Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

TRIPS AFOOTggdeal depends on getting a pack so adjusted that itwill "ride" just right,shoulders and hips each bearingtheir due part of the strain, with as little bindingand chafing as possible.Finally, will you go in company or alone? Aparty of three or four uses the same tent, utensils,and some other articles in common. That meansless weight for each man to carry. Two in a bedrequire less bedding than if they slept separately. Asatisfactory kit for one man who goes alone andafoot is the last refinement in camp equipment. Becausethis is a particularly difficult problem I shallgive it special attention. Whoever masters it wiUhave little trouble in getting up a squad outfit.Clothes.—This topic has been considered in detailin Vol. I. (pp. 138-163). Little need be added.Footwear is the most important item. Shoes andsocks must FIT J or you will be made miserable byblisters. For dry weather and fair roads, the standardU. S. Army shoes are excellent; but for roughcountry, heavier ones, made over the Munson last,are required. In the wilderness there is considerablewading to do, sometimes over the shoe tops. Theonly shoes that will stand it are those that are waterproofedand have no lining w^hatever: they dry outsoon on the march, and do not get hard or *'bowedup." Buy them of some firm that makes a specialtyof sportsmen's footwear.Up to the season when Mackinaws are needed,do not carry a coat. You would not wear it on them.arch, and, when the cool of evening comes, asweater coat or a Mackinaw stag shirt is more comfortable,besides being a good night garment, whichthe coat distinctly is not. Then have a light-weightrubber cape reaching just to the knee. From theknee down you will get wet anyway, even thoughyou wear a long poncho or rain coat, and any garmentthat flops against the legs at every stride is apositive nuisance ; besides, it will soon tear when youthrash through brush, and it will trip you at everystep in climbing. A cape has the merits of a pon-