The Camping Kit
The camping kit, including the few handy articles needed in the woods, as well as the bedding and cooking outfit, may be either elaborate or simple, according to the personal experience and ideas of the camper. In making up a list, it is a good plan to remember that only comparatively few articles are really essential for a comfortable vacation in the wilderness. A comfortable bed must be reckoned one of the chief essentials, and one may choose the de-luxe couch—the air mattress or sleeping pocket—use the ordinary sleeping bag, or court slumber on one of the several other styles of camp beds. The fold-over combination bed, the stretcher bed, or a common bag made of ticking, 6¹⁄₂ ft. long by 2 ft. wide, which is stuffed with browse or leaves, will suffice for the average person. Folding camp cots, chairs, tables, and other so-called camp furniture, have their places in the large, fixed camps, but the woodsman can manage to live comfortably without them. A good pair of warm blankets should be included for each person, providing the sleeping bag is not taken along. The regulation army blankets are a good choice and reasonable in price, or the blankets used at home may be pressed into service.
A good ax is the woodsman’s everyday companion, and a good-weight tool, weighing 3 or 4 lb., and a smaller one of 1¹⁄₂ lb. should be carried. When going light, the belt ax will suffice.
The oil lantern is only suited for the fixed camp, since the fuel is difficult to transport unless it is placed in screw-top cans. The “Stonbridge” and other folding candle lanterns are the most convenient for the woods and give sufficient light for camp life.
The aluminum cooking outfits are light in weight, nest compactly, and will stand many years of hard usage, but like other good things, they are somewhat expensive. A good substitute, at half the price, may be obtained in tin and steel, having the good feature of nesting within each other, but, of course, not being quite so light nor so attractive in appearance as the higher-priced outfits. Both the aluminum and steel outfits are put up in canvas carrying bags, and an outfit for two includes a large and a small cooking pot coffee pot; frying pan with folding or detachable handle; two plates; cups knives; forks, and spoons. Outfits may be bought for any number of persons and almost all sporting-goods stores carry them. The two-man outfit in heavy aluminum will cost $9 or $10, while the same outfit duplicated in steel is priced at $3.35.
The Stretcher Bed may be Stuffed with Browse or Leaves, or Suspended from Poles and Stakes to Make a Camp Cot
Food Bags with Friction-Top Tins to Fit Them, in Which Lard, Butter, Pork, Ham, and Other Greasy Necessities are Carried
A Pack Basket with a Waterproof Canvas Lid and Cover, Having Straps to Go over the Shoulders, Is a General Favorite with Woodsmen and Guides
When Going Light the Belt Ax is Used
The Compass Is by Far the Most Useful Instrument for the Woods, but Any Reliable and Inexpensive Watch may be Carried
A Good, Tempered Knife Should be Worn at the Belt
The Cooking Kit may be of Aluminum or Steel, All Nesting within the Largest Pot, and may Include a Folding Baker, or Reflector, with Bread Board in Canvas Bag, a Wood Salt Box, and a Water-Tight Can for Matches
Folding Candle Lanterns are the Most Convenient for the Woods and They Give Sufficient Light for Camp Life