Why Shorts and Gaiters?

Maplemusketeer at Botanical Beach, BC. Photo by Island Alpinist

Why Shorts and Gaiters?
A number of years ago whilst photoadventuring around the mountains and beaches of Vancouver Island we realized how much we loved the combo of shorts and gaiters for their practicality, function, and sweetness. You likely all know what shorts are but gaiters may have you scratching the collective noggin.

These are gaiters!

The Gaiter, not to be confused with the Gator, is the single most useful thing in the hiking universe aside from a towel. It keeps your feet dry and your boots safe. It prevents the unsightly ankle scathing often caused by the perils of the underbrush, all the while keeping your legs dry and breathing. They keep pebbles from your boots and increase one's mileage. A good gaiter can be like a good dog: (Wo)Man's best friend. Combined with shorts, our intrepid explorers are free to roam across the land in comfort! Free of the cumbersome confines of full length pants.

They're a fashion statement all of their own and we started a Shorts and Gaiters flickr group about it. The response was delightful. People around the world also rambled in shorts and gaiters! Ourhikingblog.com.au even wrote a great post about the group. Practical and fun, with an outdoorsman's thumbing of the nose to urban-chic fashion sensibilities, Shorts and Gaiters strikes a resonating chord with the whimsically practical outdoor adventurer.

What the heck is this blog about?
We love to explore and ramble, often in shorts and gaiters, while taking pictures. When searching for info on the internets about the various places we'd heard tell of we often found: only the BC Parks website, nothing, cluttered confusing reports, or our own photographs and writings!

So we started this blog to:

• give a brief description of the parks and places we discover and tramp about
• share sweet outdoors photos of mirth, hi-jinx, and wonder
• share tips and gear suggestions
• encourage you to get out there and discover the world right outside your door!

( That last point being the most important in our minds :) )

Who are we?
We've written each other's bios and you can find them by clicking on our names below
The other links go to our respective blogs and twitter accounts.

Karsten Klawitter aka The Island Alpinist (@IslandAlpinist)

Jordan Oram aka The Maplemusketeer (@Maplemusketeer)

Taken by Dave Hallstead of DavidNathaniel Photography on top of Mt.Steele, BC

So thank you for stopping by! Now it's time to pull on our shorts, lace up our boots, and lash on our gaiters. Adventure beckons!

Sincerely,
Karsten and Jordan
The Shorts and Gaiters guys