Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

CHAPTER XIICAMP MAKINGAs a rule, good camp sites are not found alongthe beaten road. Of course, water is the primeessential, and in a country where water is scarce,you will stop at an old camping ground ; otherwiseit is best to avoid such a place: for one thing,you don't want to be bothered with interlopers,and for another, the previous occupants will havestripped the neighborhood of good kindling anddownwood, and may have left a legacy of rubbishand fleas.A pleasant stopping-place is seldom far to seekin a hilly country that is well wooded. There areexceptions, as in the Ozarks, where the rock is aporous limestone, the drainage mostly is underground,and there are no brooks, nor are springsas common as one would expect, though when youdo strike one it is a big one. Here a traveler mustdepend for water chiefly on the creeks and rivers,which may be miles apart.In a level region, whether it be open plain ortimbered bottom land, good water and a high anddry site may be hard to find.In any case, when men are journeying througha wild country that is strange to them, they shouldbegin at least two hours before sunset to keep abright lookout for a good place on which to spendthe night, and when such is found they had betteraccept it at once than run the risk of *' murderinga night ' farther on, wherever the powers of darknessmay force them to stop.?iteCamp Sites.— The essentials of a good campare these:208