“Just a good, chummy number,” he said. “The Appalachian camps will hold us without overcrowding, and we won’t always be worrying about stragglers getting lost.”
“What are the Appalachian camps?” asked Art.
“The Appalachian Club is a club of men, with headquarters in Boston,” Mr. Rogers answered, “and they do more than anybody else to make hiking in the White Mountains possible. They have built dozens and dozens of trails, which they keep cleaned out and marked clearly, and at several strategic points they have built shelters where you can camp over night or get in out of the storm. They have a stone hut on the col between Mounts Madison and Adams, a shelter in the Great Gulf, another in Tuckerman’s Ravine, and so on. I’ve been mighty glad to get to some of these shelters, I can tell you.”
“Gee, those names—Great Gulf—Tuckerman’s Ravine—make you want to get to ’em in a hurry!” cried Peanut. “Let’s plan an equipment right off.”
“That is pretty important,” said Mr. Rogers. “We want to go as light as we can, and yet we’ve got to keep warm. I’ve been in a snow-storm on Mount Washington in the middle of August.”
“Whew!” said Peanut.
So the four Scouts began planning, at their shoes, where plans for every hike ought to begin. As Mr. Rogers put it, “a soldier is no better than his feet.” Each boy got out his stoutest boots, made sure that the linings were sound so there would be no rough places to chafe the feet, and took them to the cobbler’s. If the soles had worn thin, the cobbler resoled them, and in all of them he put hobnails, so they would grip the steep rocks without slipping.
None of the Southmead Scouts wore the kind of scout uniform which has short knee pants and socks instead of stockings. As most of their hikes were through woods, this uniform would have been highly unpractical, resulting in scratched legs. Besides, all the larger Scouts, like Art and Peanut, said it was too much like the clothes rich little children wear! Instead, the Southmead troop generally wore khaki trousers and leggings.
“I think leggings are going to be too hot for this trip,” Mr. Rogers said. “We’ll have very little brush work to do. Suppose we cut out the leggings in favor of long khaki trousers. We’ll each want an extra pair of heavy socks, and you, Lou, bring along a needle and plenty of darning cotton, to repair holes. Then we’ll want an extra shirt and set of underclothes apiece, so we can change in camp after a sweaty climb. Also, we’ll all want sweaters and a blanket.”
“How about food?” asked Art.