Chocorua, Bluejeans, and sneakers

[Snowflea]

Out West lots of people still hike in jeans. People have hiked the AT, etc., in jeans/cutoffs. Many people, myself included, regularly hike in "sneakers." I like to call them running shoes. Kinda hard to trail run in boots.

The important thing is that they're OUT THERE spending time in the mountains/nature.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Out West lots of people still hike in jeans.

Yup, it's a lot dryer out there. It seems to work fine. I talked to a few people about it and they said they were quite comfortable. But if you get rained on, it might be a different story.

 

[giggy]

are you kidding me..... last time I checked, one not needed an 6000 cui pack and down suit to hike this peak..

laughable how some folks assume and make fun of hikers that "look" like they get out once a year. Or - sometimes its the cool thing to do for folks to somehow make fun of foks who might get out once a year to enjoy the mountains during foilage....


I wear sneakers on most day hikes.. I guess if we call them "trail runners" its ok???

I also crank my ipod alot. Rather hear "I will kill you" cranking on my pod than some bird chirping...

 

[Paradox]

I don't know that you can call anyone in jeans and sneakers a beginner....

-Dr. Wu

Yep, 30 years ago, that was pretty much day hike regalia for anybody. I do wish a map/compass +/or GPS was somehow required to venture forth. Save all of us a lot of internet ink.

 

[dr_wu002]

are you kidding me..... last time I checked, one not needed an 6000 cui pack and down suit to hike this peak..

laughable how some folks assume and make fun of hikers that "look" like they get out once a year. Or - sometimes its the cool thing to do for folks to somehow make fun of foks who might get out once a year to enjoy the mountains during foilage....


I wear sneakers on most day hikes.. I guess if we call them "trail runners" its ok???

I also crank my ipod alot. Rather hear "I will kill you" cranking on my pod than some bird chirping...

It's funny because my non-hiking friends think that I look like a loser for wearing "special hiking clothes" to go walk around in the woods.

-Dr. Wu

 

[mookie]

i wonder if they had cotton socks and underwear as well? now that would be crazy....

 

[smitty77]

Yep, 30 years ago, that was pretty much day hike regalia for anybody. I do wish a map/compass +/or GPS was somehow required to venture forth. Save all of us a lot of internet ink.

Yep. IIRC a bulk of my early fall hikes were in Jeans and sneakers and cotton shirts, including a Carter-range traverse and Owls Head. And I lived to tell the tale!

And FWIW, I've seen plenty of noobs wearing the "appropriate" gear, fresh off the rack at EMS or REI, sitting trailside huffing and puffing as I jog by in my denim and sneakers.

And I disagree that this crowd is more prone to rescue. Having "apprpriate" gear just allows those who think they can handle the conditions to get a whole lot more 'in over their head" and a lot further from the trailhead before their feeble brain finally says "uh oh! We've made an error in judgement."

 

[JohnL]

I’m surprised that some of you could even see the blue jeans and sneakers with your noses so high in the air. There’s only one reason to scoff at what others are wearing: to create a faux feeling of superiority. Gimme a break! What a bunch of gear snobs! If cotton kills, I would have been dead more times than a cat. I don’t know how many times I drove home from winter hikes when my jeans didn’t thaw out until I got to Tilton. So what! Do you honestly think because you have a bunch of plastic clothes and your 10 electronic essentials you’re a better, more experienced, more aerobic, more environmentally conscious hiker than that ‘clown’ with the jeans and sneakers? Please…spare me. For some people it’s more about being a hiker than looking like one.

JohnL

 

[Tim Seaver]

I guess this is what you find in tourist season on popular trails.

Or even out of "tourist" season. Take a hike up the Burrows Trail on Camel's Hump on a nice winter day when it's well packed out. Same deal. Not everyone has a few thousand bucks to drop on winter gear (add up the cost of the stuff in/on your pack sometime - it's enlightening!)

I used to have a rather snotty friend who would refer to almost all other hikers as "tourists" ( not to imply that you are). I don't think he ever understood the hypocrisy of the statement.

As Sue said, I'm glad they are out there.

 

[leaf]

I agree with JohnL.

 

[mookie]

hate to admit it, but i agree with leaf.

 

[erugs]

I agree with Bigfoot et. al.

 

[Tim Seaver]

Yer either with us...

And so the lines were drawn...

The Defenders of the Cotton Klan started forming a circle around the innocent hill walkers - those who know nothing of lists or patches.

Quickly erecting a wall of words, they arched their backs and stood tall, shielding these simple mountain people from the Gore-Tex Gorgons, now seen forming in numbers across the cold, dark waters in the fjord below...

next verse, anyone?

 

[bryan]

.....For some people it’s more about being a hiker than looking like one.

JohnL

exactly.

bryan

 

[Tom Rankin]

Can't we all just get along?

Well, probably not, but seriously, does anyone think that hiking in jeans and sneakers is a preferred approach to this activity we all purport to love? (I'm speaking of the N.E., not Colorado, etc.)

No, hiking in jeans will almost never kill someone, but don't we agree that the more poor choices one makes, the more trouble one is likely to face?

If DW, or TS, or JL (there are 2 answers to that one! ) want to wear denim or crocs, fine, they understand the risks. But can't we promote hiking safely, (not the web page), without being called 'snobs', 'snotty', 'elitist', etc. ???

 

[Tim Seaver]

...armed with not much more than t-shirts and damp trousers, the Klan may have seemed to be an unworthy adversary to the Gorgons, but their fierce devotion to the Freedom of The Hills would be their battle cry, and steel their spirit for the coming battle.

Their foes were well armed and diverse - The Concerned Warners, The Knights of Knowitall, of course, the much feared Patch Tribe. Their combined years wandering the hills taught them much - but had they forgotten something? As the prow of their gleaming Carbon Fiber Sloop effortlessly cut though the frigid waters, this weighed heavily on their collective souls. Yet a word was not uttered among them...for now.

 

[Tim Seaver]

What a Set Up

If DW, or TS, or JL (there are 2 answers to that one! ) want to wear denim or crocs, fine, they understand the risks.

At least in terms of fashion. You might catch me dead in cotton, but never in crocs.

Now if you will excuse me, the Gorgons are closing in quickly...

 

[una_dogger]

. But can't we promote hiking safely, (not the web page), without being called 'snobs', 'snotty', 'elitist', etc. ???

It would be nice. But then, this *is* the internet ....

Sounds like a great hike, Bigfoot. I haven't hiked the Big C yet, but hope to get there someday.

 

[Tim Seaver]

...pushing the leaky wooden craft into the foamy swells, the Klan shivered mightily as their now soaked all-natural undergarments quickly lost the cottony comfort that until moments ago, swaddled their nether-regions with comfort not known to their Synthetically Clad foes.

Standing at the prow stood John of Epping, ready to smite all that challenge with a fearsome swipe. At his side was Lief of Taxmony, quick on her feet, and a worthy adversary on any terrain...

 

[Tim Seaver]

...their ships now within shouting range, they hurled insults as they maneuvered for position.

"Gear Snobs!"... "Judgemental Elitists!"..." We have a right to these hills as much as you, we say!" cried the Klan.

"Unprepared Doofuses!"..."Sneaker Wearin' Trash!"..." Back to the mall with your Hanes and your Crocs!" countered the Gorgons in unison, laughing heartily at the sodden and ill-equipped Klanspeople, far below the gleaming teak deck of the "Equipe"...