100 Years of Gear: : WTC Chair Traces the Journey From Wool To Nylon

Looking great in the great hiking era:Ellen Sparks sporting bandana head wrap, middie-blouse, hiking breeches and high lace-up boots on a hike during the 1920s Below, D.D. Chalmers in resplendent 1920s hiking attire, including a bandana head wrap. . Ellen Sparks Collection, Angeles Chapter Archives.

The Dawson sisters in bloomers when they hit the trails circa 1905. L to R: Lilly, Daisy, and Myrtle, sisters of Ernest Dawson, an early Southern California Chapter leader who became a President of the Sierra Club. Glen Dawson Collection, Angeles Chapter Archives.

On the upper reaches of Mt. Everest In 1999, famed mountaineer Conrad Anker came upon a stunning sight: a marble-white body partially clad in wool and cotton. This was no ordinary mountaineer frozen in the ice and rock. The non-technical fabric was a dead give-away that the deceased was from a by-gone era. Then, the name on the label cinched it: Mallory-which put the date at 1924, when legendary climber George Mallory and his teammate Sandy Irvine went missing, leaving behind a tantalizing mystery as to whether they had summitted or not.

Aside from the tattered garments, other items were strewn about or tucked in a pocket: a fingerless knit glove, a bit of rope, snow goggles, altimeter, letters, a knife and a pocket watch. And, quaint leather hobnailed boots, de rigueur for mountain travel back in the day.

How could anybody attempt such a feat without Gore-Tex, down and crampons?

People have been getting outdoors for a long time without modern fibers, thank you very much. Whether questing for fire, food, conquest or peace, walking outside has always been part of life on earth. What is more recent in the human timeline--in the last 100- plus years or so - is the concept of hiking for mere pleasure, or as Mallory purportedly said: to climb, 'because it is there.'

And getting there requires gear- and something to wear.

Once upon a time, you got your Pendleton woolens only from sporting goods stores or army surplus. Or, your grandma knit you a sweater. As a hiker, you might have resembled an English schoolboy in knickers or a frisky hiking girl in adapted undergarments known as 'bloomers.' Above all, you were stylish. Today, you have the added advantage of hundreds of outdoors specialty shops and online stores screaming for your discretionary dollars as part of a multi-billion-dollar industry that thrives on changing tastes, fashion, textiles and of course: science. The science of how we sweat, how we stay warm or cool and so on.

During the last one hundred years since the Angeles Chapter's founding in 1911, the Sierra Club has been a key trendsetter in hiking fashion, for better (big colorful bandanas) or worse (leggings under shorts). Sierra Club hikers have been conspicuous all over the country in the vanguard of this pastime, symbolized in America perhaps first in the person of John Muir, whose wild beard, wool gabardine trousers, shirts and jaunty bowties cut an iconic figure in the wilderness in the late 1800's-early 1900's. As a gear-centric course, it is only fitting that WTC takes a look at what we would have worn and carried in the early 1900's versus today.

Known as 'The Great Hiking Era,' the period from 1895-1938 saw an explosion of bloomers, breeches, ties, blouses and lace-up boots tramping up into Southern California's mountains. Angelenos dressed for the moderate regional climate that had brought so many of them here in the first place. While the concept of 'layering' may not have been preached, hikers stowed extra clothes and lunches in canvas knapsacks of various sizes, which they schlepped on the Pacific Electric Red Car in Sierra Madre to get to their San Gabriel front range trailheads for local Sierra Club hikes. Their adventures were published in chapter schedules and the L.A. Times, and sometimes included a hotel stay, or dinner.

One thing we hikers today have in common with those great hiking era folks is that we all care about the weight of our gear. While army infantrymen are saddled with a ton of heavy stuff due to their job, day hikers, backpackers or 'knapsackers' have always sought out lighter gear to carry. For instance, in the 1920's, a woman could find a size small canvas daypack that weighed just 10 oz., lighter than most you can find today. Of course, it did not have a camelback pouch or a cell phone pocket, or even a zipper.

Peter Ireland notes that the Angeles Chapter may well have been in the forefront of the adoption of lightweight shoes, well before they were invented. He observes, 'One item that repeatedly appears in the chapter archive photos from the 1920's is a canvas shoe used for hiking. This was counter to the typical and almost universally used knee-high leather boots typical of the era. Reference to this gear item appears in Van DerGrift's Hike Shop advertising as ‘Canvas Hiking Shoes' - $2.50.'

Peter's exhibit for a 1920's Sierra base camp includes a canvas ‘A' frame tent, canvas sleeping cot, canvas hand waxed, water repellent, bamboo external frame Anderson & Thompson rucksack, American Gas Machine 'hanging tank' camp stove, 1924 Coleman Camp Stove with oven, assorted canned goods, collapsible camp stools, canteen, and water bag. No Clif bars, shots or Gu.

As hiking grew in popularity, many of the local sporting goods stores catered especially to the Sierra Club crowd. There was Kerr's in Beverly Hills, and Van Degrift's. These stores even made things to 'Sierra Club' specifications and advertised in the chapter schedules. A symbiotic relationship of commerce and athletic activity.

One item that just about everyone carried was his/her own 'Sierra Cup': a tin cup with a metal wire hooked handle, often attached to your waist. Cups embossed with 'Sierra Club of California' (later shortened to 'Sierra Club') identified the owner as a member. And you drank freely from most streams along the way.

During the 1920's, knickers (aka breeches) for men gave way to long pants, and for women, bloomers gave way to knickers and sailor or 'middy' blouses. Both men and women still wore ties, a nod to fashion, but boots gradually settled down from lace-up high-tops to more comfortable footwear. And the ultimate trendy hiker, such as D.D. Chalmers, wore big colorful bandanas, wrapped around the head Bedouin style. By 1929, as work began on the Angeles Crest Highway, further extending human access to more remote areas, long pants for both sexes gradually became acceptable and practical.

The first great hiking era came to a crashing end in 1938 when torrential rains and floods wiped out roads, bridges and trails in the mountains, leaving such nostalgic remnants as the 'Bridge to Nowhere.' But hiking did not go away; it was subdued for a while, much as the 2009 Station Fire and subsequent slides and floods curtail our current access to the San Gabriels.

Today, with a plethora of packs, bags, tents, stoves, and clothes available to buy, choosing smartly can be a challenge. WTC instructors help students learn pro's and con's so that wise purchases are made. Of course, the fashion part is up to individual taste. Some WTC staffers can't part with items that have been around for a few decades. Even items from the 1970's and 80's compare interestingly. It is significant to note that until the 1950's, packs literally rode on your back only. It took gear-maker Kelty to come up with waistbelts and the rest is history.

And so, back in 1999 on the upper north slopes of Everest, Anker and his expedition mates made the Mallory discovery while wearing their Gore-Tex, down and crampons, complete with sponsor logos emblazoned on their gear. The contrast is startling compared with the simplicity of Mallory's attire. But don't pooh-pooh the past…

Today, we have come full circle, sort of. Along with the dri-clime, wicking layers and ultra-lite gear, we have returned to the use of wool. Not knickers or bloomers or ties, but smartwool socks and thin wool layers are back in use with new science behind them.

Maybe waffle-stompers are next.

Special thanks to Bob Cates, and Peter Ireland of the Chapter's history committee.

WTC congratulates the Chapter on its 100th birthday. We will announce celebratory hikes and other activities will be announced throughout the year. When first formed, the chapter was known as the Southern California Section, the very first 'chapter' of the Club. Its first hike took place for the Winter Season of 1911-1912: a 13.5 miler up the Arroyo Seco to Glendale via Sycamore Canyon (today, Chevy Chase Drive). Many of those early hikes - some without the trails we now use - are similar to hikes in the San Gabriels we do today, barring fire closures, of course. And some were social activities like ice-skating parties.

WTC will be awarded a Certificate of Merit on May 1, 2011 at the Chapter Awards Banquet.For more information on WTC, visit the website.