Lucky’s Trekking Tips - Muzzle Blasts, March 2023

  Lucky’s Trekking Tips

By Gerry “Lucky” Messmer

Many of us have put a lot of miles on the trail in our period gear and as for me I have survived a lot of nasty conditions from extreme heat to bitter cold and soaking wet in hard thunderstorms, but my kryptonite is my feet! 

If my feet aren’t happy my entire trip is ruined, and I am miserable no matter what. I have managed to figure out three good ways to protect my feet after years of trekking, re-enactments, living history events and trial and error. My footwear of choice, depending on the conditions are double sole elk moccasins, Jefferson Boots by Fugawee, and a pair of buffalo hide high top moccasins. 

The moccasins pictured were made for me by a man who is no longer with us but are of thick elk hide with double layered soles. They have served me well for many, many years and you can see the bottom of one why the double layer is critical. Because of the double layer I have had to do very little repairs to them, and they were my primary footwear during my 2000 miles Ashley’s Return trek. In the saddle the comfort of moccasins is incomparable. On long rides the cushion of leather is a welcome relief as your feet do their work in the stirrups. I am very sad about this pair as they have reached their end of life and I am now relegated to finding another pair as good or tearing them apart for a pattern and making a new pair. I don’t know about you, but I hate making moccasins and would rather have a root canal! 

For more rugged terrain or a lot of walking on stones, in mud or where my feet are going to take severe abuse, I prefer the Jefferson Boottee. There are several names for the same boot. However, this type of footwear can be seen in paintings of English sporting scenes in the mid-1700s. It was firmly established in the “new Republic” before the Revolution. The Half Boot, four inches above the ankle, while initially Colonial, later became known as the Jefferson Bootee for the War of 1812, Seminole War and Mexican War. In general, laced shoes were called “Jeffersons” until the 1880s. These were also issued to the Corp of Discovery for their journey. See image below.

Finally, for cold weather I have a pair of high-top moccasins made from a winter bull buffalo hide. They were superbly crafted by my good friend Oliver McCloskey from Utah. I have worn them often and on a five-day winter trek in December with some nice wool sox I never had an issue with cold feet. You can see from the pictures the fur is quite thick. They are a bit expensive, but in the end well worth the investment! All my footwear is well sealed with mink oil for water protection. Keep in mind, almost nothing that we would wear for our era(s) is going to be perfectly waterproof. Wet feet were the norm, in my opinion, offset by the warmth of wool socks! I hope this helps you get ready for your next journey, and I look forward to seeing you around a campfire or on the trail!

Once again, our thanks to Gerry Messmer for allowing us to reprint these second of his four trekking articles. The layout has been altered to make it easier to read. Earlier posts from this blog can be found here:

• Period Correct Footware: Click here.