Trail craft; an aid in getting the greatest good out of vacation trips online

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UNIVERSITY OF
CAL:: ORNIA

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AN ANTIDOTE FOR TIRED NERVES



TRAIL CRAFT



AN AID IN GETTING THE GREATEST
GOOD OUT OF VACATION TRIPS



By

CLAUDE P. FORDYCE

Associate editor of Outdoor Life; Author of "Touring Afoot;
Member of the Sierra Club, the Mazama Club, the Colo-
rado Mountain Club, the Mountaineer!, etc.




CINCINNATI

STEWART KIDD COMPANY
PUBLISHERS



COPYRIGHT, 1922
STEWART KIDD COMPANY




All rights reserved



Printed in the United States of America

THE CAXTON PRESS
"Everybody for Books." This is one of the Inierlaken Library.



TO
STEWART EDWARD WHITE

Who knows the ways of wilderness trails.



FOREWORD

OCCASION is here taken to express appreciation for
the co-operation of the following gentlemen who, as
editors, have permitted the reprinting of my articles
which have appeared in their respective magazines:
Mr. Hy. S. Watson, of Field and Stream; Mr. Albert
Britt, of Outing; Mr. Dan. B. Starkey, of Outers-Rec-
reation; and Mr. J. A. McGuire, of Outdoor Life.

CLAUDE P. FORDYCE.
Falls City, Nebraska,

October 6, 1911.



INTRODUCTION

DEAR DOCTOR FORDYCE:

I am glad you are publishing the book. All your
articles on the out-of-doors life have seemed to me
practical, sensible, and the product of much experience,
plus some discriminative thought. In book form they
ought to be a great help, as well as an inspiration to
go out and see if it works. That, in the last analysis,
is the main thing; to get 'em out. If, in addition,
you can give them hints that will, through their in-
terest or comfort, keep "em out, the job is complete.
Sincerely,

STEWART EDWARD WHITE.

May 10, 1911.



CONTENTS

Chapter Page

I. Wilderness Handicraft - - - n

II. Outfitting for Go-Light Trips - - - 14

Hi. Motor Camping - - - - 27

IV Practical Mountaineering - - - 38

V. Hints on Desert Travel. Part i - - 44

VI. Hints on Desert Travel. Part 2 - - 55

vii. The Camp Cuisine - - - - 66

viii. Using the Reflecting Baker - - - - 74

ix. Tents and How to Use Them - - - 83

x. Tent Making at Home - - - - 100

xi. Tips on Teepees - - - - 104

XH. Utilizing Balloon Silk in Camp - - - 1 1 1

xiii. Making the Recreation Cabin - - - 121

xiv. Taking the Place of the Do -tor - - - 132

xv. Uses of Adhesive Plaster in Camp - - 148

xvi. Pests of the Wilderness 160

xvii. The Indispensable Parka 169

XVIIL Game Hunting with a Camera - - - 174

xix. Photographic Developing in Camp - - 183

xx. Leather Working for the Outdoor Man 193



ILLUSTRATIONS AND DIAGRAMS
AN ANTIDOTE FOR TIRED NERVES - - Frontispiece

Facing Page

THE ART OF KNAPSACKING 14

EQUIPMENT FOR HIKE TRIPS 15

MOVABLE MOTOR CAMPS 28

MOTOR CAMPING - - - -29

BLAZING WILDERNESS TRAILS - 44

MOUNTAIN CLIMBING - - - - - - 45

MOTORING IN DEATH VALLEY - 50

TEEPEES - - - - 51

STUCK IN THE MUD - - - 60

DEFEATING THE ARCH ENEMIES OF THE MOTOR-
IST SAND AND MUD .... 61

COOKING IN CAMP 66

CAMP STOVES - 67

BAKING IN CAMP - 76

TYPES OF TENTS 84, 85

TARPAULIN TENT - - - 102

TENTS You CAN MAKE AT HOME - - - 104
MAKING THE TEEPEE - - - 105

HOMEMADE NECESSARIES FOR THE CAMPER - 114
HIKER'S TENT AND PACK SACK - - - - 1 18

MAKING THE RECREATION CABIN - - - -122



ILLUSTRATIONS AND DIAGRAMS

CABINS - - - - - - - - 126

CHALETS AT Two MEDICINE CAMP, GLACIER

NATIONAL PARK - - - - - - 127

CONSTRUCTING A FIREPLACE - 130

FIRST AID ON THE TRAIL - - - - - 148

USES OF ADHESIVE PLASTER IN CAMP - - 149

GAME HUNTING WITH A CAMERA - - - - 176

TROPHIES OF THE HUNT - - - 190

MOCCASIN MAKING 200



[10]



TRAIL CRAFT



CHAPTER I

Wilderness Handicraft

THE enjoyment of a vacation really begins with the
first preparation in which the participant makes free
use of his own skill and ingenuity. The long winter
evenings inspire the dyed-in-the-wool recreationalist
to reminiscences of the past and to a delightful anticipa-
tion in formulating plans for the next season's joy. As
spring opens, the Wanderlust permeates his whole being
at the accidental mention of a name which savors of the
wilderness, or mayhap by running across some item of
duffle which brings out the old outfit, and from then on
delightful hours are spent in rehauling in preparation
for use. Never a season has been spent without alter-
ation some pet foible dropped from the list of sup-
posedly necessary items and some new wrinkle sub-
stituted which boils the equipment down to that
irreducible minimum which the touchstone of ex-
perience has taught is irrevocable.

Wilderness handicraft defines one's ingenuity dis-
played in making with his own hands devices which
render the vacation less irksome, and this skill, per-
taining as it does to the primitive pathways of the
outdoors, is worthy of the specific term Trail Craft.

I n J



TRAIL CRAFT

Usage, never convention, is the only truthful dictator
as to what is essential for the greatest utility. The
selection of an outfit is a matter of individual temper-
ament based on experience. What one calls a necessity,
another calls a luxury, yet this same luxury, if one
wants it bad enough, forthwith becomes a necessity.
The fewer the items in your kit, the more must you
have knowledge of how to live comfortably outdoors
and how to employ the artifices of the camping art and
how to utilize Nature's primitive stores.

You may elect to hit the trail "De Luxe" with an
expensive and elaborate outfit carried by motor, which
opens up a vast travel range and which permits the
indulgence of various artifices of a luxurious civiliza-
tion. Or you may be a true disciple of the Red Gods,
going light, throwing off the fetters of restraint,
emancipating yourself from the world of subterfuge
and becoming a worthy dweller in the land where
Nature has been undefiled by the desecrating hand of
man. This Nomadage is the ideal way if you want to
"do" the trick of getting close to Nature properly.
You can pitch your camp wherever night overtakes
you today near the tranquil lake which stretches
away to the distant hills that lead up to snow-fields and
cloud-enshrouded pinnacles; tomorrow establishing
the little bivouac in a clearing encircled on all sides by
the unbroken chain of silent pine forest.

Following the trail is a delightful pastime.- It de-
mands simply a personal resolution to conquer and an
adjustment of affairs to consummate. Its rewards are
manifold. It is a primitive pathway whose following
[ "I



WILDERNESS HANDICRAFT

brings one to the inner secrets of the wilderness hab-
itants and the naive beauties of their sanctuaries; it
satisfies the body and soul by demanding simple,
hearty living; it promotes honest companionship born
of co-operation in enduring hardship, and creates a
spirit ever responsive to the Red God's Summons.



CHAPTER II

Outfitting for Go- Light Trips

UNLESS he is gifted with a sustained enthusiasm for
this sort of thing, the average individual never seriously
entertains the thought of taking a hiking trip with bed,
shelter, and food carried on his back. No it means
work, and he disdains to "scab" on pack horses. As a
matter of fact, knapsacking means no privation at all
if one is properly equipped. This avocation of be-
ing pedestrian-amateur-explorer is the best way of
satisfying those mysterious primordial impulses that
guide men to a soul-satisfying communion with Nature,
and the work supplies just that physical exertion needed
for rejuvenation a physical re-creation which most
every one, and particularly the sedentarian, needs.
There is much to be said in favor of this type of outing.
It turns you into an explorer, thereby developing your
initiative. You enjoy absolute independence from the
conventional outing as regards locale and mode of
living. Being entirely upon one's resources, it is the
ultimate test of one's ability in woodcraft and certainly
is a key to one's gaminess.

A check list of one's summer-hike needs is the only
safe guarantee of hitting the trail with a complete
equipage, and no more joyful hours can be spent than
the winter overhauling of one's kit anticipatory of the
summer's realization. While this cataloging is of
unquestioned utility, yet it is apt to overawe the tyro




THE ART OF KNAPSACK ING

1. and 2. The Duluth Pack Sack, with the head strap and center suspension shoulder
straps, is best.

3. The hunting unit for the knapsacker requires a small gun, with collapsible stock,

its ammunition, a cleaner, and gun grease.

4. The silk shelter tent is weather-proof and yet gives the acme of comfort.

5. The chief enjoyment of hike trips is the independence they afford.




EQUIPMENT FOR HIKE TRIPS

1. Outdoor men agree upon certain indispensables which go into the pockets

a compass, match-safe, goggles, first-aid kit, knife, mosquito dope, and an
emergency ration.

2. The mess kit must be light in weight and compact, a small sharp axe is essen-

tial, and for lights a candle may suffice or a folding lantern.



OUTFITTING FOR GO-LIGHT TRIPS

into the belief that so much stuff is to be taken that
back packing it and enjoying the trip at the same time
is an utter impossibility. Many items occupy but small
compass and are of negligible weight, and the science of
going light is to get the essential units, such as bed,
shelter, clothing, mess kit, provisions, and first-aid kit,
boiled down to an irreducible minimum. The outfit may
contain also certain optional units from which your
choice will be according to the particular needs de-
pending upon your temperament, the kind of country
to be traversed, whether scenic, game, or fishing; hence
we may well include for your choice complete data for
kits for photography, hunting, and fishing.

So important is it to be equipped rightly, that it is
well to be specific in recommendation of those items
which are deemed best for use as integral parts of an
outfit which has passed the "acid test". Recommenda-
tions of equipment by hikers differ because there is no
set standard, and hence are referable chiefly to individual
preferences.

Knapsacking is a comparatively new game and it has
been favored with but little published data. With
this detached information the enthusiast has available
but little organized method, and that is usually ac-
quired by actual test. "In almost every art experi-
ence is worth more than precepts" (Quintillian).

The following notes on equipment are gleaned from
tryouts of commonly used items with a view toward
their particular adaptability in making the ideal knap-
sacker's camp, where portability must be ultimate and
utility paramount.

The foundation of go-light camping is the shelter,

I 15 1



TRAIL CRAFT

for two reasons First, your trip will be a failure
unless you are comfortable you must sleep well and
be protected from the weather and insect pests;
secondly, the tent and sleeping equipment represent
the bulkiest and heaviest items in the pack and must be
reduced to a weight consistent with back packing,
without sacrificing the utility for which they were
intended.

Sleeping warm demands insulation by preventing the
dissemination of heat waves, and, practically applied, I
have found the best bed to be patterned after the
suggestion made by Stewart Edward White. He recom-
mends a wool felt pad, one inch thick and wide enough
and long enough to accommodate the shoulder blades
and hip bones. His blanket is of loosely-woven wool
scarf material. But wool felt is hard to get. One may
buy a wool batt at a department store, cover it with
brown muslin and use it to make a thick shoulder and
hip pad as light as the felt. An army blanket makes a
good cover, but you should carry in it some cotton as
well as wool. The preference of members of the moun-
taineering clubs is a wool-batt quilt covered with
brown denim or muslin. Since many trips are taken
where browse is hard to get we prefer the wool pad
underneath in place of the browse bag as suggested by
some outdoorsmen. The bag is the thing, however,
where there is dependable supply of hay, grass, straw,
or leaves for filling. Some like an air pillow,, but a small
muslin bag into which you put odd, soft, duffle items
serves as a pillow very well. One kind, which proved
popular with a mountaineering crowd in Glacier Park,
was my knit helmet similar to that which the soldiers
[ 16]



OUTFITTING FOR GO-LIGHT TRIPS

used. It comes down over the neck and has an open-
ing for the face. Using it as a sleeping cap it defies
drafts and colds.

The desirable bed is in the shape of a sleeping bag
with a cover which can be opened for airing and drying.
It must be of balloon silk with waterproofing on the
bottom only. My first sleeping bag was too small and
I collated all the evil things men had said about sleep-
ing bags and heartily wished for a companion to aid me
in getting into the thing by the assistance of a shoe-
horn. And once in I couldn't bend my knees, and when
I rolled over, the bag and bedding went with me. A
roomy bag obviated the difficulties.

Doubtless the most indispensable item in making up
light-weight camp equipment is balloon silk. It has
revolutionized tent making and allows of the greatest
freedom in a display of ingenuity. It goes into the
make-up of such items as food bags, camera cover,
water bucket, etc. The latter is particularly ap-
preciated by the hiker. It is simply a transformed
9x1 o-inch food bag with a wooden embroidery hoop
sewed into the top and a tape carrying handle at-
tached thereto.

My favorite pack sack is the Duluth or Poirier style,
whose pattern was somewhat modified by attaching an
axe hanger on the back under the flap and extending
the open top of the bag a foot or so with a puckering
string at the edge. The bag, too, is made of balloon
silk reinforced with tapes.

I have tried every tent or shelter that I know of being
recommended for knapsacking. My preference is the
sportsman's compac. It packs lightly (3^ pounds)
I 17]



and is sufficiently roomy to accommodate two men.
It is simply and quickly set up by staking out the four
corner pegs under a tree and is suspended by throwing
the peakrope over a projecting limb, or on mountaineer-
ing trips over two crossed alpenstocks. The peak is
low, but the tent is well braced against storms and is
particularly adapted to open country. A very de-
sirable feature is the protection it affords. The floor is
sewed in, making the roof, sides, and bottom all in one
piece, thus it is snake-, bug-, and wind-proof. Little
windows or ventilators allow of proper ventilation of
air when the tent is buttoned up. No one shelter can
be said to be so adapted to use in all kinds of camping
as to be called the best all-round tent; but for the
temporary mobile camp of the hiker, mountaineer,
canoe cruiser, or boy scout the compac is the scientifi-
cally constructed answer to our needs.

Possibly the rock upon which are wrecked the
ambitions of most walking enthusiasts, particularly
women, is improper foot covering. Ordinary street
shoes are taboo. Moccasins or shoe pacs are right for
woods travel, but for most walking the Munson last,
korry-krome army shoes are the best. It is refreshing
to note the reversal to sane foot covering since the war.
And the Munson last has done it. Women en tour
can get the proper shoes as offered on the market for
boy scouts.

Specifically the shoes must be a size larger than those
needed for ordinary street wear. This is to accommo-
date the thick, heavy wool lumberman's socks, which act
as a cushion for the feet, and to care properly for wetness
from the outside and perspiration from within, to pre-
I 18]



OUTFITTING FOR GO-LIGHT TRIPS

vent blisters, and to safeguard against chill even though
one's feet are soaked in snow water the day long. Further
specifications are that the shoe must have a soft toe cap
and a broad double sole extending from toe to heel.
Have your shoemaker put on this extra sole and stud
this with Hungarian cone-headed hobnails, a row just
back of the toe, a row over the ball of the foot, and a
horseshoe row around the heel. Where much slippery
walking is anticipated as on wet logs, grass, or rocks,
we carry in the kit ready for such use two dozen No. 7
winged lumberman's screw calks with a small wrench.
The sole is painted with copal varnish and the uppers
and welt well daubed with melted cocoanut butter
three parts and beeswax one part.

Experienced tropical travelers prefer wool to cotton
on account of the proper insulation. For personal wear
experience proves to be best the knee-length duxbak
riding trousers, spiral, wool puttees, army wool shirt,
light wool undersuit and an army campaign hat. In-
stead of a sweater or coat a cardigan jacket or the
Filson cruising shirt of forestry green, woolen outing
cloth is ideal for it keeps out wind, is warm, and to a
certain degree waterproof. A commendable feature
of the Filson shirt is the double back which can be used
as a small pack sack for short trips and numerous
voluminous pockets with snap buttons which harbor
many items which one wants to get at quickly.

All woolen articles except the quilt, undersuit, and
shirt are waterproofed by lanolin. Before being woven
into a fabric, wool is treated to remove the natural oil.
By returning this oil to the fibers, they will not swell up
when immersed in water; the water simply interposes

[ 19)



TRAIL CRAFT

in the minute spaces between the fibers and can be
easily shaken out.

In the pocket should be found the usual indis-
pensables which all outdoor men carry : a waterproof
match box for emergency, the daily supply for the camp
fire and pipe being carried in the small watch pocket in
the trousers (the general supply is carried in a pry-up
lid tin in the pack), a jack-knife, a compass pinned to the
shirt (be sure to take one along whether you think you
will need it or not; it is good to refer to to keep in
practice for the time when you will need it). A note-
book with pencil will contain notes on cooking and room
for daily jotting down happenings. The Burroughs
Wellcome Exposure Calculator, recommended in the
photo kit, is in the form of a wallet containing also a
notebook, pencil, and pages for the exposure record.
A common blue bandanna kerchief has many uses from
a neckerchief, a hand towel, to tying down a hat in a
hard wind, etc. A U. S. Geological Survey map of the
region to be visited should be cut or folded to a 5x7-
inch size and slipped into an envelope of celluloid
secured from an auto-top maker. Goggles are needed
to prevent injury to the eyes from sun glare. Amber
(green) glass in metal rims is best, as this color soaks
up the actinic rays which hurt the eyes.

The first-aid unit is carried in an empty tobacco tin
and comprises a flat packet of Z O adhesive plaster
(one inch x one yard) to treat blisters and abrasions
of the skin, to repair the rain cape and a possible leak
in the camera bellows, to seal baking powder tins and
photo film containers from moisture; an ampoule or
sealed vial of aromatic spirits of ammonia for inhaling

[20]



OUTFITTING FOR GO-LIGHT TRIPS

in fainting and shock; a trench tube of iodine for wound
antisepsis; a vial of aspirin for colds; a laxative; aseptic
gauze in waxed paper; a tube of analgesic balm; and a
snake-bite kit. This last is a wooden tube with screw-
cap ends which have at one end a quantity of potassium
permanganate and at the other a small lance. When
used the lance is sterilized in boiling water and
then used to make a crucial incision over the fang
puncture, and the permanganate crystals are rubbed in
while coffee or other stimulant is given by mouth.

Protection against rain is really needed. The army
poncho is commonly used, but the rain cape is better, as
it has all of the poncho's good points but protects the
arms better, slips on over the arms and pack, yet leaves
the arms free and is quite airy underneath. It reaches
from the neck to the knees and weighs nineteen ounces.

In summer the two-pound axe with a twenty-four-
inch handle is fine for a real wilderness jaunt. On fall
or spring trips a larger axe would be needed in view of
the need for more fuel for the camp fire.

The housewife is the answer to first aid for mending
and it consists of a leather wallet or food bag contain-
ing bachelor buttons, large-eyed needles, linen thread
wound on a card, sail needles and waxed thread as
used by the shoe-sole sewing machines, safety pins,
four blanket pins, rubber bands, extra shoe laces,
copper split-end rivets, and a small whetstone.

The wilderness traveler doing photography must
work under adverse light conditions occasionally and
must take a tripod. A rapid rectilinear lens will
produce good pictures if you use it right. We are apt
to expect too much from the fine, expensive anastigmat



TRAIL CRAFT

lens; we will use it for most work at f. 6, 8, or 16, and
the f. 4.5 is good for the reserve light power we may
have need for in poor lighting. I prefer a small size,
2^x3^ inches, and if I get negatives worth anything
at all they are worth enlarging; and to get detail for
enlarging one must stop down the diaphragm and
prolong the exposure; and so we must use a tripod.

A general rule for an amateur is to stop down to f . 16
and give one-twenty-fifth of a second exposure; but
to be more accurate on all types of subjects under
different light conditions use a Wellcome Exposure Cal-
culator or a Harvey Meter. A portrait lens is needed
for close work on flowers, etc. Experimenting to get
the proper distance between camera and subject should
be mastered before taking the trip. A ray filter is
necessary to get full color correction in most scenic
work. The light in deep woods is hard to gauge with-
out an actinometer such as a Watkins or Trilux.
Camp-fire scenes are happy mementoes of any camping
trip; they are taken by flash and we prefer the flash
sheets to the powder which, if spilled, is lost. I f using
roll film, order that it be put into waterproof cartons as
prepared for the tropics. Film packs are best carried
in pry-up tins to exclude moisture.

In considering the hunting unit for knapsack trips
we must use a special gun of general utility and
light in weight. Stewart Edward White has the right
idea when he states in The Forest: "During the summer
months in the North Woods you will not need a rifle.
Partridges, spruce hens, ptarmigan, rabbits, ducks, and
geese are usually abundant enough to fill the provision
list. For them, of course, a shotgun is the thing, but since
[^^\



OUTFITTING FOR GO-LIGHT TRIPS

such a weapon weighs many pounds and its ammunition
many more, I have come gradually to depend upon a
pistol. The instrument is single shot, carries a six-inch
barrel, is fitted with a special butt, and is built on the
graceful lines of the 38-calibre Smith & Wesson revolver.
Its cartridge is the ^^ long rifle, a target size that carries
as accurately as you can hold for upwards of a hundred
yards. With it I have often killed a half-dozen of
partridges from the same tree. The ammunition is
light. Altogether it is a most satisfactory, con-
venient and accurate weapon and quite adequate to
all small game." Mr. White likely refers to the
Stevens make of gun. My personal preference is the
Game Getter of two barrels each, single shot, one
barrel handling the ^^ long-rifle cartridge, and the
other, a 44 bullet or shot cartridge.

No hiker should hit the trail into a country where
there is a possibility of getting fish without at least an
emergency fishing kit short rigged lines, hooks and
minnow hooks, the barbs cut down with a file
one half. For more serious fishing the kit will be
governed by the species one is after; if for trout take a
suit-case bamboo rod or a telescoping metal rod,
a single action reel, narrow pattern, twenty-five yards
of size E enameled line, a half-dozen best quality gut
leaders in an aluminum case, and an assortment of
flies in a book, and several split shot.

The essentials in the mess-kit unit are: A collapsible
handled steel frying pan, nine-inch size, a deep plate,
a quart bucket with a lid, a common pint cup with
handle riveted on, a dessert spoon, a fork, and for
cutting purposes depend on the jack- or sheath-knife.

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TRAIL CRAFT

The above can be assembled at any ten-cent store.
The ordinary fry pan handle should be cut off to a two-
inch length and a metal ferrule riveted on to accom-
modate a stick lengthener at the camp fire. The boy
scout outfit, which nests compactly, can be purchased
in aluminum, which is in every way desirable, with