FOREST GUIDE DEPARTMENT 



SOLAN L. PARKES, EDITOR 



CAMPING 



A S I started to write this article on camping, I began to 

 ^^ feel crowd^ between the floor, walls and ceiling of 

 my office. I longed for the open outdoor life, and im- 

 mediately left for one of my old and favorite camp sites, 

 where on a bluff, fully fifty feet above the shore line 

 of a lake, I sat down with my back placed against the 

 soft side of an aged hemlock, thinking of the camps of 

 the past that I had, sometimes with but a friend or two, 

 and of the camps of larger size, where, having hundreds 

 of boys under my care, I conducted schools of agricul- 

 ture, horticulture, forestry, etc. I felt gratified that in 

 many years of experience, I had never been compelled to 

 call a doctor for any ill, nor was I ever so unfortunate 

 as to lose a single life from any cause. 



I came to the spot where I conducted one of my first 

 camps. Seated on the blufT overlooking the lake, where 

 knowing nothing would disturb my train of thought, ex- 

 cept that I could hear the waves lapping against the 

 shore line, see a butterfly with brightly colored wings 

 floating by, or hear the chirping of a chipmunk, when 



your camping trip that you are looking forward to, your 

 equipment should be such that you will be absolutely as 

 self-reliant as though you went camping all alone. 



The let-me-have-your-comb-habit is a bad one. Bor- 

 row nothing. Dandruff, or some other skin disease, may 

 be a part of the lender's personal head adornment. 



The same holds true if soap, washcloth or towel is a 

 community aflfair. Skin diseases may be passed along by 

 this method very easily. 



Soap, a comb, washcloth and towels in sufficient num- 

 ber should be your first concern, for personal cleanliness 

 must be your first rule. 



Your second concern should be foot comfort, for you 

 will do lots of hiking. Clean stockings should always be 

 waiting for you, as well as dry shoes, for what gives one 

 more comfort than to jump into a pair of shorts, slip on 

 a pair of golf stockings and a pair of tennis shoes or 

 sneakers after a busy day either in play or activity of 

 any kind. 



The Editor suggests that all organized groups, whether Boys or Girls, Young Men or 

 Young Women, add the Forest Guide Program to their program; read this department care- 

 fully every month ; study the advice and information it gives, discuss it, and work out suggested 

 activities, as it is the desire of the Editor that conservation be better understood by the youth 

 of America. 



it discovered me in what it considered its domain. At 

 the very edge of the bluflf is a deciduous or broad-leaved 

 tree, on which I saw, flitting from one branch to another, 

 a bright-hued cardinal. On a small spur or peninsula, 

 running into the lake, stood a fisherman, slowly trolling 

 his line to attract some finny citizen, while around a bend 

 was a canoe, slowly gliding toward the place where I was 

 sitting. The ozone of the forest filled the air. All in all, 

 it gave one a glorious feeling of contentment. 



In such environments as these, it seems to me, some- 

 how, that God intended mankind to live. For one of the 

 first things we read of in the Bible, is the Garden of 

 Eden, where trees are mentioned, together with all else 

 needed to bring happiness. 



In that Garden of Eden camp, there was a camp rule, 

 and every camp director, or those that have charge of 

 camps, must govern by rule only, if your camp is to be a 

 success, for, unless this is done, your camp will be a 



failure. 



* * * * 



F you are going to camp this year, do not wait until 



you are ready to start to make your plans. Begin now. 



To be assured that you will get all the pleasure out of 



I 



Make it a point to have a sufficient number of blankets 

 to keep your body warm. For cool nights come, and often 

 follow a day of rain. The number of blankets depends 

 on the climatic conditions you will camp in. After you 

 have listed and procured that part of the equipment that 

 will assure you bodily comfort, look over that other part 

 you will require for pleasure. 



Fishing tackle may have to be repaired, or some parts 

 of it may have to be replaced. Is your Kodak in work- 

 ing? How about your individual drinking cup? Do you 

 have a strong pocket knife? A few good books will help 

 you greatly to pass away an hour now and then. 



A good plan is to make up a list of all the equipment 

 you would like to have. After you have the list com- 

 pleted, take a pencil and strike off the list everything you 

 will not need. Then at the very bottom of the list, add 

 needles, thread, extra buttons, shoe laces and a few safety 

 pins. 



Your camp shoes should be bought with care. Con- fort 

 and wear should both be considered. 



Practice to make up your blanket roll. Your soldier 

 brother will be glad to show you how, and remember that 

 you may bring back more than you take along, for you 



