Woodcraft | Page 2

few congenial spirits should, at some favorite
trysting place, gather around the glowing stove and exchange yarns,
opinions and experiences. Perhaps no two will exactly agree on the best
ground for an outing...or half a dozen other points that may be

discussed. But one thing all admit. Each and every one has gone to his
chosen ground with too much impedimenta, too much duffle; and
nearly all have used boats at least twice as heavy as they need to have
been. The temptation to buy this or that bit of indispensable camp-kit
has been too strong and we have gone to the blessed woods,
handicapped with a load fit for a pack-mule. This is not how to do it.
Go light; the lighter the better, so that you have the simplest material
for health, comfort and enjoyment.
Of course, if you intend to have a permanent camp and can reach it by
boat or wagon, lightness is not so important, though even in that case it
is well to guard against taking a lot of stuff that is likely to prove of
more weight than worth--only to leave it behind when you come out.
As to clothing for the woods, a good deal of nonsense has been written
about "strong, coarse woolen clothes." You do not want coarse woolen
clothes. Fine woolen cassimere of medium thickness for coat, vest and
pantaloons, with no cotton lining. Color, slate gray or dead-leaf (either
is good). Two soft, thick woolen shirts; two pairs of fine, but
substantial, woolen drawers; two pairs of strong woolen socks or
stockings; these are what you need and all you need in the way of
clothing for the woods, excepting hat and boots, or gaiters. Boots are
best--providing you do not let yourself be inveigled into wearing a pair
of long-legged heavy boots with thick soles, as has been often advised
by writers who knew no better. Heavy, long legged boots are a weary,
tiresome incumbrance on a hard tramp through rough woods. Even
moccasins are better. Gaiters, all sorts of high shoes, in fact, are too
bothersome about fastening and unfastening. Light boots are best. Not
thin, unserviceable affairs, but light as to actual weight. The following
hints will give an idea for the best footgear for the woods; let them be
single soled, single backs and single fronts, except light, short
foot-linings. Back of solid "country kip"; fronts of substantial French
calf; heel one inch high, with steel nails; countered outside; straps
narrow, of fine French calf put on "astraddle," and set down to the top
of the back. The out-sole stout, Spanish oak and pegged rather than
sewed, although either is good. They will weigh considerably less than

half as much as the clumsy, costly boots usually recommended for the
woods; and the added comfort must be tested to be understood.
The hat should be fine, soft felt with moderately low crown and wide
brim; color to match the clothing.
The proper covering for head and feet is no slight affair and will be
found worth some attention. Be careful that the boots are not too tight,
or the hat too loose. The above rig will give the tourist one shirt, one
pair of drawers and a pair of socks to carry as extra clothing. A soft,
warm blanket-bag, open at the ends and just long enough to cover the
sleeper, with an oblong square of waterproofed cotton cloth 6x8 feet,
will give warmth and shelter by night and will weigh together five or
six pounds. This, with the extra clothing, will make about eight pounds
of dry goods to pack over carries, which is enough. Probably, also, it
will be found little enough for comfort.
During a canoe cruise across the Northern Wilderness in the late
summer, I met many parties at different points in the woods and the
amount of unnecessary duffle with which they encumbered themselves
was simply appalling. Why a shrewd business man, who goes through
with a guide and makes a forest hotel his camping ground nearly every
night, should handicap himself with a five-peck pack basket full of gray
woolen and gum blankets, extra clothing, pots, pans and kettles, with a
9 pound 10-bore and two rods--yes, and an extra pair of heavy boots
hanging astride of the gun-well, it is one of the things I shall never
understand. My own load, including canoe, extra clothing, blanket-bag,
two days' rations, pocket-axe, rod and knapsack, never exceeded 26
pounds; and I went prepared to camp out any and every night.
People who contemplate an outing in the woods are pretty apt to
commence preparations a long way ahead and to pick up many trifling
articles that suggest themselves as useful and handy in camp; all well
enough in their way, but making