[1]The signal varies with the locality. In some sections it is one shot, then a pause, and then two shots in quick succession; in other localities it is two shots in quick succession, then a pause, and then a single shot. Ascertain what the distress signal in any locality is before venturing into the wilderness.
[1]The signal varies with the locality. In some sections it is one shot, then a pause, and then two shots in quick succession; in other localities it is two shots in quick succession, then a pause, and then a single shot. Ascertain what the distress signal in any locality is before venturing into the wilderness.
The back pack man is in no immediate danger so long as his outfit is with him but let it be separated from him by mishap in a strange country and his woodcraft ingenuity will be taxed. If night draws close build a little bivouac fire and camp before dark, make yourself comfortable, get in plenty of fresh wood to keep up the fire all night, build a wind screen on three sides of fallen logs, brush and browse, and if possible lay something on the bare ground to keep you off the dirt.
One should make it a rule never to leave thecamp without taking a small emergency bag along which would greatly assist in case of getting lost. It should contain a compass, maps, First Aid packet, match box, fish line and hooks, emergency ration and a knife.
BACK packing of the wilderness adventurer’s outfit is one of the necessary evils to be endured for the privilege of enjoying the freedom of travel and the peace and quietude of cheerful camps in the untracked solitudes of the great outdoors. Truly its trials and tribulations are many, yet when fully mastered and one becomes an adept in cruising methods it spells absolute independence of everything except food supplies. Packing at best is a hard plod but it is to be remembered that there is a certain pleasure in even the roughest experience and that in after years only the pleasant things remain in reminiscence.
Much may be spared in the way of trouble and discomfort in woods travel by the selection of a correctly designed and properly hung pack carrier. Next to being properly shod the possession of a suitable rig for carrying the outfit from place to place is the most indispensable requisite for the hiker. The most common andsatisfactory article for this use is to be found among the array of tump lines, pack sacks or baskets, and pack harnesses, each designed for a purpose good for use in its particular field and very little elsewhere.
This choice in turn depends largely upon the weight of outfit to be carried which of course should be kept down to absolutely essential limits and within the personal physical capabilities of endurance. Tasks within one’s strength are pleasing or at least tolerable: those beyond that strength are punishment.
The tramper’s pack, inclusive of a ten days supply of provisions, need not weigh over thirty-five pounds. (The seasoned woods traveler will start with eighty pounds.) Any additional weight of grub will be directly proportional to the time one is to be out. It is always advisable for two persons to go together on such a trip for they can share the shelter, use the same cooking utensils and certain other nonconsumable items.
It is a fact unbelievable to the tenderfoot, yet readily attested by the experienced, that at the beginning the carrying of a thirty-five pound pack is entirely feasible for the average man and at the end of several weeks one can carry many more pounds with some ease. On ashort portage trip with canoe relief ahead a pack of one hundred pounds is conveniently transported on one’s back. The footman, however, must be carrying all the time and the beginner will find a thirty-five pound pack a sufficiently heavy burden. This must include shelter, mess kit, bed and a week’s supply of provisions. It is well to keep in mind that the pack lightens some each day as the provisions are used up.
The various pack carriers are so arranged that the weight is suspended either from the head of the woodsman, from his shoulder or by a combination of the two methods. It is to many a surprising statement that a much heavier load can be carried suspended by straps over the head than from the shoulders. This is due to the fact that one is thus enabled to utilize the powerful muscles of the neck. These muscles are generally poorly developed in the novice and this, together with the much better known method of shoulder suspension packing, is doubtless the excuse for the latter’s popularity among other than experienced woods travelers.
The Indian-tump line or head strap is the pack carrier par excellence for the transportation of heavy loads. Such a load hangs entirelyfrom the head of the carrier and not from the shoulders. It consists of a head band of rather stiff leather about two and a half inches in width by two feet in length. To each end of this is attached a strap or thong of similar kind of leather eight to ten feet long but only an inch in width tapering to a still lesser width at the ends and fixed to the head band by buckles.
To make up the tump line pack proceed as follows:—the blanket or shelter cloth is spread out and the thongs laid lengthwise about a foot from either edge—the blanket is then folded inward and across the thongs. The items to be carried are then laid on the end of the blanket well up toward the head piece. The other end of the blanket, from the folds of which the thong ends are protruding, is pulled taut, tied together and passed around the middle of the pack. The knack of comfortable tump line carrying, once the neck muscles are developed and hardened, is in properly balancing the pack.
The load is lifted to the back, the strap passing across the head high up on the forehead and not on top of the head as might be supposed. The load must properly fall in position on the back or discomfort will certainly resultwith a corresponding decrease of carrying ability. It should fit well in the small of the back, just above the hips. The method is very tiresome to the uninitiated because of the strain on the neck and head but one soon becomes accustomed to it.
The tump line or head strap is the one to use if the pack amounts to much above thirty pounds. Indians are thus able to carry loads of several hundred pounds on short portages but when the outfit can be arranged into several seventy pound packs the woodsman prefers to thus break it up and make several trips. With the tump line one can carry goods of most any bulk and shape. The strap has many other uses about camp.
The pack carriers which are suspended from the shoulders are fitted with loops through which the arms are thrust and which are connected behind to the load with either a set of harness intended to be buckled around any sort of camp duffle or riveted and sewn to a sack or basket. Fifty pounds is about the limit of the pack which one with experience can comfortably carry suspended from the shoulders. Breast straps are required for use with all types of shoulder harness to fasten the arm loops together in front or they promptly slip off. Incase of accident in the water they are disengaged with difficulty.
PACK HARNESSPACK HARNESS
One caution is necessary in selecting this type of packing apparatus. The shoulder straps must lead from a common center near the front and top of the pack and they may then attach as usual to each lower corner. The advantage in this single point suspension is this—if the straps hug close to the neck of the packer there is not the down drag or tire which would be the case were the straps nearer the points of the shoulders.
The pack harness is good for transporting an outfit provided one does not have to open the pack on the trail much—a procedure taking up too much time. In making up such a pack the blanket and shelter are made into a compact elongated bundle. The loose articles of camp duffle, mess kit, food bags, and extras are shoved into a specially made sack of lightwaterproof stuff of say twelve by thirty-six inch dimensions and with a tight-fitting top. The two bundles are placed side by side and the pack straps secured about them. The pack harness with the tump line combination is the best style to use if one prefers not to use one of the pack sacks.
The pack basket of wicker can be at once eliminated as it is too clumsy and bulky for our purpose and further it is not waterproof. It however fits very nicely into lithographs of supposedly ideal camp scenes. Being nonexpandable it limits the bulk of outfit. It is nevertheless popular with a certain class of New England outdoor men.
An ingenious packing apparatus has been perfected by Belmore Browne of the Parker-Browne Mt. McKinley Expedition of 1910. It consists of a padded canvas yoke which fits over the breast and shoulders of the wearer and the yoke ends connect by small stout ropes to the pack much the same as with a regulation tump line. The size of the pack regulates the length of the lash rope.
This pack strap is made very simply after
BELMORE BROWNE PACK STRAP Method of using pack strap and tump line Diagram of strapBELMORE BROWNE PACK STRAPMethod of using packstrap and tumplineDiagram of strap
the accompanying diagram. The length of the breast strap depends upon the breadth of the chest of the wearer. It is composed of a piece of ten ounce canvas of say twelve inch length and eight inches wide which is folded lengthwise making it twelve by four inches and is padded by felt or cotton. To either end of this is attached the shoulder straps consisting of double thicknesses of ten ounce canvas thirty-six by six inches and folded lengthwise and cut to taper from the yoke end. To its smaller end is attached a small stout rope of the length desired for the pack you will carry. The first twelve inches of the shoulder straps only are padded. The rope is lashed about the pack and the loose ends B and D are secured in the holes A and C near the arm pits.
To enable one to use the neck muscles also in addition to the shoulder straps a head strap is used. This is simply a double piece of ten ounce canvas two inches by twelve inches at whose ends are tied ropes which are attached to the pack. Browne has carried with this rig 100 pounds all day for several days at a time.
Various styles of pack sacks are extant. The foreign sportsman has what he calls a rucksack which means a “back sack” and which is a triangular shaped affair usually of waterproofedmaterials which he hangs over his back by two straps passing up across the shoulders. The top is the puckered end of the sack and reaches up close to the neck, the flared out bottom hangs down to about the small of the back. It is sometimes fitted with pockets. It is very good for country road tours or for foreign sight-seeing trips where the items carried cover some such list as a noon day lunch, a raincoat, a change of underwear, photo films, notebook and guide book, but it is unsuitable for heavy weight work on the wilderness cruise.
The haversack or knapsack slung by a strap from one shoulder is out of date and never measured up to the requirements for use in heavy packing. It is handy for lunches or as a ditty or emergency kit bag. The best pack sack was originated and put out by one Poirier of Duluth some twenty-five years ago and was originally really the whiteman’s improvement of the Indian tump line and pack cloth, ingeniously folded and tied so as to serve as a sack with suspension harness. As listed today by most outfitting firms it consists of a sack with shoulder straps and head suspension. It is a very desirable article from the point of view of the wilderness voyageur as he is enabled to ease up different sets of muscles while on the hike and
DULUTH PACKSACK Illustrating head-band and single point suspension for shoulder straps.DULUTH PACKSACKIllustrating head-band and singlepoint suspension for shoulder straps.Diagram formakingpacksack athome. Foldalong thelines.
in handling a heavy pack the combined use of the neck and shoulder muscles are brought into play.
This pack goes under the name of the Duluth, Poirier, Woodsman or Northwestern Pack and with slight modifications is listed under other names by various dealers in camp supplies. The genuine, however, consists of a simple flat bag of dimensions twenty-eight by thirty inches with adjustable shoulder and head straps. It has a large top flap with three long straps to hold it down thus enabling one to adjust it to a large or small pack. The following features are to be insisted upon—get the straps broad and soft and see to it that the connections are both sewed and riveted. The Poirier pack is much used on the Canadian border and is easily procurable or it can be made at home.
All things considered and especially in view of the ignorance of the average man as to how to adjust his pack straps properly the Woodsmans or Poirier is the best.
In its position on the back the pack should be carried low so the bulge fits the hollow of the back. If too high there is too much backward strain on the head and shoulders: if it istoo low it interferes with the gait. One can ease up the impact of a pack by letting the knees give a little with each step. In the case of heavy loads or a weak neck the strain can occasionally be relieved by clasping the hands behind the head or by slipping the straps from the forehead to the top of the head and grasping it with both hands about “ear high” so as to get a straight pull downward instead of backward.
With a properly chosen pack a man can comfortably carry on his back all that is needed for a two weeks’ stay in the wilderness, inclusive of shelter, bed, cook kit, simple first aid requisites and the necessary provisions. Besides these the pack must carry miscellaneous items of duffle as follows:
Extra clothing may be very meager indeed. A gray all wool sweater for protection against cold, mainly at night or to be worn when washing the shirt, and two pairs of heavy all wool socks are all that one needs. In the way of toilet articles include a tooth brush and a tube of paste and two brown crash towels for the daily rub down. A bar of wool soap sufficesfor toilet and laundry purposes. The map mounted on cloth should be encased in a waterproof envelope.
Provide a repair kit consisting of a few items for simple mending—a spool of stout linen thread No. 12, with suitable needles, a few rivets, safety pins, some waxed harness thread, needles and a light awl.
A good axe is almost indispensable. Although an experienced camper may learn to get along well no matter what is lacking, without an axe he is seriously handicapped for food, warmth and camp making and often protection from beasts and insects depend on the axe and the fire it makes possible. A gun may be dispensed with but never the axe. Don’t try to economize too much in its weight. For average trips and moderately cold nights a light belt axe of say one and one-fourth pound head is about right. It should have a long helve and it will then give greater power than a heavy one with a short helve. Pocket axes are not advisable.
If the nights are cold and you have to keep up an all night fire in front of the leanto, an hour’s work will enable you to spend the night fairly comfortable. You will need a large amount of good dry wood. To secure this theaxe had better be a well tempered, light regulation chopping axe of say a two pound head and a thirty inch handle. Never take a poor axe into the wilderness where comfort and ofttimes life depend on it. Soft tempered edges bend where thin and if tempered too hard they will break in frozen wood or knots.
A small whetstone for sharpening must be with you. The combination coarse and fine carborundum sportsman stone is handy. A leather sheath will help to protect the axe edge from becoming dulled and the outfit from being cut. In use keep the axe clear of overhead limbs or brush which might turn it. Hold it rigid and learn to hit the spot aimed at.
The inclusion of fishing tackle depends on the nature of the locality you are to visit. Fish make an agreeable change from a bacon, biscuit and tea diet. Take a few hooks, a stout line, flies and spoon hooks and you can depend on improvising the pole where used. For bait you may be driven to bacon fat, frogs, grasshoppers or grubs from an old rotten log. If the prime object of the trip is for fishing purposes of course a more elaborate equipment is permissible. You really won’t much notice the extra weight of a fish rod.
When every ounce and square inch of duffelhave to be debated over in view of the all important question of food supply and transportation facilities the addition of a small film camera bears few objectionable features. In no other way can a truthful record of vacation scenes be preserved. It truthfully portrays wild life in native habitat and is a great stimulus to personal observation. Almost any one can push the button and run a good chance of getting a clean cut picture, the clever thing is to amplify the camera’s working with one’s good sense in composing the picture. In woodland views when the sun is low expose to get the long shadows. In wild animal work get leeward to the trails. The lighting of your subjects should always come from behind the camera. Film must be protected from moisture and you can insure this in no way better than by getting the kind which is hermetically sealed as sold for tropical use and obtainable from the makers on special order.
THE most important requisite for the pedestrian is mobility. This in turn depends upon properly conditioned feet and a covering permitting the greatest ease in action and freedom from injury. So important is this physical item in the case of any one who walks that it may be taken as a criterion of one’s ability to cover ground. Granting other things equal, the successful army is the one which marches best; hence one of the greatest military problems of the day is a study of the proper care and housing of man’s pedal extremities. The measure of efficiency of the draft horse on icy pavements, of northern Indian packers over unbroken woods portages, and of the amateur pedestrian’s initial hike over interurban roads depends essentially upon being properly shod.
In a study of the foot we find it composed mostly of bones and that their movements are managed by a complex arrangement of muscles,in nearly every case by several sets working in unison. Any mechanical displacement of one bone throws not only all bones out of harmonious working order but also disarranges their accompanying muscles and the nerves attached to them, resulting in inefficient action and in radiating pains. The fleshy parts of the foot are at the sole, ball, on the bottom of the heel and along the outer border and they play the part of protection where it is most needed. The bottom flesh forms pads in walking and supporting the body, insuring springiness and lessening the jar which is incidental to locomotion. Shoes that do not fit the fleshy parts of the foot properly cause friction when walking and concomitant aches and pains.
X-RAY OF FOOT Properly housed in form fitting shoesX-RAY OF FOOTProperly housed in formfitting shoes
Nature intended man to walk with bare feet but following the dictates of necessity as his environment demanded foot protection and later of an all too dominant dictate of fashion he took to wearing foot covering. Since the feet do an immenseamount of work Nature has so constructed them that they will adapt themselves to many conditions. It is our duty to adjust the foot covering to assist Nature in protecting the foot.
Commonly the fitting of shoes is influenced by a consideration of fashion and style and not comfort, with a resulting condition which most people cheerfully accept, thinking that by so doing their feet will appear small and neat but really causing a cramping and narrowing of the ball and toes, with possible chafing, blistering, callus or corns—conditions incompatible with walking efficiency.
The physical effects of ill fitting shoes are unfortunately evident with most people today. In addition if one is not properly outfitted on a walking trip the psychological effect is also bad, resulting in discomfort, reduction of buoyancy of spirit, mental irritability and diminished traveling capacity. He becomes an object of pity, his enjoyment is turned to grief and his value as a pedestrian is in a certain measure destroyed.
An entire reversion of shoe fitting ideas should be made and the shoes made to fit the feet instead of the feet to fit the shoes. The feet are not to be carelessly jammed into any sort of a container. A good shoe cover mustprotect the foot, it must give security and be comfortable and durable without changing the foot shape in any way. To secure these things the fitting should have precedence over all other conditions. Properly fitted the shoe allows the foot to take practically the shape it would if it were not encased in a shoe. The last should be straight and from the outset do not regard the sole as too broad. There should be sufficient width at the end to allow the toes to lay on the inner sole of the shoe in a normal position, for when the weight of the body is placed on the foot the toes spread apart a little. Nature thus demands toe room. With the full weight of the body on the foot the toes should be able to wriggle about freely in a shoe. Walking causes the feet to lengthen one-half inch and broaden at the toe one-half inch. Provide for this swelling caused by the flattening of the arch and congestion of blood in the exercised region. The shoe should be long enough to extend well forward of the toes—two-thirds of an inch longer than the longest measurement of the naked foot; the inner sole border should be straight, broad across the ball and for average work on the roads need not be heavy but above all things it should conform to the foot. Have the heel fit snugly but acrossthe ball or front of the foot arch no compression at all.
The tendency is to overdo foot covering, getting the shoes too heavy. There is no need of lugging around extra weight. Aim for the minimum in leg weariness. Thick soles interfere with the leverage action of the big toe. The tramper covers territory and must look for ease, flexibility and lightness if at a sacrifice of the durability of the heavier goods.
The proper shoe should conform to the following specifications:—it should have a soft upper, making the total shoe height five inches, there should be no lining or box toe cap, the heels should be broad and welted and only three lifts high, the sole of one thickness. The shoe should be loose enough for free wriggling of the toes within and permit of the insertion of a cork innersole which serves as a kind of cushion for the tread and can be removed at night to dry out.
The shoe is the product of civilization and properly chosen is preferable for pedestrianism in the city and on country roads. Also in mountain work where wear is excessive and one must use calks or hob nails for security the heavy soled light uppered ankle-high shoe is advisable. Hobs of the small coneheadedHungarian variety are good on rough rocky country or where there is smooth short grass and add immensely to ease and comfort and safety in walking over mountain trails. Use these hobs sparingly. They give better foot hold and greatly save the sole and heel from wear. They should not extend through the sole.
For wilderness tramping in general the adoption of an entirely different sort of footwear is advisable. The real hikers—the men who make it a business of going on long trips with back packs do not use shoes. They wear the lightest, easiest wearing and most flexible foot covering they can get—the moccasin. The moosehide moccasin is the footwear of the Northwestern Indian who is the most tireless pedestrian in the world. Next to him is the Canadian voyageur with his oil tan shoe packs. Were the heavy soled shoe or boot the more satisfactory they would use it in preference.
The moccasin is a better foot covering than one would think. If you walk a few hundred miles in moccasins, on your return, you will be surprised at your carriage. You will stand easier and not sag on your heels in the clumsy attitude of the city man. In walking with moccasins you walk with all your feet, you don’t have a great foot weight to lift around and no binding heel or sole stiffness. One can walk noiselessly and is not likely to slip on rocks or logs. Some contend that the average city man has no license to tackle moccasins at least on the first week of the hike. They are hard on soft footed people for a time at least but the feet soon become accustomed to the change.
By the use of thick wool socks the foot comfort is still further assured. If one desires he can get soled moccasins or those with double bottom to prevent seam leaks, the outer sewed to the welt and the welt sewed to the sole.
The moccasin is absolutely unequalled for warmth, it is light and perfectly noiseless and has stood the test of ages by that race of hunters, the American Indians, who originated also the camp, trail, snow-shoe and canoe. One is, when equipped with them, more certain in carrying a pack, he is not so apt to turn the ankle, and the whole musculature of the foot is brought into play which is a great desideratum in precarious climbing.
Of materials moosehide is popularly associated with moccasins. It does not pretend to be waterproof but it is very durable and provides the softest, lightest, and most comfortable footwear made. A pair weighs but a fewounces and rolls up in a small compass, so an extra pair can be nicely tucked away in a corner of the pack. Even if a man wears shoes during the day a pair of moccasins should be taken along for a restful change of wear about the evening camp fire. Moosehide and elkskin are at present hard to procure hence the names are mainly trade terms. Discriminating sportsmen can get the genuine moosehide cruising packs from the Putnam Company, Minneapolis. For our purpose the oil tanned pack of cowhide is more easily procurable and superior for general use to the moosehide article. It can be kept pliable and a semblance to being waterproof by the application of animal oils.
The shoe-pack is a boot shaped like a moccasin but with a higher top. Either is preferable to a shoe for tramping because of their lightness and softness to the feet. The upper should be high enough to make the total pack height about ten inches.
No matter what footwear you choose you should provide for the wearing of one or two pairs of heavy wool socks into whose tops are tucked the pants leg, thus doing away with leggings. This may sound paradoxical to the tenderfoot. The idea of housing the feet in summertime in heavy wool socks! The notionnevertheless is based on experience. The thick are no hotter on the feet than the thin. It is the leather that keeps the heat in. Wool equalizes the moisture evaporation. If your work forces you into wet places the temperature is modified. One can fish standing in very cold water and not suffer. A sportsman can spend several weeks in an almost normal condition of wet feet without suffering, even in mild fall weather, since his wool socks keep his feet warm in spite of the wet and cold. Where one perspires freely on dry tramping the perspiration is taken up from the skin and transmitted by the wool fibers to the outside of the sock where it is more easily evaporated.
In the coldest weather the feet are always warm when covered with heavy wool socks and moccasins and it is the only successful combination for use in snowshoes. For common tramping they are ideal, for the constant exposure of the feet to the wet is to be anticipated and the thickness of the wool softens the shock and pressure of foot work on rough trails, diminishing the danger of friction and impact. In fitting shoes or moccasins over your heavy wool socks allow a half size larger in length and two letters in width over your street shoe. Even then your foot covering willbe about three times the bulk of your tight fashion-plate town footwear.
The life of a good fitting, light weight wool sock worn with a good fitting shoe is about 75 to 100 road miles or about a week’s wear in constant marching under ordinary conditions. Whenever the softness of wool is lost because of frequent washings discard them. Weston wears a natural gray wool sock undyed.
Never start on a long hike with unbroken shoes. A quick way to break them in rather than subject the tender feet to the trying ordeal is to follow the plan of the United States Army as follows: Wearing the shoes over wool socks stand in three inches of warm water for five minutes until the leather is soft and pliable, then walk on a level surface for an hour or until the shoes dry on the feet, to the shape of which the pressure of the body weight and muscular action have forced the leather, in drying, to conform. They will then be as comfortable as old shoes.
The one feature of shoe selection which seems to appeal to the average sportsman is waterproofing. He will allow his sane ideas of size, shape, weight and durability to run riot if only the salesman can prove his assertions of the waterproof qualities of the item athand. It happens to be well nigh impossible to make leather really waterproof. If one succeeds in impregnating the tanned skin with some water repelling application the seams are apt to leak in worn shoes and the leather treatment goes for naught. In fact waterproof footwear is just the condition the tramper doesnotwant. In the first place it is a sin to encase a perspiring foot in a shoe which retains all the effete matter of perspiration which will soften and weaken the skin. There may be conditions of wet snow where absolute dryness of the feet is paramount but then one had best get the regular rubber overshoe. All that we should expect of leather is that it will be impervious to water sufficiently so as not to soak it up like a sponge. Wet feet won’t hurt you but hot and sore feet always do; an occasional wet foot is far better than a continual sweaty damp foot.
Moosehide at best is not water repellent and is good for dry trails and dry snow work because of its porosity. Oil tanned calfskin shoes and moccasins are the best. They should be kept soft and supple by the use of one of the various dressings on the market or one compounded at home. Perhaps nothing beats pure neatsfoot oil for leather dressing. It is a naturalanimal oil free from acids and other substances deleterious to leather life. It is the chief ingredient of many of the shoe greases and waxes of commerce and is cheap and universally procurable. It should be applied with the finger tips on the dried warm leather, rubbing it carefully into seams, stitch holes, and threads to prevent their rotting. The French Army dressing is composed of neatsfoot oil 7 parts, and mutton tallow 3 parts. These heavier dressings interfere with the evaporation of the perspiration causing the feet to sweat in warm weather.
In drying wet shoes never place near a fire for this will result in a hardening of the leather. It is better to heat oats or gravel and fill the shoes to absorb the dampness. Moccasins can be stuffed with dry browse of any kind or inverted over stakes driven in the ground not too near the camp fire.
The pack should contain a ditty bag with a simple footwear repair outfit. For leather working take along a light weight awl, sail-maker’s needles and waxed thread with perhaps a repair patch of leather or rawhide. Customarily after long use of shoes or moccasins the threads break or wear away leaving seam leaks and one must be prepared to remedythem. They will be found especially around the vamp at the toe and the “T” heel joint. Clean out the old stitch holes back to where the twine is sound and start your repair seam a couple of stitches back of this.
AT night the novice wants to be housed in and the mysteries of darkness shut out, and as is becoming with precedent in outdoor living he must spread his blanket beneath cloth. This shelter can be very simple indeed and yet protect one from the elements. A tent’s sufficiency to turn water is not all that is necessary. Upon means of transportation and permanency of the camp depend the portability and lightness of the forest home. What will do in a permanent camp with plenty of transportation is a far cry from the tent just sufficing the absolute needs of the one-nighter who expects little more than mere shelter and warmth.
The shelter must be waterproof and on a hike trip be the extreme in lightness and compactness for the sake of easy carrying. Light weight tents of clever design can now be secured from any outfitter; or tent making at home is feasible and offers so much opportunity for the expression of individual ideas thatsooner or later the outdoor man will try a hand at fashioning the ideal shelter. Exclusively for the use of the hiker the simplest of tent forms will answer.
A rectangular piece of sheeting of fine texture, size 7 by 9 feet and waterproofed by the paraffine process will serve very well as a roof, pitched leanto style or stretched over rope ridge or poles as a wedge or “A” tent. Its ends may be closed by thatching with browse and a cozy fire built in front. It makes the simplest cloth shelter known and the cloth has a variety of uses such as a poncho, pack cloth, floor cloth or sleeping bag cover. Going a step farther in construction one can make the ends also of cloth and then one has a regular leanto whose principles of construction are as old as the hills whence it originated. There is no more efficient cloth shelter for all kinds of weather no matter how elaborately it may be constructed.
One must not regard the shelter feature of the leanto as its chief recommendation for its adaptability to perfect heating puts it above any other tent. The old fashioned reflecting bread baker of our forefathers which was set up near the open flames of the fire place was anefficient appliance and one which is again coming into popularity to replace the Dutch oven and ash cake methods of baking. The work is done by the reflecting surfaces—the angles of the top and bottom throwing the heat to the middle. This same principle is employed in the shelter tent however with only one reflecting surface (the slanting roof) throwing the heat from the front fire directly onto the bed. Other advantages of the tent are:—its lightness and its availability for use as a general pack cloth about camp or on the trail. It is the best tent for snow work and wintering if one is driven to a cloth contrivance at all at this time of the year without a stove.
The shelter cloth may be slung at any angle and best by means of a rope ridge thus saving pole cutting. The corners are staked out, using two-foot pegs which are pointed with a sharp axe. With the open side pitched to leeward one gets perfect ventilation and warmth. A rousing fire is required and one for all night means hard labor since many large logs are necessary for use on a chilly night. Since so much wood is necessary naturally this type is best adapted to wooded districts. In the woods dampness is nearly always present even in summer days. This probably does not alwayslower the temperature so much as it increases the humidity of the air. Build the fire with the back log reflector, placing it about four to six feet from the tent opening. Heat intensity lessens, the greater the distance between the fire and the tent.
In mosquito infested districts a loose cheesecloth front can be attached to the open side and again removed in cold weather to allow heat to be better reflected within and affording a cheerful view of the leaping flames. Two leanto shelters may be at any time joined ridge to ridge and thus used as a wedge tent. To close the ridge of such a combination one must have an eight inch drop cloth extending along one ridge to cover the opposite ridge section. They can thus be at any time separated and used as leantos.
In making the leanto at home the lightest material should be used. The advent of so-called balloon silk has revolutionized tent making and using it has made possible a better outdoor home where weight is the main consideration. It may be dyed an emerald or the popular khaki color either of which is restful to the eye and is inconspicuous alike to human and insect visitors. After being made into the desired tent form it can then be waterproofed by
Fig. 1.Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.—Diagram for Ends CLOSED LEANTO OR BAKER TENTFig. 2.—Diagram for EndsCLOSED LEANTO OR BAKER TENT
either the alum and lead or the paraffin process. The lines of stress in a tent lead from the points of suspension and these should be strengthened by tapes sewed on.
By attaching a flap along the ridge of the leanto the shelter may be made into a closed tent or extended out in front at the height of the ridge furnishing an admirable awning. Further by reversing the pitching so that the ridge extends from A to D the flap serves as a floor. Waterproof balloon silk may be purchased in thirty-eight inch widths and of it one will need twelve yards to form the closed leanto whose length will be seven and one-fourth feet, height four and one-fourth feet, and depth four and one-fourth feet. It will weigh around three and one-fourth pounds.
First you sew a rectangle seven feet six inches by ten feet seven inches. SeeFig. 1. We have here given oversize measurements to allow for an overlap of one-half inch or so at the seams. At the ridge E-B reinforce with tape or cloth and use two inches of the rectangle to sew over a rope ridge from B to E. The ends,Fig. 2, are made from a square fourfeet six inches by four feet six inches and then cut from the corner A to corner B. Thus A-B,Fig. 2, is sewn to A-B,Fig. 1and D-E,Fig. 2to D-E,Fig. 1. The edges of the whole tent are turned under and reinforced by a one-half inch white tape. At suitable intervals tie tapes are sewn around the tent edges to facilitate an attachment to ground pegs and in the adjustment of the flap.
A piece of cloth eight by twelve feet will furnish a remarkable variety of tent forms and shelter devices from a leanto to the closed style. It is the best bivouac for rain and mosquitoes. Aside from its simplicity in shape and handiness in construction, it has, if made from the proper materials, an added advantage of lightness and is ideal for use as a general utility camp cloth. No other style of tent will furnish so much head and sleeping room for the same weight and area of cloth.
In making one at home procure four yards of unbleached muslin of ninety inch width (or twelve yards of the thirty inch width), dye it the shade of color desired, and use it to make the tent and then waterproof it. Cut and sew the pieces into the 8 by 12 sheet and make
DIAGRAM OF TARPAULIN TENTDIAGRAM OF TARPAULIN TENT
TARPAULIN TENT ERECTEDTARPAULIN TENT ERECTED
around the edge a ¾ inch hem. Lay it flat and with chalk or a pencil mark the lines as diagrammed. For reinforcement sew on light tape from the points a, b, h, c and f as indicated and converging all at G where a semicircle of the tent material is sewed in and a strong cord loop is attached to the grommet in the peak. This suspension point will receive the greatest stress when the tent is pitched. Upon this tape reinforcement depends the strength more than the kind of cloth used. Make peg loops at e, d, f, a, h, b, and c. The back of the tent will extend from a to b, the sides f to a and b, to c and the front e to d with the apex at G. The holes are protected with grommets procured from the tent shop or hardware store and the cloth reinforced by 3 by 3 inch squares sewed in.
The tarpaulin used as a flat front tent, as a leanto or as an open shelter tent can be erected in a few minutes. To set up—the corners are first pegged down at A and B stretching the rear line snugly: carry the sides B and C and F and A to the point S at right angles to the rear line and peg down. Throw the suspension rope (5 yards of braided window sash cord) attached to the loop at G over a projecting limb or pole and pull taut. Thisrope should continue the angle of the roof from H to G and the front e, f, g and c, d, g, is perpendicular. A sod cloth may be sewed around the floor or a permanent floor cloth fitted in. In mosquito season a loose cheese cloth door may be attached. The dimensions of this useful tent when pitched are height 6½ feet, depth 5 feet, and width 7½ feet and when constructed of balloon silk need not exceed a weight of six pounds.
The tarpaulin tent inherits various salient features of worthy forebears—the teepee’s peak, the roof angle of the A tent, also the pyramid or miner’s, its front is a suggestion of the wall tent, while the open camp feature reminds us of the leanto with its broad sloping back wall which reflects heat on cold nights.
The tarpaulin used as an open faced tent is a compromise between a wedge and a cone tent. It lessens the height but gives more floor space. Peg down a and b as usual, then f and c somewhat at a distance and at an obtuse angle to the back and the front flaps out from the center.
The tarpaulin used as a leanto tent is easily erected by pegging down the corners E and D and suspending the opposite edge at an angle of 45 degrees as a ridge. Build your fire infront. For additional protection put poles, brush, etc., at the ends of the shelter.
Of materials preferable for use in light weight tent-making waterproofed balloon silk stands in a class by itself. Superseding the antiquated duck or flimsy drill tents it is one of the items which has done much to make tramping trips feasible and worth while. It is in reality not a silk at all but a closely woven cotton cloth with a weight of but 3⅗ ounces per square yard (12 ounce duck waterproofed tips the scales at about 16 ounces). It is waterproof, rot proof, mildew proof and exceedingly durable. A leanto for the bivouacker can then be kept down to three pounds.
Other colors than white are recommended for tents. Khaki is popular because it blends with the color scheme of the woods and plains and is restful to the eyes in the sun and cool on a hot day. A khaki colored waterproof silk is marketed as Tantalite. Should one prefer a cloth of green color he should get the so-called Emeralite. Neither one is so conducive to the collection of flies and other insects nor so noticeable in the woods as white. None of these cloths soak up water, hence if packed away after a rainy spell they do not appreciably burden the pack. Tents of most any desiredshape can be secured ready made from any of the above materials.
Should one want to attempt tent making at home he should get the so-called Egyptian sail cloth or Number XXX muslin and after making it up into the desired tent form waterproof it by one of the methods hereafter described.
Upon touching a tent roof during a rain it will in most cases begin to leak. Processing to make it waterproof will avail little if the right cloth is not used in the first place. Say you are making a so-called silk tent using muslin. There are several grades and weaves on the market some being loosely woven and they soak up water like cheesecloth. So get it of the tightest weave and by impregnating the fibers with a waterproofing solution they are enveloped by the water repellent mixture and the interstices are not large enough to let the water through. The proper closely woven muslin cannot be secured in the average town store but by perseverance can be purchased from the city department stores.
Waterproofing by paraffin is a most satisfactory process and the one most used by tent manufacturers. True the cloth is thereby stiffenedin cold weather but it is absolutely waterproof and the method of application is easy. Simply put into a tin vessel 3 pounds of paraffin shavings (ordinary paraffin of the stores) and two gallons of gasolene or turpentine. The receptacle, best with a closed top, is set in the sun or in a tub of boiling water and never near a flame. When a solution is effected outdoors spread it on the stretched cloth by means of a brush, sponge or piece of cheesecloth. The gasolene evaporates leaving a thin coating of paraffin in the fibers of the cloth.
Such coloring as you may desire to apply to the cloth must be done before the waterproofing process for thereafter the fibers will not take up a dye solution.
To make it fire proof and rot proof as well as water repellent I would treat the cloth first to an alum and sugar of lead solution and then paraffin well as above. Fireproof cloth is nearly as desirable as waterproofing. Many camps have been burned by sparks falling on the tent roof which was rendered very dry by the heat of the nearby camp fire. A spark falling on a properly treated tent roof burns only a little round hole at the worst.
The alum and sugar of lead solution is made thus:—4 ounces of alum and 10 ounces oflime are added to 10 quarts of water and the tent immersed overnight. In the morning it is rinsed in lukewarm rainwater and dried in the sun. The fibers of the cloth are filled with an insoluble solution of lead acetate and alum and is rendered efficiently fire and water proof.
No man knows what he can do outdoors until he has tried it personally. The shifty man caught homeless in the woods will make some sort of shelter for himself out of anything at hand as slats, boards, bark, boughs, sod, poles, dirt or whatever is available. At no stage of the camper’s game can one display his ability to utilize woodcraft as he can in building the emergency bivouac.
Wherever one goes matches, knife, and axe should always accompany him. With these he is ready for preparing a windproof and as far as possible a weather proof shelter to secure necessary warmth no matter where he may be caught out.
A simple tree shelter is provided by selecting a small evergreen, cutting partially through the trunk at a point 4 to 5 feet from the ground so that in falling the butt remains attached to the stump. On the ground side cut away all limbsand branches for this is to be your roof. The upstanding limbs on the outside may also be partly cut and so bent over as to further enhance the value of the roof. The browse laying about is then collected and thatched on the ground for a bed. The ends may be enclosed by the addition of other trees—poles, browse, etc., roughly thatched to serve as a wind break.
A leanto of poles, covered with bark or browse, makes a handy shelter for a little emergency camp. Select a big boulder and lay against it four poles sticking the pointed butt ends firmly in the ground. If no boulder is available fasten horizontally a pole between two trees to lean the slanting roof poles upon or support it by two upright poles with forks. Lean against the cross pole enough other poles to form a rough roof with proper pitch which must be steep if the weather is bad. Thatch with browse like shingles or simply lay on pine or hemlock branches. These fans always grow close to the ground on young hemlocks and with an axe a big pile may be secured in a few minutes. A shelter cloth of course comes in handy here. Cover the floor with boughs. The ends may be closed similarly. A good log is laid on the outer edge of the bed. In wintersuch a thatching If covered with snow supplies a warm shelter. Before the open front build a reflector and a fire, and you can enjoy a cozy camp.
WITNESS the conduct of the seasoned woods traveler. His camp comfort is ever uppermost in his mind and although with meager outfit he so employs the artifices of woodcraft that his nights are spent in pleasant surroundings and refreshing sleep.
After the day’s tramp he must get a warm meal and into comfortable repose as soon as possible. Hence toward evening he chooses a suitable camp site near good drinking water. The latter is often of questionable quality and yet of considerable importance from the point of view of health. If in doubt about its purity boil the drinking water for half an hour, cool and strain through cotton or cloth. Most mountain streams are pure. Caution is especially necessary in regions where stagnation and germ life are prevalent, in valleys where camping parties or inhabitants have contaminated the watershed or where the water has flowed over poisonous mineral deposits.
If on a fishing trip the nearer the camper is to the trout stream the better, if on a shooting foray his field for selecting a site is greatly broadened. He must look out to be near plenty of firewood and leanto material.
The exact spot where one’s bed is to rest and shelter erected should be on a slight elevation where the ground is dry and which falls away from the tent on all sides, providing perfect drainage in possible wet weather. A windbreak of heavy tree growth is desirable but never get near trees that may blow down in a storm.
Now go about pitching the tent, placing it so the entrance will be to leeward of the prevailing winds; avoid these by keeping away from the high hills. Select two trees ten feet apart with a flat place between and proceed to level the tent floor by removing browse and rocks, smoothing dirt mounds, etc. Now proceed to make your shelter which may of necessity be the Indian emergency bivouac or the shelter cloth camp. (See chapter 7 “Efficient Cruising Shelters.”)
Next clear a living space in front of the tent providing room for the fire. In no way does the camping tyro proclaim his greenness more than when he attempts to make a fire. Thewhite man nearly always builds a fire of a size that is out of all proportion to his needs while an Indian usually builds a very small fire—a habit acquired possibly from his former necessity of concealing his whereabouts from possible enemies but probably because of his good sense in woodcraft in doing only those things which are really necessary. A good knowledge of fire building is always essential for the preparation of meals and for night heating purposes. We must master, in keeping with the above needs, the making of the small cooking fire and the larger “friendship” or night fire for warmth.
The cooking fire should be made quite systematically and quite apart from the heater. If one simply wishes to boil a pot of water or toast a piece of bacon the fire may be made of small material such as dry short twigs picked from a standing tree. For the regulation cooking fire it should be kept so small that one can approach without having his eyebrows singed. There is no need to have a lot of flames but replenish often and keep it going steadily, thus forming a good bed of coals to send heat in all directions.
Several methods are used for supporting the cooking utensils over the fire:—(a) dig an earthen trench 6 inches deep and slightly narrower than the fry pan bottom. Along either side lay a 3 foot small green pole and build the fire between. The pan and kettle may rest on these poles or may be suspended by hooks attached to a dingle stick whose other sharpened end is thrust in the ground at a slight distance and pressed to slant over the fire. Again they may be attached by crotched sticks from a cross pole which rests in notched stakes driven in the ground at either end and at a proper height from the fire, (b) A couple of small green logs, hewn flat on top, laid five inches apart and pegged into place to prevent rolling, are also serviceable. At one end the distance between logs may be widened to accommodate the different sized utensils. Flat stones may be used to build the little fireplace. If your fire does not draw well you can raise one end of a log a little off the ground by putting a small stick thereunder. Wait until the fire of clear wood has burned down to coals and then cut off your draft and cook over the coals, using the log supports as though they were a range. Your cooking fire is little larger than your hat and throws off very little if any smoke.
This is the heater for comfort as you while away the evening in cheerful reminiscence of the day’s happenings, as you watch the lurking mysteries of night approach, and which will warm you before you roll in fluffy blankets for the night’s repose.
The fire for heat must needs be larger than the cooking, yet too big a roaring fire is what you don’t want. Something moderate which will be safe in a change of wind and which will throw heat into the tent will be found adequate. To enhance its value one should build the night fire before a reflector which borrows the principles of the old fashioned fireplace for throwing heat forward. It is located about six feet in front of the tent’s entrance and may be composed simply of a big boulder, a small flat faced cliff or a regularly made wall of green logs.
In making the log reflector cut two stout stakes long enough to project three feet above the ground after they have been driven down sufficiently to hold well, placing them one yard apart with their protruding ends slanting away from the tent. Now take a four foot green log, say a foot thick, and place on the groundagainst the stakes. Pile upon this three logs of lesser diameter, the difference in size will hold them in place. Then cut two short green logs to act as fire dogs and place them on the ground end on against the back log reflector. Across these lay several dry logs for burning, put your small starting twigs or trash stuff beneath and ignite.
In building a fire secure, if possible, for kindling the bark of the birch which is easily accessible if one goes to the North woods where most camping is done. It is torn in strips and rubbed dry to a fray. In other regions you will be driven to the use of dry grass or other highly inflammable material. Over this put twigs or the choppings from the cores of dead trees, laying them in pyramidal shape with open air spaces within. Now touch off the pile with one of the matches which you have been careful to pack in a waterproof matchbox. When well aflame put on carefully the branches of successively larger sized sticks allowing plenty of air supply to the flames.
In wet weather the task of the inexperienced fire maker is more difficult unless he is well supplied with birch bark which has plenty of oil in it. Without the bark one must get enough fine shavings of the dry insides of decayinglogs and pile them up and carefully add small fuel as needed.
For larger fires purely for heating purposes start a small fire and add larger wood until you get the big blaze which will then likely consume even wet wood. It is important to know what kind of wood to choose for fuel. In general standing dead timber is always drier than down timber. You may be surprised at the good wood one can garner from dead stumps which are decayed on the outside but have a sound core which splits easily and burns to perfection. Always use these woods in preference to a growing tree.
One unfailing sign of the good camper is his use of just as little wood as is possible. It should be gathered before night and placed near the shelter.
In the woods always be careful about spreading fire, a forest fire may result and destroy not only the camp but your hunting and camping grounds and deprive others of their rightful enjoyments and heritage. Such carelessness is considered a crime among woodsmen and in some states is a direct violation of the law. Bear in mind several simple rules for fire prevention:—never throw a match in dry leaves: never leave a fire burning when there is no oneto watch it, for a gust of wind may start a bad fire from a bed of half dead embers. In locating camp always build the camp fire in the open if possible or on sand or soil but never on forest loam. Note the direction of the wind and try to build the fire just to windward of a brook, road or green grassy plat which would act as natural barriers to a spreading conflagration. In fighting fire, pour water on the flames themselves, soak it, drown it or cover with earth. If the ground is of loam or peaty nature souse it also. If it is spreading use boughs dipped in water to beat flames with or use a wet blanket or even a shirt if necessary rather than let the fire leap from your control.
Having properly started your cooking fire you are now ready to unpack the grub bags. The cook kit is to be rinsed out well, the kettle filled with water and put over the fire; fill the fry pan with meat ration and start your batter for cakes. At the conclusion of the meal clean up the dishes at once so that the hours of relaxation before sleep may be unharassed by the drugery of undone scullion’s work. The dishes are wiped with tufts of grass, washed in clear water and thoroughly dried before the fire.
TO one who has never done any camping the choice of a bed is one that nettles him and he will have doubts about being comfortable with the outfits recommended by those of experience. Upon no article of wilderness equipment is there so much diversity of opinion expressed nor upon which more experimentation is lavished by the average enthusiast than the camp bed. From the cumbersome bedstead of civilization to the necessarily extremely portable bed of the movable camp is a far cry. In spite of all experiences the latter is found to be best patterned after principles of the former. Just the method of adaptation is the problem that confronts us.
The tenderfoot styles himself a woodsman by displaying willingness to sleep on a poorly prepared bed, even boasting of the smallness and lightness of this part of his outfit. He is out to “rough it,” you know. The seasonedcampaigner on the other hand prides himself on the comfort of his nightly abode. The native Indian can and often does sleep on a hard bed and you can simulate him when you are accustomed to it but probably you will not have the time to get used to this on the short vacation you will have.
A man may abuse his physical powers by day in the most exhausting work. He can go into the wilderness expecting to pay small attention to a comfortable and rejuvenating night’s rest but he can not stand up under it. One can make out for a few hours on most any kind of makeshift for a bed if his sleep is from exhaustion but sooner or later he will be disturbed by the inequalities of the earth’s surface, rocks, sticks and mounds, and when awake his muscles will be stiff and sore, his powers unrefreshed and he will soon go to pieces.
A good bed is no disgrace. The men who are obliged to live out of doors all the time, on the range or forest trails are likely to be the very ones most particular about their beds and to see some of them at work on browse bunk and rude shelter one would believe they were preparing to spend the rest of their days in that particular spot. So no matter how light you travel provide for a suitable night’s rest.Should your fastidiousness lead you to add any foible to the already completed pack let it be on this essential item of wilderness equipment.
By careful choice the bed need not be cumbersome to pack and yet be ample to satisfy all needs. It should protect the sleeper from the cold which is greatest near the tent’s floor and from the winds whose greatest force is spent when it contends against the properly pitched shelter overhead. Provision must be made for keeping the bedding off the ground and for allowing an egress of moisture in the summer and a retention of heat in winter. One has a variety of styles to choose from, ranging from sleeping on the warmed bare ground to luxuriating on the latest invention for creature comfort when camping—the combined pneumatic mattress and blanket bag.
In all likelihood you will depend for warmth upon blankets. Their use is so universal that we need no discussion other than in regard to their quality and shape. As commonly used a blanket bed throws open easily; there is no condensation of moisture and the sleeper is able to wrap up snugly, retaining all of the generated animal heat. Lambs’ wool fibers are peculiar in that they have a natural repulsion for water. They have the attribute of holdingair in the interstices between the fibers, thus creating a dead air space which is a nonconductor of heat. On account of these things wool becomes ideal for body covering. Damp wool will not chill, which condition the outer is often up against many times a day. In summer the evaporation of surplus moisture and in winter the retention of animal heat is obtained. The thicker and looser the texture of woolen goods the greater will be the warmth.
Cotton is objectionable because it is not warm and is in danger of being “fired” from stray camp fire sparks. The wool of the South American llama is a new material used for outing purposes and besides having all the good attributes of lamb’s wool has an additional one of being very much lighter in weight. A llama blanket weighs about six pounds and equals in warmth about fifteen pounds of ordinary blanket. The secret of its warmth is in the great number of air cells between the loose texture of its fibers which retain body heat. At the same time it gets rid of the moisture which the sleeper throws off in great quantities as natural body emanations. Its prohibitive cost will prevent its general adoption.
Eiderdown in no way equalizes temperatures. It simply retains moisture and heat andis too warm except on the coldest nights. Usually in the form of a quilt whose outer cloth covering tears easily the fluffy down is hard to control. It is of little use beneath the sleeper because the pressure squeezes out the confined air.
The blanket as well as the union suit then had best be all wool of the domestic lamb variety. In buying blankets beware that many of those offered you may be humbug. See to it that you get an article made up of curly wool fibers and not “adulterated” by the straight cotton kind—a differentiation easily determined by the aid of a small magnifying glass. Also see to it that the weight is in the thickness and not in the size. In this country the regulation Army blanket is to be depended upon. However, if they can be secured, a person will certainly make no mistake in getting a genuine Hudson Bay or Mackinaw. The proper weight is about five pounds per blanket and size seventy-two by seventy-eight is about right. If you get it too narrow you cannot then roll it up so snugly for packing nor wrap it so closely about the body at night.
The number of blankets needed depends somewhat upon the time of year and the locality of use and whether or not the all nightfire is to be used. In ordinary summer weather one blanket is enough especially if combined with the proper browse bag and wind break and is enough even for frosty autumn temperatures up to stream freezing time, excepting in the higher altitudes. With the temperature under thirty-two degrees two Army blankets will be needed.
Many mountaineers to whom strenuous pedestrianism and cold nights of the higher altitudes necessitate the lightest form of bedding prefer wool quilts which are folded and sewed on one end and half up one side in the form of a sleeping bag which is protected from the damp ground by a waterproof balloon silk cover.
Where the transportation is inadequate as on a hike trip, the wearing of an extra suit of underwear is as warm as an extra blanket. One then gets the dead air space between the wool and the warmth is thereby intensified because the number of layers of covering retains the heat longer than one thick layer of the same weight.
In Arctic work the clothing and bed cover must be chosen with one particular fact in mind—that moisture condensation from the body perspiration or from accidental immersion inwater must be eliminated, otherwise ice will form to the detriment of the individual. Any woven fabric will hold condensation while fur will not. Fur then is the clothing and bed cover of choice where one is exposed to extremes in cold. The fur should be worn with the hair outside the same way that the animals wear it, otherwise it is too hot. The best fur is caribou skin and it is warmer and lighter than a blanket of wool. Llama wool is next best.
Very satisfactory fur robes may be made of the rabbit or cat skin and if made after the following method you will have the warmest bed fabric known to man. The skins are tanned by soaking the “green” hides in running water for one to four hours. Then the flesh and fat is peeled off with a dull knife and the skin soaked for two days in a tan liquor of sulphuric acid (poison) one ounce, salt one quart and water one gallon contained in an earthen jar. Rinse the skin in clear water, dry and when partly dried work well in the hands thus breaking up the fibers to keep it soft.
The tanned and softened skin is now cut into long strips one-fourth of an inch wide, which are tied or sewed together, each strip being twisted so that the fur stands out all around the hide thong. These strips are then interbraidedinto a loose web in a frame the size your blanket is to be. The chief objection to this article is that it is heavy and the fur sheds a good deal so it is best to cover the blanket with light cloth which of course adds some weight without giving any additional warmth. A full sized rabbit robe weighs ten pounds and is warmer than many blankets of wool. The secret of its warmth is the dead air interspaces between the fibers.
There is considerable difference of opinion among woodsmen regarding the choice between the sleeping bag and blanket bed. There are good arguments for and against. As usually made a sleeping bag consists of two parts:—(1) a cover for protection from rain, dampness, and wind, and (2) a warm lining to retain body heat. To its credit may be enumerated these facts: Being sack-like the sleeping bag retains the heat within and keeps the cold out. It is easy to unroll, keeps out dirt and wind and the contents may remain dry and one has full protection in any kind of weather.
The objectionable feature is that the bag cannot be drawn up closely to the body and the resulting air space is difficult to warm up. It is hard to adjust the top to keep the air from the sleeper’s shoulders and the inevitable twistingand turning of the sleeper bunches the blanket up around the limbs.
A sleeping bag really is no substitute for a roof overhead on a rainy night as alluring advertisements would lead you to believe. Its waterproof cover retains inside moisture from the air and the body exudations of the sleeper thereby adding appreciably to the blanket’s weight. Thus a waterproof cover is no more wholesome to sleep in than a rubber boot is wholesome for one’s foot. In ordinary weather the sleeping bag is too hot and in chilly weather it is not as warm as it is supposed to be. Its narrow shape makes it difficult to crawl into the head end and it is very inconvenient should one need to get up several times a night to fix a night fire.
It is an unpleasant trap to be in when a squall springs up suddenly at night or the tent catches fire. No less famous an explorer than Peary discarded the sleeping bag for the reason that, aside from its being a weighty extra item of outfit, when sleeping in snow igloos he was in constant danger of a break in the icy floor from the formation of pressure ridges and if encumbered in the bag he would have extricated himself with difficulty. Quoting Mr. Harry Whitney—“On my winter ox hunt Istarted into the Barren Grounds with a bag of caribou and lined with rabbit skin—the very warmest robe possible, but I ripped it open before I had been on the road three days.”
The choice between a loose blanket bed and the sleeping bag is a matter of individual preference. If the latter is chosen it should be made to air easily and be easy of adjustment to varying temperatures. The permanently closed bag is out of the question as it retains the accumulated condensed body moisture. The only kind worth considering is one which can be easily opened and spread wide apart in the sunlight or before a fire every morning. The bag should be closed on all sides as far up as the breast of the sleeper and the continuation of the bag in the shape of a flap which can be nicely tucked about the shoulders.
Probably the best low temperature sleeping bag is of caribou skin with the hair inside. One lined with llama wool duffle is next best. The so-called Arctic or Fiala sleeping bag is the lightest one available from outfitters in the United States. If one prefers this kind of a bed the tramper can find nothing so excellent where the greatest amount of warmth with the lightest possible weight is imperative.
Made of the soft body wool of the SouthAmerican llama it is about twice as light as any other wool of equal thickness. As sold by many outfitters the cloth cover is waterproof but this should not be. To get the greatest warmth it is necessary to have not only the blanket porous but the covering as well so as to throw off the moisture which otherwise condenses and chills the occupant of the bag. But the sleeper must be insulated from the ground’s cold, moisture, and wet and hence the waterproof browse bag or thatched balsam bed used under the sleeping bag is recommended. Any blanket combination can be made into a serviceable sleeping bag by folding lengthwise and securing one end and three-fourths of one side by blanket pins or by sewing.
You will of course not carry a mattress with you on the hike yet it is really necessary that you have some sort of browse thatching, waterproof sheet or pad to insulate you from the bare ground. The bed springs par excellence of the woods are of thatched evergreen boughs or balsam. This, the trapper’s bough bed, is largely poetical with campers in sections of the country where balsam, hemlock or spruce are not available. It is difficult to make but when properly constructed furnishes a mighty comfortable place to lay tired muscles at night.