Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 75.djvu/283

Rh miles, and by selecting the proper localities, these halts can be used for collecting. The pack can be removed by unfastening a single clasp. If long side trips are to be made, such as climbing a mountain, the outfit can be cached until the return.

An average day in the field, thus equipped, would be about as follows: Supposing that I have arrived in the forenoon at the terminus of a branch railway line in the mountains, I obtain such supplies as may be necessary and start at once toward what appears to be the most favorable collecting ground. At noon I eat a light lunch such as grape-nuts, usually not going to the trouble of making a fire. About five o'clock in the afternoon I begin to watch for a favorable camping spot. The requisites are good water, firewood in abundance and a comfortable location for my camp. As I carry no axe it is necessary that the firewood be in shape for use without chopping. At altitudes where the temperature sinks to 40° F., it is necessary to keep a fire all night, as the bedding carried is not sufficient to keep one comfortably warm. A level spot is selected and freed from stones, sticks and cones. It is an advantage if one can place his bed by a large rock or log and build the fire a short distance in front as the heat is then reflected and the wind is kept off. It is scarcely safe to build a fire against a large log or stump, as it may start a forest fire or it may at least be troublesome to put out the next morning. A supply of firewood should be placed near at hand and the fire replenished as needed, which is at intervals of about two hours during the night. There is no advantage in making a larger fire as one is driven farther away and gets cold just as soon when the fire dies out, and furthermore there is more danger from sparks falling on the blanket. It may be remarked that the falling temperature always wakes one up in time to replenish the fire if the nights are cold. Having gathered the firewood one prepares for supper. I do not utilize the large fire for cooking, but build a small fire near-by, under the grate previously described. The small fire can be controlled to suit the requirements. As one sits near the stove while cooking, the fire must not be too large. The supper is with me the important meal of the day. There is time to cook such articles as need prolonged boiling. At this meal I have pancakes, bacon, potatoes, onions, fruit or whatever my supplies will furnish. As the cooking utensils are limited to a frying pan, coffee pot, pail and tin can, the amount of cooking that can be carried on at one time is limited. Enough dried fruit is made into sauce to last for the breakfast and possibly the lunch following. Cream of wheat will also be cooked for the following breakfast. If potatoes are carried enough are boiled at night to give a small surplus for frying the next morning. As a matter of fact when one is alone it is necessary to limit the variety of food at any one meal, since it is not convenient to carry in a pack the surplus from a meal, especially if in liquid form.