Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

elt,ROUTE SKETCHING 91or some other article of equipment that he constantlycarries.He should also know some of the measurementsof his body. The first joint of the I'ltle finger, forinstance, may be one inch, or the thumb an inchwide. Clench both fists, making the extendedthumbs meet: this may bt just one foot. Measurethe span of thumb and little finger and the heightof your eye from the ground. The full stretch ofthe extended arms is often used, but is unreliable oncurved surfaces, as in measuring the girth of a tree,since it will be several inches shorter than if onestood with his back to a flat wall and stretched hisarms horizontally.To measure successivelengths with a stout cord,such as a fishing line: Knot*:he line two or threefeet from one end, measureoff, say, 100 feet fromthis, and knot again, leavinga stray end beyond thesecond knot. One endcould be looped, as in Fig.I'ja, in which case you stickFig. 17.—Hitches onMeasuring Linea smooth peg in theground, put the loop over the peg, carry out thehundred feet, set a peg there, and then jerk the lineupward, which, if the ground is smooth, will cause awave to run along it that will lift the loop off thefirst peg. But a permanent loop is too likely tocatch in bushes, etc.: so it is better to leave plainends as I have described, and make your loop eachtime with a hitch (Fig. I'jb) so it may shake out asit comes of¥ the peg, leaving only a free end to behauled in. A sheepshank (Fig. 17c) may be usedfor the same purpose.However, in the woods, it is better to fasten yourline with a signal halyard hitch (Fig. 17^) to anyconvenient small tree or bush that stands fairly in