554 



Seventeenth Street NW., Washing- 

 ton 6, D. C. 



Many people travel the wilderness 

 areas on their own, either afoot with 

 back pack or with rented horses. 

 Horses can often be rented without a 

 guide or packer by persons competent 

 to handle and care for them. It would 

 be foolish for persons not familiar with 

 horses to attempt a trip without hiring 

 a packer. Furthermore, feed for horses 

 is often difficult to find in wilderness 

 areas, and, because camps must be 

 made close to horse feed by horse 

 parties, familiarity with the country is 

 necessary. 



Especially noteworthy is the Supe- 

 rior Roadless area in the Superior Na- 

 tional Forest in Minnesota. It is in the 

 border-lakes country along the Cana- 

 dian boundary. It is accessible only 

 by canoe, and one can travel for days 

 through small lakes and streams with- 

 out meeting another person. The 

 surrounding country is timbered and 

 attractive, and the fishing is excellent. 

 Travel in the area is best after July 15, 

 when there are fewer mosquitoes and 

 flies. It would be unwise for nonswim- 

 mers or those not familiar with han- 

 dling a canoe to plan a trip there 

 without a guide, but persons who can 

 handle a canoe, swim, and take care of 

 themselves in the woods can enjoy a 

 vacation at low cost. 



Many persons travel into the wil- 

 derness areas from the western guest 

 ranches that are in and near wild sec- 

 tions of the national forests. The 

 ranches provide saddle horses, pack 

 stock, guides, and packers for their 

 guests. The Dude Ranchers' Associa- 

 tion, Billings, Mont., will send infor- 

 mation about the privately owned 

 resorts. 



The camp and picnic areas, winter- 

 sports areas, and organization camps I 

 have described comprise about one- 

 hundredth of the total national forest 

 area. The wilderness areas represent 

 less than 8 percent. 



THE 123,800 MILES OF THE FOREST 

 HIGHWAYS and roads pass through 



Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



fine forested country and mountains. 

 Most of the roads are work roads, but 

 many are open to pleasure drivers. 



There are 144,000 miles of trails, 

 which thousands of people enjoy each 

 year afoot or on horseback. Some of 

 the trails are famous, among them the 

 Appalachian Trail from Maine to 

 Georgia (which runs through the east- 

 ern forests), the Cascade Crest and 

 Oregon Skyline Trail in the Pacific 

 Northwest, and the John Muir and 

 Sierra Trails in California. Most of 

 them, however, were built only to en- 

 able forest rangers to get through the 

 forest for purposes of protection and 

 management; even so, they often pass 

 through beautiful wild land and lead to 

 some of the best fishing in the United 

 States. 



Forest Service maps show the loca- 

 tions of trails and are available from 

 the forest supervisors. More detailed 

 maps are available from the Appalach- 

 ian Trail Conference, Washington, 

 D. C., for the Appalachian Trail, and 

 from the Pacific Crest Trail Confer- 

 ence, Green Hotel, Pasadena, Calif., 

 for the trails through the Cascades and 

 Sierras. 



The national forests have 90,000 

 miles of fishing waters. Those that can 

 be reached by car are not as good 

 fishing, of course, as the more remote 

 streams to which one must walk or ride. 



Most of the lands are open to hunt- 

 ing. Big-game animals, the elk, deer, 

 moose, antelope, mountain sheep, and 

 grizzly bear, can be found and hunted 

 in season. Small game and predators 

 are abundant in places. Game birds, 

 including pheasant, grouse, quail, and 

 wild turkey, are common. 



All game animals, game birds, and 

 fish on the national forests are subject 

 to State game laws. All persons who 

 hunt or fish must observe the State 

 laws as to license, bag limits, seasons, 

 and so on. State wardens and forest 

 rangers are always glad to give infor- 

 mation on the local laws governing 

 hunting and fishing and advice on the 

 best places. 



All persons are welcome to travel 



