Section 4: Women’s Clothing

It is impossible to talk about nineteenth-century women hiking and climbing in the White Mountains without discussing clothing. Women’s every day garb was not suited to hiking, especially if bushwhacking. Not only did long dresses impede progress, but undergarments impeded breathing.

: “Camp Party at the Perch, Mt Adams, NH, 1893. Courtesy of the Appalachian Mountain Club Library & Archives.”

: “Three women at summit. From left: Hazel Peek, [unidentified], Theodora Beckwith. Courtesy of Ginny Folsom Umiker.”

: “Climbers at the White Cairn on Lowe’s Path, 1897. Photograph by Guy Shorey. Courtesy of the Mount Washington Observatory, Guy L. Shorey Collection.”

Photos may make female hikers of this period appear to depend on the help of men. With several pounds of clothing and the problems of even the shorter skirts while hiking, women could carry little else. On an 1882 White Mountain trip, each woman carried “‘her own satchel, attached to a leather belt, and a small canteen,’ but ‘all other luggage is delivered to the packman’,” who was hired specifically for that purpose. Note that male hikers also often depended on the same pack men to do the heavy work. Like their female hiking companions, they sought the physical challenge of hiking the peaks and not a test of strength in long-distance packing.

: “On the Start, Ravine House, Edith Hull, Harriet Freeman, Emma Cummings, Frank Freeman. Their weeklong hiking and camping trip started on July 9, 1902. They explored the Presidentials with guide Vyron Lowe. Courtesy of Gordon Alan Lowe, Jr.”

: “Harriet Freeman, Edith Hull, Emma Cummings, Vyron Lowe (guide). Photograph by Frank Freeman, 1902. Courtesy of Gordon Alan Lowe, Jr.”

: “Women in long dresses and snowshoes climb a steep slope. Courtesy of the Appalachian Mountain Club Library & Archives.”

: “Beginning of four day tramp over White Mts—Flash lights kitchen [of Halfway House] Two unidentified ladies working on snowshoes. Courtesy of the Mount Washington Observatory, Guy L. Shorey Collection.”

: “Five people in shelter. Photograph by Guy Shorey. Courtesy of the Mount Washington Observatory, Guy L. Shorey Collection.”

Lucia Pychowska took on the question of dress in an 1887 article titled “Walking Dress for Ladies.” She urged women to wear low-heeled boots, woolen stockings, gray flannel, knee-length trousers secured with “loose” elastic, and two skirts, since “most ladies will find two skirts more agreeable than one.” “The under one may be made of gray flannel, finished with a hem, and reaching just below the knee. The outer skirt should be of winsey… or of Kentucky jean. Flannel tears too readily to be reliable as an outer skirt.”The outer skirt was longer, so “a strong clasp pin, easily carried, will in a moment fasten up the outer skirt, washwoman fashion” for going up steep slopes or moving through “hobble bush.” Thus outfitted, women could have “appeared at the end of these walks sufficiently presentable to enter a hotel or a railroad car without attracting uncomfortable attention.”

: “Marjorie Hurd, “Fashion on the Peaks: 1876–1935,” Appalachia 20 (November, 1935), Illustrated by Grace N. Aznive and Ethel M. McKenna. Courtesy of the Appalachian Mountain Club Library & Archives.”

: “Marjorie Hurd, “Fashion on the Peaks: 1876–1935,” Appalachia 20 (November, 1935), Illustrated by Grace N. Aznive and Ethel M. McKenna. Courtesy of the Appalachian Mountain Club Library & Archives.”

: “Marjorie Hurd, “Fashion on the Peaks: 1876–1935,” Appalachia 20 (November, 1935), Illustrated by Grace N. Aznive and Ethel M. McKenna. Courtesy of the Appalachian Mountain Club Library & Archives.”

: “Marjorie Hurd, “Fashion on the Peaks: 1876–1935,” Appalachia 20 (November, 1935), Illustrated by Grace N. Aznive and Ethel M. McKenna. Courtesy of the Appalachian Mountain Club Library & Archives.”

: “Ida Rachel Butterfield in her “”regulation”” outfit in 1904. Photograph by Walter H. James. Museum of the White Mountains, English Collection.”

: “Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell—Mrs. Hamlin. Mrs. Mitchell has her skirt tied up and is tramping in her petticoat, 1911. Photograph by Walter H. James. Museum of the White Mountains, English Collection.”

: “George Flagg, The Crow’s Nest Near the Log Cabin, 1912. Sketch. Courtesy of Eric Sandin.”

: “Most of the Cardigan Party, Margret E. Goodrich on left, September 23, 1911. Courtesy of Nathaniel Scrimshaw.”

: “Young woman standing at the main trailhead across from the Ravine House. Courtesy of Ginny Folsom Umiker.”

: “Four women outside AMC Hut. Photograph by Ralph C. Larrabee. Courtesy of the New Hampshire Historical Society. www.nhhistory.org”

: “Woman sitting at summit. Museum of the White Mountains”

: “RMC Picnic at Cascade Camp, September 1913. Eugene Cook and others at picnic for rededication of Cascade Camp. Courtesy of Ginny Folsom Umiker.”

“Our dress has done all the mischief. For years it has kept us away from the glory of the woods and the grandeur of the mountain heights. It is time we should reform.” Mrs. W.G. Nowell, Appalachia, 1877

: “Miss ‘Pete’ Mayer sits near a campfire on a trail in the White Mountains, North Chatham, New Hampshire, September 16, 1919. Photograph by Ralph C. Larrabee. Courtesy of the New Hampshire Historical Society. www.nhhistory.org”

: “Walk O’ the Range, AMC Walk, 1917. Courtesy of the Appalachian Mountain Club Library & Archives.”

Without changes in clothing, women would have remained on the sidelines of White Mountain history. Female hikers’ observations pointed out not only clothing issues, but the societal understanding that wives unquestioningly followed their husbands where they led.

: Becky Fullerton in 1915 style hiking costume. Photo by Stuart H. Woodham