Chapter 35

Camping Hints

If you take a trip away from the main camp for a day or two, and use either a small tent or a lean-to for shelter, take sugar in lump form, because if you drop some on the ground it is easy to pick up.

If you use a large wall tent or one of the umbrella style, and transportation or equipment and supplies is not too difficult, take along single camp cots for each occupant. A two-burner gasoline stove will be right for camp cooking. And don’t forget the gasoline.

A small alarm clock is an asset at any hunting camp.

This elegant fish knife was a fixture in L.L.Bean’s fishing line for forty years, from 1936 until 1976.

For real warmth and comfort on the outdoor trails, a sleeping bag is hard to beat. They are excellent on hunting, fishing and camping trips where it is not practical to carry along folding cots, mattresses and blankets. During the summer a piece of cheese cloth sprinkled with kerosene or fly spray is necessary to cover the canopy to keep the black flies, midges and mosquitoes away. If you haven’t an air mattress it is a good idea to build a bough bed and place your sleeping bag on it if you desire a real “woodsy” and comfortable bed.

When you get home from a camping trip, take your tent out of its bag and spread it out to dry before storing it away for the winter.

If you lunch along the highway, be sure to pick up all rubbish. If you have a fire put it out with water.

To remove rust, soot and grease from pots and pans, wet a cloth in hot water, dip in wood ashes and scour the utensils by a back-and-forth rubbing motion.

When mosquitoes and black flies are plentiful, I recommend stockings long enough so that pant legs can be tucked inside. This will save you a lot of discomfort.