Are hikers just as bad as yuppies in spandex?

[Nightwalker]

But then I wonder if hikers aren't just the same but with different yuppy stuff. Think of all the stuff right now that we think we cannot enter the woods without which 50 years ago didn't exist. We depend on our synthetics as much as cellphones and satellites. Gortex boots, knee high gaiters, breathable rain suits, convertible pants, wiking shirts.... on and on and on to the hiking poles and GPS. What I really want is a holographic 3D map device.

No boots, running shoes, though plain old tennis shoes work. No cellphone. No GPS. No gaiters. Plain old nylon wind/rainsuit with silicone spray on it. Good old low-tech nylon dress socks, two pair at a time for blisterfree hiking.

I do admit to trekking poles and a microfiber shirt, but I ain't no dang-blanged yuppie hiker!!!

The trekking poles are el-cheapos from Target, the shirt is the same from Wal-Mart...

[Mags]

But through all of that, backpacking was never considered to be a 'cool' thing. "Cool" was surfiing or skiing, in the 60s; it was basketball or lacross in the 80's; soccer and x-sports in the 90s. Fine. I enjoyed backpacking, and I didn't demand 'public respect.'

Now, though, backpacking is 'cool', and outdoor clothing worn by wannabees is common.

As a side note, debatable how "cool" backpacking is today. Suspect it was more cool in the 60s and 70s. It is why Backpacker Magazine is changing its format to more of an "Outdoor Lifestyle Magazine". The overall amount of people who backpack is now down for a variety of reasons. I will agree that the amount of people into outdoor activities (or at least looking like it!) has gone up.

re: buckskins, wool sweaters, etc..etc.

Hey don't forget they were the Patagucci clothing of their day. According to an NPS website, the "coatees" that the civilians wore on the Lewis and Clark expedition were ~$16 ea, or $187 in 2003 dollars. (Googled an inflation calculator) About the price of a really high end fleece today! Of course, being a govt expedition, I am sure the prices were inflated a bit.

I don't have it handy, but I have somewhere in my book collection the prices of clothing at a general goods store c. 1880s. I suspect we'd find similar results.

Wonder if John Muir compared complained about poseurs wearing long wool coats?


re: hiking clothes
Sgt. Rock mentioned how the average hiker questions his choice of hiking gear/clothing. On the Colorado Trail this summer, I was asked repeatedly if I was a day hiker due to the size of my pack. One backpacker with really big, heavy boots and a really big heavy pack asked/declared "You don't backpack too much, do you?" when he noticed my sneakers. Just grinned and said "Oh, I do a little backpacking now and then".

re: using Lance Armstrong biking clothes
Egads! I see that way too often in my town. Prefer something more muted for all my outdoor clothing.
My running clothes are from Target. No replicas for me!

My hiking shirt is a long sleeve polyester shirt from the thrift store. Light, blocks the sun and has a great pocket for my camera. Being button down, can use it for town stops so I look all swanky. Couple that with my nylon shorts ($12) and $10 ski poles, I look quite dapper.
But isn't that funny...we have a reverse code for "serious" hikers. But the more beatup looking the gear, the more "legit" looking you are. Interesting.

re: running
Hey, I used to think the same way. Then I tried it.
It is simple, enjoyable and if done on trails can give me a different way of seeing the outdoors. I will never be a fast runner (10 min/mile at best!), but like many of us have good endurance and can enjoy the longer runs. Only been doing it for two years now. Look me (and my knees up) when I'm 50!

[Needles]

If I keep my boots, treking poles, and backpack but other than that hike naked would that exempt me from this discussion? I know it wouldn't exempt me from getting arrested, but hey, them's the risks you take to avoid looking silly?

[flyfisher]

What Muir did and then wrote about and so wonderfully photographed was the outlandish idea of returning to the wilds for fun.

What he demonstrated was being able to "jump over the back fence" with very little gear and walk and enjoy the world he was surrounded by. That little area he lived near (Yosemite) probably helped him get a vision for the good of returning to the wilds.

I notice in the pictures of him that his clothing was that of an outdoorsman. He changed clothes to go out to the woods. He was wearing neither the wear of the California city dweller nor the rancher.

I think most of us change clothes to go to the woods too, just like bike riders. There are parts of clothing which are so useful in that pursuit that we would ot dream of parting with them. For some of us, we even continue to wear part of that outfit even when we are not in the woods. (camping shirts or boots around the house or at work)

[Kerosene]

Actually I hiked with a young lady in 1998 who wore spandex and really defined the word "randy."

Now this is a topic I want to hear more about!

[DMA, 2000]

Stuart, your post about replicas reminds me of a comment I once read. A few years back (maybe 20 or so), it became more common in New Zealand to buy and wear the famous black jersey of that country's national rugby team, the All Blacks (as much a symbol of that nation as anything else). One older man spied a youth decked out in one and snorted, "In my day, you had to earn those." Fair comment to anyone in a yellow jersey.

I think that backpacking chic involves more than the best and trendiest gears and fabrics (though that's part of it). It usually requires a lot of dirt, abuse, duct tape, and something home-made or jury-rigged. You know, so you have stuff that looks like it's spent some time in the woods.

[LIhikers]

I'm pretty sure hiking and backpacking has it's share of yuppie minded folks as does every other sport and activity. Let's not paint with a wide brush and include everyone in the same catagorey though. Besides, it's OK with me if a yuppie wants to enjoy some down time in the woods. Just don't tell me that I'm foolish for hiking without a GPS hanging around my neck, or that there should be a Starbucks coffee shop at every road crossing. If they want to accept the outdoors they way they find it that's OK with me. When they suggest that every trail should be paved (and I've heard that, believe it or not) so that they don't get mud on their hiking gear, that's where I'll draw the line.