In 1869, the first recreational camping guide, Adventures in Wilderness, was authored
by minister William H.H. Murray and became a bestseller. The book’s success may
have owed something to a new train route that made the Adirondacks more
accessible. Time.com reported his practical
guide offered advice on important topics:
“For
sleeping, he describes how to make ‘a bed of balsam-boughs.’ On what to wear,
he suggests bringing a ‘felt hat,’ ‘stout pantaloons,’ and a ‘rubber blanket or
coat.’ For warding off woodchucks, ‘a stick, a piece of bark, or tin plate
shied in the direction of the noise will scatter them like cats.’ As for
wolves, his technique would likely not pass muster with fire wardens: ‘touch a
match to an old stump and in two hours there will not be a wolf within ten
miles of you.’”
His
book inspired Kate Field to try camping, and she became an early advocate of
land preservation. She wrote for the Adirondack
Almanac in 1870. A more recent article in the publication reported:
“Field
advised her readers to bring a tent rather than kill trees. ‘It is cruel to
stab a tree to the heart merely to secure a small strip of bark,’ she said. ‘It
is ungrateful to destroy the pine and balsam that have given us our beds of
boughs, and fanned us with their vital breath. Let there be tents.’”
Additional
advice can be found in Civil War veteran John M. Gould’s 1877 guide to backpacking,
titled How To Camp Out. He warned
against the allure of new gear:
“Do
not be in a hurry to spend money on new inventions. Every year there is put
upon the market some patent knapsack, folding stove, cooking-utensil, or camp
trunk and cot combined; and there are always for sale patent knives, forks, and
spoons all in one…Let them all alone: carry your pocket-knife…”
He might have been willing to make an exception for
some of the gear available today!
Weekly
Focus – Think About It
“Camping
is nature's way of promoting the motel business.”
--Dave Barry,
Humorist
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