452 
FOREST AND STREAM 
October, 1921 
THE MECHANICS OF 
M' 
CAMPING 
'UCH of the comfort of camp- 
ing' depends upon the camper’s 
knowledge of elementary me- 
chanics. 
Give a man all the camping equip- 
ment on the market and the most 
desirable camping ground imaginable 
and if he lacks mechanical sense he’s 
bound to suffer some discomforts. The 
chances are, he’ll return disgruntled, 
sore in body and spirit and an enemy to 
the outdoor life ever after. 
By this I do not mean that he must be 
a mechanic — not at all. I do mean, how- 
ever, that an understanding of the simple 
rudiments of mechanics — their uses in 
the great outdoors and an appreciation 
of their possibilities will be an asset not 
measurable in money. 
We will consider the camp site. It 
is the foundation of a good camp 
and therefore the most important item. 
What are the essential points to consider 
that smack of the mechanical ? Well, to 
begin with : water runs downhill, so 
to avoid waking up in a mud puddle 
some dark, stormy 
night, see that you 
pitch your camp on 
an elevation that, 
taking into consider- 
ation the topography 
of the surrounding 
country, will insure 
you a dry camp. 
When travelling 
through level, low 
country, commence 
well before sunset to 
pick out the camp 
site. Don’t wait un- 
til the last minute 
and take a chance of 
spending a night of 
torture in a soggy 
bed, just because 
darkness forced you 
to stop at the point 
where it overtook 
you. 
Other mechanical 
attributes of a good site would be nat- 
ural protection from prevailing winds, 
if you intend the camp for a permanent 
one, and plenty of morning sunshine to 
dry out the camp and its bedding. Avoid 
low valleys and ravines because of the 
possibilities of freshets which might 
leave you stranded on a square yard or 
so of land before you could pack up and 
escape. Remember, also, that cold air, 
rj/’F are depending upon the 
' ' friends and admirers of our 
old correspondent Nessmuk to 
make this department worthy of 
his name. No man knew the woods 
better than Nessmuk or wrote of 
them zvith quainter charm. Many 
of his practical ideas on camp- 
ing and “going light’’ have been 
adopted by the United States 
Army; his canoe has been preserved 
in the Smithsonian Institution ; and 
we hope that all good woodsmen 
zcill contribute to this departmen 1 
their Hints and Kinks and trail- 
tested contrivances . — [Editors.] 
or on hillsides where slides are liable to 
occur during rains. Trees may fall and 
sliding stones can do more damage in a 
minute than a broadside of heavy artil- 
lery. 
A FEW years ago, advice regarding 
pitching a tent might have been pi 
necessary but with several million men 
just out of army training, there will un- la 
doubtedly be someone in the party to % 
captain the enterprise. Someone with 
many weary hours of real “honest to 
goodness” tent pitching to his credit. 
tom and consequently make such places 
damp. 
In cold weather try to pitch camp in 
the lee of a large rock. This for two 
reasons. First : the rock will act as a 
probable wind-break. Second : it acts 
as a natural reflector and will tend to 
reflect the heat from the camp-fire back 
But here are a few kinks to remember. 
Nine persons out of ten drive tent pins 
the wrong way; head away from the 
tent. Instead — drive them slightly slant- 
ed towards the tent and fully a foot deep. 
The reason for this is that when driven 
pointing away from the tent, the pull 
of the ropes is at right angles to the peg 
and the pulling leverage at it’s greatest. 
By pegging the other way the pull is 
more indirect and there is less danger of 
the peg working the surrounding earth 
loose. 
If tent pegs are cut from green wood, 
the points can be hardened by charring 
them in the fire. If 
If 
the ground is wet or 
very sandy, so the 
pegs will not hold, 
dig a hole where 
each peg should go 
and, tying the tent 
rope about a rock or 
bundle of brush, lay 
S/IAOOtA/ 
A 7- 
// A ■ /V. 
Diagram showing how to find the meridian 
it in the hole and 
cover it up. Tramp 
the earth down over 
it and you will have 
a very suitable sub- 
stitute for a tent 
peg. Another waj 
to secure tent pegs 
driven in sandy soil 
is to lay a large 
rock over each peg 
having previouslj 
driven them at ar 
angle in the soil. 
fog and mists always settle to the bot- 
into the tent or shack ; a boon on cold 
nights and to rheumatic bones. 
If camping on a hillside, try to settle 
below a natural rise of ground, rocks or 
clump of trees. Just as air passes over 
the edge of an airplane wing and leaves 
a bank of quiet air below it, so will 
winds, sweeping down the hillside, jump 
any natural barrier to pass over the camp 
and leave it in warmer and quieter air. 
Avoid pitching camp" near dead trees 
V OLUMES might be written aboul 
the camp-fire and not exhaust al 
the possibilities of the subject, but, lay- 
ing aside a discussion of woods, wind: 
and general fire-building directions whief 
every good camper understands, then 
are several points that are helpful anc 
well to emphasize. 
Remember that to make a fire in we 
weather is a test for the camper’s skill 
but by recalling the mechanical natun 
' 
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