You might imagine that a dude in a skirt in the middle of the woods would get some funny looks. You might be surprised by the number of people who do not appear to notice that the dude is wearing a skirt. Of those who do, you might expect harassment from some. Me too. Apparently, rednecks find a dude in a skirt in the middle of the woods so strange that only someone who is unhinged would be prone to wear one. When dealing with the potentially unhinged, it is best just to give them plenty of room, the thinking seems to be. Best not to risk finding out if the skirt wearer is actually unhinged and therefore dangerous.
The other group seems to know two things. A) the skirt is a kilt, suitable for wear by men. B) the person wearing it is certainly unhinged but not in a bad way. The large majority of people I encountered on a bright afternoon in Bent Creek were on their bikes and therefore moving too quickly to really process what is going on. “Oh my God, there is a person coming at me on the trail. Don’t let me hit him. Don’t let me hit him. Don’t let me hit him. I didn’t hit him. It was him, right? Was he wearing a skirt? Crap, there’s a tree. Don’t let me hit the tree ….”
In the canon of kilt runs, this one was fine. It’s important to try it out on the sunny side and the warm side. All part of the master plan which will be revealed in time. I have to admit, however, that sunny warm days do not naturally lend themselves to running in a kilt. The Hieland Lochs are not brought to mind by California weather. What we need here are some low hanging clouds and dreary mist.