring skirts was the manzanitas, madrone trees, and stickery shrubs 
that grab at anything along the trail.  These shrubs also played havic with our 
umbrellas when the wind came up. DNA wore an umbrella hat - kept the sun off 
and his head cooler because it sat up higher on his head. He put milar on the 
inside to keep cooler, but that is fragile stuff and kept peeling off.

Since I am a female, hiking in a dress wouldn't be as different for me, I 
might even consider it for a long distance hike.  I did "leap frog" a dress in my 
box in '97, '98 & '99 so I had something clean to wear while EVERYTHING from 
my pack was being washed.  A "skort," pants with a skirt look, wouldn't give 
the same benefits since it is the shorts part that keeps ventilation at a 
minimum and that is what you are wanting.
All the best to each of you in 2004 - the PCT is quite an adventure full of 
life giving experiences. We treasure our memories of all the natural wonders 
the PCT has, our hiking friends, Trail Angels and challenges.
Happy Trails - Pat