Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

I loCAMPING AND WOODCRAFTFeatherweight camping in ''civilized" fashion beganwith the Rob Roy, progressed with the flotillasof British and American canoeists who followed itsskipper's example, was refined by the squadrons ofcycle tourists and the pedestrian campers whoscour the highways and byways of all Christendomin their yearly holidays.To one w^hose camps have always been pitchedin the wilderness the seven-pound English kit seemsamusingly frail and inadequate. Such a one mightexclaim in mock reverence, as my partner used towhen he caught me modeling some new-fangled"dingbat": "Great and marvelous art thy works,Lord Geeminy Crimlny!" But such an outfit isnot meant for the wilderness. It is for the independentvacationist who wants to ramble off thebeaten track, to see what conventional travelers alwaysmiss: the most interesting and picturesqueplaces and peoples in their own and foreign countries.European outfitters have been catering for yearsto this class of trade; but what have we done forit? Precious little. Whoever goes in for that sortof vacation must either pack around with him twiceas much weight and bulk as there is any sense in,if he buys his kit ready made, or he must build anequipment for himself, which few tourists haveeither the time or the skill to do. Perhaps, then,thisforeign cult may be worth looking into.First, the featherweight kit already alluded to.was designed by Owen G. Williams, and marketedby J. Langdon & Sons, Duke St., Liverpool. Theconstituent parts, with their weights, and pricesbefore the war, are given below. If ordered togetherthe price of complete outfit was £4 4s, orabout $21.00.SINGLE OUTFIT FOR PEDESTRIAN ORCYCLING TOURSPrice Weight"Featherweight" tent complete £1 10 2 8Ground sheet and pegs for same 4 3 ISIt