CAMP OUTFIT
[Sidenote: Tents]
IN many sections of the country you will need a tent, even when
traveling afoot. Formerly a man had to make a choice between canvas,
which is heavy but fairly waterproof, and drill, which is light but
flimsy. A seven by seven duck tent weighs fully twenty-five pounds when
dry, and a great many more when wet. It will shed rain as long as you do
not hit against it. A touch on the inside, however, will often start a
trickle at the point of contact. Altogether it is unsatisfactory, and
one does not wonder than many men prefer to knock together bark
shelters.
[Illustration: "Bed in the bush with stars to see"]
[Sidenote: Tent Material]
Nowadays, however, another and better material is to be had. It is the
stuff balloons are made of, and is called balloon silk. I believe, for
shelter purposes, it undergoes a further waterproofing process, but of
this I am not certain. A tent of the size mentioned, instead of
weighing twenty-five pounds, pulls the scales down at about eight.
Furthermore, it does not absorb moisture, and is no heavier when wet
than when dry. One can touch the inside all he wishes without rendering
it pervious. The material is tough and enduring.
[Illustration: _"A" Tent Pitched as Shelter._]
I have one which I have used hard for five years, not only as a tent,
but as a canoe lining, a sod cloth, a tarpaulin, and a pack canvas.
To-day it is as serviceable as ever, and excepting for inevitable
soiling, two small patches represents its entire wear and tear.
[Illustration: _"A" Tent Pitched Between Two Trees._]
[Sidenote: Don't Use a Tent Curtain]
Abercrombie & Fitch, who make this tent, will try to persuade you, if
you demand protection against mosquitoes, to let them sew on a sod-cloth
of bobbinet and a loose long curtain of the same material to cover the
entrance. Do not allow it. The rig is all right as long as there are
plenty of flies. But suppose you want to use the tent in a flyless land?
There still blocks your way that confounded curtain of bobbinet, fitting
tightly enough so that you have almost to crawl when you enter, and so
arranged that it is impossible to hang it up out of the way. The tent
itself is all right, but its fly rigging is all wrong.
[Sidenote: Best Tent Protection from Flies]
I have found that a second tent built of cheesecloth, and without any
opening whatever, is the best scheme. Tapes are sewn along its ridge.
These you tie to the ridge pole or rope of the tent--on the inside of
course. The cheesecloth structure thus hangs straight down. When not in
use it is thrust to one side or the other. If flies get thick, you
simply go inside and spread it out. It should be made somewhat larger in
the wall than the tent so that you can weight its lower edge with
fishing rods, rifles, boots, sticks, or rocks. Nothing can touch you.
[Illustration: _"A" Tent Pitched on Treeless Ground._]
[Sidenote: Shape of Tent]
The proper shape for a tent is a matter of some discussion. Undoubtedly
the lean-to is the ideal shelter so far as warmth goes. You build your
fire in front, the slanting wall reflects the heat down and you sleep
warm even in winter weather. In practice, however, the lean-to is not
always an undiluted joy. Flies can get in for one thing, and a heavy
rainstorm can suck around the corner for another. In these circumstances
four walls are highly desirable.
[Illustration: _Method of Tightening Rope._]
On the other hand a cold snap makes a wall tent into a cold storage
vault. Tent stoves are little devils. They are either red hot or stone
cold, and even when doing their best, there is always a northwest
corner that declines to be thawed out. A man feels the need of a camp
fire, properly constructed.
[Sidenote: "A" Tent the Best]
For three seasons I have come gradually to thinking that an A or wedge
tent is about the proper thing. In event of that rainstorm or those
flies its advantages are obvious. When a cold snap comes along, you
simply pull up the stakes along one side, tie the loops of that wall to
the same stakes that hold down the other wall--and there is your lean-to
all ready for the fire.
When you get your tent made, have them insert grommets in each peak.
Through these you will run a light line. By tying each end of the line
to a tree or sapling, staking out the four corners of your tent, and
then tightening the line by wedging under it (and outside the tent, of
course) a forked pole, your tent is up in a jiffy. Where you cannot find
two trees handily placed, poles crossed make good supports front and
rear. The line passes over them and to a stake in the ground. These are
quick pitches for a brief stop. By such methods an A tent is erected as
quickly as a "pyramid," a miner's, or any of the others. In permanent
camp, you will cut poles and do a shipshape job.
[Illustration: _Tarpaulin, Open and Folded._]
[Sidenote: Tarpaulins]
[Sidenote: Uses of the Tarpaulin]
Often, however, you will not need to burden yourself with even as light
a tent as I have described. This is especially true on horseback trips
in the mountains. There you will carry a tarpaulin. This is a strip of
canvas or pantasote 6 x 16 or 17 feet. During the daytime it is folded
and used to protect the top packs from dust, wet, and abrasion. At
night you spread it, make your bed on one half of it, and fold the other
half over the outside. This arrangement will fend quite a shower. In
case of continued or heavy rain, you stretch a pack rope between two
trees or crossed poles, and suspend the tarp over it tent wise, tying
down the corners by means of lead ropes. Two tarps make a commodious
tent. If you happen to be alone, a saddle blanket will supplement the
tarp to give some sort of protection to your feet, and, provided it is
stretched tightly, will shed quite a downpour.
The tarp, as I have said, should measure 6 x 16. If of canvas, do not
get it too heavy, as then it will be stiff and hard to handle. About
10-ounce duck is the proper thing. After you have bought it, lay it out
on the floor folded once, as it will be when you have made your bed in
it. To the lower half and on both edges, as it lies there, sew a half
dozen snap hooks. To the upper canvas, but about six inches in from the
edge, sew corresponding rings for the snap hooks. Thus on a cold night
you can bundle yourself in without leaving cracks along the edges to
admit the chilly air.
[Sidenote: Rubber Blankets]
In the woods you will want furthermore a rubber blanket. This is
unnecessary when the tarpaulin is used. Buy a good poncho. Poor quality
sticks badly should it chance to become overheated by the sun.
[Sidenote: Blankets]
A six or seven pound blanket of the best quality is heavy enough. The
gray army blanket, to be purchased sometimes at the military stores, is
good, as is also the "three-point" blanket issued by the Hudson's Bay
Company. The cost is from $6 to $8. One is enough. You will find that
another suit of underwear is as warm as an extra blanket, and much
easier to carry. Sleeping bags I do not care for. They cannot be drawn
closely to the body, and the resulting air space is difficult to warm
up. A blanket you can hug close to you, thus retaining all the animal
heat. Beside which a sleeping bag is heavier and more of a bother to
keep well aired. If you like the thing occasionally, a few horse
blanket pins will make one of your blanket.
[Sidenote: To Sleep Warm]
It is the purpose of this book to deal with equipments rather than with
methods. There are a great many very competent treatises telling you how
to build your fire, pitch your tent, and all the rest of it. I have
never seen described the woodsmen's method of using a blanket, however.
Lie flat on your back. Spread the blanket over you. Now raise your legs
rigid from the hip, the blanket of course draping over them. In two
swift motions tuck first one edge under your legs from right to left,
then the second edge under from left to right, and over the first edge.
Lower your legs, wrap up your shoulders, and go to sleep. If you roll
over, one edge will unwind but the other will tighten.
[Sidenote: Quilts]
In the forest your rubber and woolen blankets will comprise your bed.
You will soften it with pine needles or balsam. On a horseback trip,
however, it is desirable to carry also an ordinary comforter, or quilt,
or "sogun." You use it under you. Folded once, so as to afford two
thicknesses, it goes far toward softening granite country. By way of a
gentle hint, if you will spread your saddle blankets _beneath_ your
tarp, they will help a lot, and you will get none of the horsey aroma.
[Sidenote: Pillows]
A pillow can be made out of a little bag of muslin or cotton or denim.
In it you stuff an extra shirt, or your sweater, or some such matter. A
very small "goose hair" pillow may be thrust between the folds of your
blanket when you have a pack horse. It will not be large enough all by
itself, but with a sweater or a pair of trousers beneath it will be soft
and easy to a tired head. Have its cover of brown denim.
[Sidenote: Pails]
On a pack trip a pail is a necessity which is not recognized in the
forest, where you can dip your cup or kettle direct into the stream.
Most packers carry a galvanized affair, which they turn upside down on
top of the pack. There it rattles and bangs against every overhead
obstruction on the trail, and ends by being battered to leakiness. A
bucket made of heavy brown duck, with a wire hoop hemmed in by way of
rim, and a light rope for handle carries just as much water, holds it as
well, and has the great advantage of collapsing flat.
[Illustration: _Collapsible Canvas Bucket and Wash Basin._]
[Illustration: Folding Lantern.]
[Sidenote: Wash Basins and Wash Tubs]
A wash basin built on the same principle is often a veritable godsend,
and a man can even carry a similar contrivance big enough for a washtub
without adding appreciably to the bulk or weight of his animal's pack.
Crushed flat all three take up in thickness about the space of one layer
of blanket, and the weight of the lot is just a pound and a half.
[Sidenote: Lanterns]
The Stonebridge folding candle lantern is the best I know of. It folds
quite flat, has four mica windows, and is easily put together. The
measurements, folded, are only 6 x 4 inches by 1-2 inch thick, and its
weight but 13 ounces. The manufacturers make the same lantern in
aluminum, but I found it too easily bent to stand the rough handling
incidental to a horse trip. The steel lantern costs one dollar.[3]
[Sidenote: Hatchets]
If you carry an axe at all, do not try to compromise on a light one. I
never use such an implement in the woods. A light hatchet is every bit
as good for the purpose of firewood, and better when it is a question of
tent poles or pegs. Read Nessmuk's _Woodcraft_ on this subject. The
Marble Safety Axe is the best, both because of the excellent steel used
in its manufacture, and because of the ease of its transportation. I
generally carry mine in my hip pocket. Get the metal handle and
heaviest weight. I have traveled a considerable part of the Canadian
forests with no other implement of the sort.
[Sidenote: Axes]
On a horseback trip in the mountains, however, this will not suffice.
Often and often you will be called on to clear trail, to cut timber for
trail construction or to make a footing over some ultra-tempestuous
streamlet. You might peck away until further orders with your little
hatchet without much luck. Then you need an axe--not a "half axe," nor a
"three-quarter axe"--but a full five-pound weapon with an edge you could
shave with. And you should know how to use it. "Chewing a log in two" is
a slow and unsatisfactory business.
To keep this edge you will carry a file and a water whetstone. Use your
hatchet as much as possible, take care of how and what you chop, and do
not wait until the axe gets really dull before having recourse to your
file and stone. It is a long distance to a grindstone. Wes Thompson
expressed the situation well. He watched the Kid's efforts for a moment
in silence.
"Kid," said he sorrowfully at last, "you'll have to make your choice.
Either you do _all the chopping or none of it_."
[Sidenote: Repairs]
Needle, thread, a waxed end, and a piece of buckskin for strings and
patches completes the ordinary camp outfit. Your repair kit needs
additions when applied to mountain trips, but that question will come up
under another heading.
_SUMMARY_
_Minimum for comfort_
Silk tent (sometimes)
Rubber blanket
Blanket
Pillow case of denim
Pocket axe
File and whetstone
Needle and thread
Waxed end
Piece of buckskin
_Maximum_
Tarpaulin
Blanket
Comforter
Small Pillow
Canvas bucket
Canvas wash basin
Canvas wash tub
Candle lantern and candles
Pocket axe
5 pound axe
File and whetstone
Needle and thread
Waxed end
Piece of buckskin
FOOTNOTE:
[3] One is now made of brass to fold automatically, at a slightly higher
price.