MOUNTAIN TRAILS AND TRAVEL 



23,3 



a one as is used by the sportsman on 

 his camping trips, as it is not only that 

 with which people generally, and espe- 

 cially eastern people, are most familiar, 

 but it is in some ways the most difficult 

 to handle. 



What, then, is meant by the "proper 

 handling" of an outfit? It is, generally 

 speaking, the transportation of food, 

 clothing and camp equipment from 

 place to place with the most comfort 

 possible to both man and beast and with 

 the least damage possible to the goods 

 transported. This, of course, includes 

 a proper choice of camp grounds, for a 

 failure in this respect means much dis- 

 comfort to all concerned. 



Imagine, then, that the outfit under 

 consideration has been on the trail long 

 enough to have "shaken down," or, in 

 other words, that the men, both guides 

 and sportsmen, have found their 

 places in the scheme of things and 

 camp routine has been established. 



Usually, the first thing the "tourist" 

 hears is the cry of "breakfast" from 

 the cook, and he rolls out of his blank- 

 ets, dresses as quickly as possible, and 

 emerges from the tent to find the horses 

 tied up and saddled, ready to pack as 

 soon as breakfast has been disposed 

 of. This means that the men have 

 been up for an hour or two hunting 

 them through the brush, and chasing 

 them into camp when found. 



The little matter of finding the 

 horses is sometimes not as simple as it 

 would appear, especially if, as is often 

 the. case, there are one or two leaders 

 among the "cayuses" which seem to 

 delight in putting as many miles as 

 possible between themselves and camp, 

 or in finding a particularly thick bit of 

 brush in which to hide. Sometimes 

 they are so successful in their efforts 

 that they may not be found until too 

 late to move camp. Of course, as soon 

 as these individuals can be picked out 

 of the bunch they are introduced to a 

 pair of hobbles, but it is surprising how 

 far they can travel through a rough 

 country or even through fallen timber 

 while handicapped in this manner. In- 



deed, I well remember one instance 

 when we hunted for four days, before 

 we found two "lost lambs" that had 

 cached themselves away in a thick 

 grove about seven miles from camp. 



In general one may say that horses 

 exhibit a personality and individuality 

 on the trail that would, in most cases, 

 go unremarked anywhere else, and the 

 study which leads to the proper under- 

 standing of their different characters is 

 important to one who would obtain the 

 best* results from a pack-train. 



After breakfast, while the cook is 

 washing the dishes and packing the 

 "grub boxes,'' tents come down, blank- 

 ets are folded and everything is put in 

 shape to pack. When this has been 

 done we are able to see more easily 

 than at any other time just what we 

 have and, in general, of what a camp 

 equipment consists. 



The matter of personal outfit is very 

 much a matter of personal taste, and 

 so far as I can discover there are just 

 as many "ideal personal outfits" as 

 there are sportsmen on the trail. We 

 may, however, take it for granted that 

 the more experienced the sportsman 

 the fewer the luxuries to be found in 

 his outfit, especially those which may 

 be classed among the things that 

 "might," but almost never "do," come 

 in handy. Fifty pounds at the outside 

 should cover one man's baggage, not 

 including his blankets and rifle. 



The matter of camp equipment con- 

 sisting of tents and "grub-pile," with 

 the accompanying pack-saddles and 

 rigging necessary for their transporta- 

 tion, varies, too, with the preferences 

 and experience of the guides. Former- 

 ly for a long trip the staples consisted 

 of bacon, beans, flour and tea, but in 

 these days of modern methods many 

 things which were before considered 

 the greatest luxuries may be carried, 

 such as evaporated and condensed 

 foods, which add materially to the com- 

 fort of the party and add little to the 

 weight of the packs. 



In the old days, for instance, who 

 would have thought of trying to in- 



