A Tent Away from Home

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

While mileage can measure joy or cause morale to plummet, map distance itself is meaningless. Minor detours on the map can devour whole mornings. Trails you had hoped to camp along may skirt a gorge much steeper than you remembered the map indicating. A significant miscalculation may force you to set up in the dark. So, how many miles can you expect to cover in a day? On level ground, one mile per hour-or less-is a safe rule of thumb. Elevation, weather, time of year, your family's stamina are some factors you must consider. Do yourself a favor and get into a little better shape before you go: power walk, ride your bicycle, drop those last few pounds, and you will be better prepared to go the distance. Safe distance is do-able distance.

Map your route carefully. Going the extra mile should be a matter of choice, not necessity for your family. Easy does it. A fun five miles is preferable to a fit-to-be-tied ten. You may cover less ground, but all of you will certainly enjoy it more. Topographic foresight gained at the kitchen table combined with a loose mile-an-hour distance measure and a realistic assessment of your family's abilities will go a long way in keeping your hiking trip from becoming an unpleasant journey through fatigue and into the accidentprone zone.

Try to put most of the uphill push behind you by lunchtime. When mapping, include time for bird watching breaks, bushwhacking, or exploring what appears to be an interesting, if barely noticeable stream. Times of sunrise and sunset are listed in the local paper. Note them. With common sense, one eye on your watch, and the other on the map, you should be able to accurately gauge how long it will take your brood to reach camp, have dinner and gather wood for a campfire. Map one mile per hour of light and remember, easy does it.

Hot to trot is the rule for breakfasts. hitting the trail in cold, wet boots is much easier after a hot meal. .

The Camp Mess Hall

You've now managed to navigate through an entire day, and it's time to thank your fatigued body with some hot food and a warm fire. Here is the only mess kit you will ever need to tempt your stomach outdoors. This durable featherweight kit costs less than three dollars but you will not find it in any store. While some items are free, you will have to gather others. On the trail, you will be glad you did. Convenience store coffee clubs offer deeply discounted insulated "come back" coffee mugs with tight fitting rims. Your all-purpose bowl will be an empty Cool Whip container complete with lid. A strong plastic spoon may cost as much as eighty cents. Forget the knife and fork. Use a cheap two-quart aluminum sauce-pan from K-Mart or your own kitchen collection to boil water. Saw the handle off to save weight. Use a strong thin microwave plate as a lid. If you plan to cook over a fire, you may want to substitute a lightweight pie-tin to cover the pan to keep ashes and other crud out of your water. The pot-handler, a cheap plierlike aluminum tool completes the cook and mess kit. That's it! Congratulations!

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print