Medieval Hike

[Llwyd]

Some of us outdoor enthusiasts from Canada who also happen to be medieval reenactors got together to do a little hike on the Bay of Fundy coast only we did it in medieval clothing and gear. Some of the newer members do not have their full kit yet and some of the older members opted for modern footwear but we had a great hike and a great day with a picnic lunch in the middle.

First I was asked to teach a little class on walking stick supported tarp shelters, the sort of thing one could plausibly make up with a medieval cloak or canvas tarp. My side kick Amy also rigged up a little sun shade with her canvas tarp that could be modified slightly to spend the night in if she had to. Unlikely as she has a newborn who also came on the hike.

With the silly tarp class over, we could go for a little hike. The whole idea of dressing up in medieval clothing and going for a hike is pretty silly and the looks on the faces of the otherwise normal people was pretty priceless, but we had fun.

My girlfriend Lyssa waits patiently while I fill up the camera card with pictures of her.





Of course Hunter had to come. At 13 years old he still loves adventures, medieval or otherwise.


Some of the more interesting plants around our hiking trail. The woodsorrel and the bunch berries are edible. Not sure about the flower?




The coastal scenery is also pretty good. The Fundy coast is pretty extreme in its tides and geography.

















At the end of the day, everyone had fun and the hike was a great success. We are planning other silly adventures this year as well so those may be shared as well.

Cheers;

 

[Harvestman]

Great stuff. Love the costumes and the landscape too. The Bay of Fundy has some of the greatest tidal ranges in the world (there are arguments over exactly where has the greatest range of all).

 

[bopdude]

Wow, great day, great costumes and amazing scenery, thanks for sharing.

 

[Dreadhead]

Fantastic! Have thought about doing something similar in full viking kit one day, you have spurred me on

Sent from my SM-T230 using Tapatalk

 

[Mike313]

Lovely photos, and a great day out. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Toddy]

Looks like a fun day out in a beautiful bit of the world
Thank you for sharing the photos Woodland walks are one of life's pleasures, especially with sea views like those.

How did you find the boots, grip wise, on damp grass/wet rocks ? I know it can be a major problem for many of the reenactors here.
Maybe that's a problem with the leather soles and I don't know if your's are or not, though. Best that they've come up with is the melted beeswax soaked in for fully authentic, nails just don't seem to work too well.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Llwyd]

The only time I have ever had problems is on inclines when there is wet grass, more so when a sole is newly replaced. That said; I do not think medieval people had to contend with mowed grass. Longer grass is not such a problem, and neither is farm grass grazed by animals (for whatever reason?). Wet rocks of the smooth polished variety are just as bad for modern boots so no change there.

My boots are a later medieval type boot and are bees waxed. More heavily at the bottom where it is wet. I put two layers of leather into the sole and I over size them slightly to the vamp and heal of the upper. This allows it to wrinkle a bit, conform to the foot better with some extra room for foot swelling after a long day. I also put a modern felt sole in. which is basically a bunch of scrap wool stitched together and poked with a funny needle thing a bunch of times. The leather bottom builds up a bit of texture after a while and because it is allowed to wrinkle a bit it is a bit more grippy. Well I confidently went to the edges of cliffs anyway... I am told I am special though?

Lyssa did not wear her pointy 14th century pointy shoes but instead wore an earlier type of turn shoe. It too is a bit bigger on the bottom with felt inside. She has discovered that a pair of needlebound socks gives better traction and comfort for some reason? I guess maybe the tractor tread look of them transfers through to the leather over time because the bottom of hers does look a bit rippled?

I guess nails or studs would be more important if we were doing fighting but I am too busy teaching, and generally screwing around having fun in the woods, or with kids to be the most unpopular guy in a shield wall complaining about the hypocrisy and futility of armed conflict or something. I would make a better ambush predator anyway.

After you resole a pair of boots a few times the stitching holes begin to wear out on the uppers. I am due for my 3rd resole here soon and will look at them then, but once the stitch holes are almost done, I am going to beef up the bottoms one last time and glue some vibram soles onto the bottom. Then they will be retired to demo events on pavement and other slippery modern surfaces. Gym floors, pavement and asphalt are all hell in medieval type boots.

I lot of people hate period shoes due to lack of arch support but I do not mind them. The same people that hate them wear crappy flip flop sandals so I never know if they just like to complain or are too lazy to make or acquire period footwear. I guess it will remain a mystery?

 

[Wayne]

Lovely pictures looks like a fun time was had by all. Glad Hunter is still able to enjoy some adventures.

 

[Badger74]

Good stuff. I've done it before using 15th century gear, but in winter.

I think the shoe grip problem has always been there. Remember the English removed theirs to climb the hill to outflank the Scots at Flodden as bare feet gave better grip.