CAMP MAKING
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. The white 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
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.
THE FRIENDSHIP FIRE FOR WARMTH
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 ground against 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 decaying logs 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 one to 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.