PEDESTRIAN TRAVELING.--MOUNTAIN CLIMBING.
The earliest form of traveling was on foot; it was in universal use
before the horse and other beasts of burden were subdued to the will
of man, and before the railway and steamship were invented. In spite
of the lapse of ages, and the many improvements in locomotive means,
it continues to be practiced by a great many persons, and will
doubtless so continue as long as men have feet to walk with. The large
majority of pedestrians are such from necessity, but the class that
prefers to walk when it can afford to ride is by no means small.
The railway has been the great destroyer of pedestrian travel, and, at
the present time, very few people, except those absolutely without
money, take to the high-road where there is an iron way to carry them
to their destination. Unless there is some reason for the foot journey
beyond the desire to reach a certain place, the railway affords the
greatest economy of money and time, as the merest glance at the
figures will show. Suppose a man wishes to go from New York to
Philadelphia, a distance of ninety miles; at thirty miles a day he
will be three days on the road if he uses his feet, and three hours if
he takes the railway. The fare by railway will be two dollars, and his
loss of time half a day; reckoning his meals and lodging along the
high-road at one dollar a day his expenses in footing it would be
three dollars, without counting the loss of time, which most Americans
consider equivalent to money. Far greater is the contrast in a long
journey across the Continent, or over a considerable portion of it, so
that the most miserly of men is not likely to put his own feet in
competition with the wheels of the locomotive.
Pedestrian journeys in America are mainly confined to young men in
search of health, who throng the routes of New England and northern
New York in the summer months. In Europe the principal resorts of the
pedestrian are the mountain regions of Switzerland, Italy, and
Germany, and there is a fair amount of the same kind of travel in
Norway, Sweden, and the lake and mountain districts of Scotland.
Workmen going from one town to another in search of employment are
often encountered, and in some countries of the Continent such
journeys are obligatory upon apprentices before they can be allowed to
practice the trades they have learned.
Fifty years or more ago there was a half-pedestrian system in vogue in
the United States, especially on the great roads leading to the west.
It was known by the name of "ride and tie," and many an emigrant of
those days found his way west by this process. It was about as
follows:
Two men, whom we will call Smith and Jones, unite their funds and buy
a horse and saddle. Their baggage is stowed in the saddle-bags, so
that neither of them has anything to carry beyond his strong
walking-stick. On the morning fixed for their departure Smith mounts
the horse and starts at an easy pace along the road, while Jones
follows on foot. It has been arranged that the first "tie" shall be at
a village twenty miles away.
In four hours Smith and the horse have made the twenty miles, and the
horse is put up at a tavern and fed, while Smith proceeds on foot.
When Jones arrives the horse has had a rest of three hours or more,
and is ready for another twenty miles which Jones proceeds to give
him. He passes Smith on the way, and arrives at the next village,
where he orders supper and awaits the arrival of his comrade. They
spend the night in company, and the next morning the journey is
continued in the same way; generally the scheme is reversed on
successive mornings, the one who was first to ride one day being the
last to do so on the next. In this way they make forty miles a day,
and each of them has only a comfortable walk while the horse is kept
in good condition.
For a pedestrian tour among the mountains, either of Europe or
America, the principal requisites are a reasonably strong
constitution, good feet, and good shoes to wear on them. Shoes are
preferable to boots, as the latter are apt to weaken the ankles,
especially if made with elastic at the sides. Besides they are heavier
than shoes, and where we are taking a walk of many miles every
infinitesimal fraction of an ounce added to the weight of our
foot-gear counts against us. Of course there are occasions where boots
are required for protection against mud, snow, or sand, but where
roads are good and smooth shoes should have the preference. They
should be easy without being loose, and sufficiently wide to give
freedom to the toes. The soles should be broad, and the heels low and
wide; all doubts on this score can be settled by ascertaining the kind
of shoes worn by the professional pedestrians in the great
walking-matches that have recently become fashionable.
The author of Baedeker's guide-books is a good adviser in the matter
of pedestrian excursions, as he has tramped over the most of
Switzerland and Germany, and believes that the best way of "doing"
them is on foot. He says as follows:--
"A light 'gibeciere,' or game-bag, such as may be procured in
every town, amply suffices to contain all that is necessary for a
fortnight's excursion. Heavy and complicated knapsacks should be
avoided; a light pouch, or game-bag, is far less irksome, and its
position may be shifted at pleasure. A change of flannel shirts
and worsted stockings, a few pocket-handkerchiefs, a pair of
slippers, and the articles of the toilet will generally be found
sufficient, to which a light mackintosh and a stout umbrella
should be added. A piece of green crape or colored glasses, to
protect the eyes from the glare of the snow, and a leather
drinking-cup will be found useful. The traveler should, of course,
have a more extensive reserve of clothing, especially if he
expects to visit towns of importance. This can be contained in a
valise, which he can easily wield when necessary, and may forward
from town to town by post."
"The first golden rule of the pedestrian is to start on his way
betimes in the morning. If strength permit, and a good halting
place is to be met with, a two hours' walk may be accomplished
before breakfast. At noon a moderate luncheon is preferable to the
regular table d'hote dinner. Repose should be taken during the
hottest hours, and the journey then continued till 5 or 6 P.M.,
when a substantial meal may be eaten. The traveler's own feelings
will best dictate the hour for retiring to bed.
"For wounds and bruises a vial of tincture of arnica should be
carried, and it has an invigorating effect if rubbed on the limbs
after fatigue." The traveler should not fail to be provided with a
few of the simple medicines best adapted to his system, as he may
often need them when they are quite unattainable. Avoid drinking
water too freely, especially where it comes directly from the
melting snows of the mountains. There are many persons who rarely
drink water, whether on pedestrian excursions or at other times,
and to them the preceding advice will be superfluous. Cold tea is
regarded as the best beverage by the majority of pedestrians, and
its invigorating powers are often remarkable."
When starting on a pedestrian excursion be careful not to overtax your
strength. Five or six hours a day are sufficient to begin with, and
when no fatigue results from a single day's work that of the next may
be increased. By adding half an hour daily to his task, a traveler
will soon be able to devote ten or twelve hours out of the twenty-four
to the use of his feet. The most experienced pedestrians advise that
the limit should be ten hours, except on extraordinary occasions. An
even, steady pace should be adopted, and everything like a "spurt" is
to be avoided. Many a traveler has broken down in the effort to do
more than he ought, either in going too far in a given time, or
walking faster than the accustomed pace to see how many miles he could
cover in an hour.
For climbing high mountains, special practice in walking is a
necessity. There is a great deal of fatigue consequent upon the ascent
of Mont Blanc and his snow-covered brethren of the Alps, partly due to
the exertion of walking through the snow, and over the rough rocks,
and partly to the rarity of the atmosphere in elevated positions. None
but good walkers should attempt these journeys, as it is a serious
matter to break down at a point far from roads, and where assistance
may be a long time coming. The members of the English and other Alpine
clubs generally devote at least a month to the ordinary excursions
among the mountains before venturing on a "course extraordinaire,"
like the ascent of Mont Blanc. The ascent of the Matterhorn is far
more difficult than that of Mont Blanc, and the preliminary practice
proportionally longer.
The equipment for an Alpine ascent above the snow-line is quite
simple, but should be of the very best quality. The traveler will need
an alpenstock, or strong stick, from five to six feet long; it should
be of the best seasoned ash, and one end should be pointed with iron
to give it a firm hold on the ice. It should be as light as possible,
consistent with strength, and the test to be given is to have it
sustain the weight of its owner, when supported at the ends. Ice-axes
and ropes are also needed for the higher mountains, and sometimes it
is necessary to carry a ladder for crossing crevasses.
Mountain-climbing in Switzerland has been reduced to a system, and
there are associations of guides who make it a business to accompany
tourists in ascents more or less difficult. The ascent of Mont Blanc,
formerly so difficult, is now quite easy, as there is a hotel at the
"Grands Mulets" where the night is passed, and though the
accommodations are limited, they are quite sufficient for the robust
traveler. Everything that is needed for the journey can be obtained
from the guides at fixed rates, and the only care of the stranger is
to see that what he orders is of the best quality.
The regulation time at present for the ascent of Mont Blanc from
Chamouny and return is two days. The traveler starts at 7 A.M.
and arrives at the Grands Mulets about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. At 4
the next morning he is called, and after a light breakfast a start is
made for the summit, which should be reached by nine o'clock. The
return to Chamouny is usually accomplished by sunset, but many
travelers who have plenty of time at their disposal prefer to spend
the second night at the Grands Mulets, and return leisurely on the
third day to Chamouny. Each tourist requires a guide and a porter to
accompany him, and sometimes half a dozen guides to each tourist are
taken. Each guide receives one hundred francs (twenty dollars) for his
services, and the porter half that amount, so that the cost of an
ascent of Mont Blanc is by no means small. The dangers are now much
less than formerly, as the crevasses are all well known to the guides,
whose directions should be followed implicitly. The principal peril is
from sudden storms of snow, in which travelers are overwhelmed as in a
sand-storm in the desert. In 1870 a party of eleven persons perished
in a snow-storm; they had been to the summit and were nearly half-way
back to the Grands Mulets when the snow-cloud burst upon them. The
guides can generally foretell the approach of bad weather, and the
cautious tourist will not insist upon making the ascent against their
advice.
It has been said that tourists need only go part of the way up the
mountain to obtain a certificate of having made the entire ascent,
provided they pay for the complete course. It is doubtful if this is
the case; not that the guides would be unwilling to oblige a patron,
but because the summit is in full view of the village of Chamouny, and
parties who make the ascent are watched through powerful telescopes by
loungers on the verandas of the hotels.