Along the Peshtigo 
A Tramping and Camping Trip of a Family Party in 
the Badger State 
By O. W. SMITH 
T he trip was the result of a desire on be¬ 
half of Wife and I to do something 
“different"—to cut loose from conven¬ 
tions, to be absolutely free for a fortnight. But, 
to quote our neighbor. Uncle Peleg. we did not 
"start off half cocked.” After a careful study 
of the map we settled on the Peshtigo country 
because of its accessibility and its streams; then 
we set about providing ourselves with an outfit 
suitable to our purpose, for we planned to tramp 
and carry everything on our backs. 
Now we are not green outers, for we have 
tramped and camped, fished and hunted, ever 
since Girl was a l)aby, 
but as our tramp was to 
be a long one and the 
weather hot, we set 
about eliminating every 
superfluous pound of 
dunnage. 
It is not my purpose 
to prepare a “how-to" 
article, for the outdoor 
magazines are giving 
too much advice and 
not enough experience; 
however, to those who 
may contemplate taking- 
such a trip, what we 
carried may be of in¬ 
terest 
We possess several 
tents, but for this trip 
we purchased a 7 by yj/l 
silk canoe tent weighing 
with mosquito proof 
front, Syi pounds. Per¬ 
haps some will criticize 
us for taking so large 
a tent, but in case of a rainy day, to confine an 
active ten-year-old in a smaller one would be 
cruel, to say nothing of the discomfort of the 
grown-ups. Three blankets and a rubber poncho, 
weighing in the aggregate seventeen pounds, pro¬ 
vided bedding. As to clothing. Wife wore her 
outing suit—short skirt of duck and bloomers 
and leggings of the same material; Girl was pro¬ 
vided with a boy’s suit, also of duck; while I 
wore canvas. We were all provided with canvas 
hunting coats, for we have found that there is 
nothing quite so convenient as many pockets. 
We carried sweaters, stockings and a change of 
underclothing, while Wife and Girl were each 
provided with an extra waist. I'hey wore shoes, 
but I wore moccasins—and wore them out, too. 
As to cooking utensils, we carried an alumi¬ 
num baker, two small kettles, nested, and a fry- 
ingpan, tin plates, cups and mixing basin, knives, 
forks and spoons. Tin will not retain heat as 
does aluminum. Our axe was a two-pound 
hatchet built on the lines of ;i grown-up axe and 
provided with a fourteen-inch handle. 
We carried three trunk rods, steel, lancewood 
and split bamboo, with reels arc! lines; one land¬ 
THE PARTY, 
ing net, canvas creel and fly-book; .22 calilrer 
pistol with a ten-inch barrel, and 250 cartridges! 
Our camera, with tripod and ten rolls of film, 
weighed seven pounds. We packed the films 
in a rubber bag and experienced no trouble with 
it. Out of sixty exposures made, only ten were 
failures. We carried a dozen wax candles, each 
wrapped in tin foil to prevent melting or break¬ 
ing, and a folding lantern to burn them in. The 
lantern was needless; a cup filled with sand 
would have done as well. Each carried a jack¬ 
knife. pocket mirror, comb, tooth-brush, notebook 
and pencil. I wore a six-inch knife on my belt. 
The grub question is always a vital and in¬ 
teresting one and varies with each individual 
or party. Here is our list: 
Pounds. 
Potatoes . 30 
Flour . 12 
Meal (corn) . 3 
Breakfast food . 2 
Butter . 5 
Bacon . 6 
Cotolene . 2 
Egg powder . V 2 
Baking powder . % 
Pepper . 14 
Nutmeg .'.. 14 
Rice . 2 
Currants and raisins . 2 
Prunes . 1 
-Apricots . 1 
Sugar . 7 
Coffee . 1 
Tea . 14 
Sweet chocolate . 14 
Lemons, dozen . 2 
Extract, beef . 14 
Shelled nuts . 14 
Onions .' 1 
Beans . 3 
Salt ... 2 
Five cans milk . 3 
Two cans corn . 3 
Three cans corned beef. 3 
Total . 9414 
In addition to the 
above list we carried 
three loaves of bread. 
The meat, butter and 
cotolene were packed in 
friction top tin cans and 
gave us no trouble. As 
to canned goods, if go¬ 
ing light I would say 
cut them all out, except 
the milk; that I count a 
necessary luxury. Pota¬ 
toes are heavy and of 
little food value; beans 
are a good substitute 
and they are concen¬ 
trated food, but I am 
willing to “tote” a few 
potatoes. Beans, rice, 
bacon, the outer’s three 
staples. Cornmeal makes 
a good morning mush, 
is good fried, and a 
johnnycake now and 
then varies the bill of 
fare amazingly. Nut¬ 
meg is good sprinkled on bread, rice, etc. If 
going in the heated term, as we did, do not leave 
out the lemons or egg powder. With the two and 
cold spring water one can make a refreshing 
and invigorating drink. Suffer a word in be¬ 
half of beef extract. When you reach your 
camping place tired and hungry prepare a cup 
of broth and see how much easier it will be 
to cut browse and pitch the tent. We packed 
each article in a separate duck bag, contents 
plainly marked on the outside, so that we found 
no trouble in finding just what we wanted. 
