My little tip of the hat to "The Revenant"

[Black Hand]

...one other thing to the HC/PC police, I say this...when you started out in this venture, were you worried so much about being correct in everything you did?

Yes, I wanted to do it right the first time and the mistakes I made could have been avoided had I listened & paid more attention. It takes less effort to do it right than to do it over, though it takes a little more time...

 

[coloradoclyde]

I find it bizarre that they wouldn't have had canteens, considering many a Mountain Man began his journey in St. Louis. Across the river from St. Louis in Illinois is a township called Canteen township in St. Claire county. Named from cantine creek, itself named from La Cantine (the tavern) a trading post established for French soldiers about 1776 near present day Fairmont city. By popular etymology the word cantine became canteen. The post was abandoned in the mid 1780's...

 

[Black Hand]

I find it bizarre that they wouldn't have had canteens, considering many a Mountain Man began his journey in St. Louis.

Consider that people tended to follow waterways when they traveled. Why would one carry water in a container when there was a river or creek nearby with all the water you could ever need...?

 

[coloradoclyde]

One the one hand we say the water wasn't fit to drink so they drank beer.....

On the other hand we say they didn't carry canteens because they just drank from the river...

What fun it must have been to be a mountain man, infested with parasites and worms, plagued by constant dysentery.

 

[Black Hand]

Not quite the romantic life pictured in the movies...

 

[George]

Or on the forum.

Spence

 

[tenngun]

Human nature doesn't change much from century to century.

Are you prepared to say that NO Rocky Mountain fur trapper or fur company employee, or explorer ever, EVER carried or used an item that had been commonly available for millenia, had such utility and was cheap and lightweight to boot?

I realize that the ignoring primary documentation, or the lack thereof, can be a slippery slope, but assuming some canteens were used in the above context is not a stretch.

There is always the possibility that something was used at some time, but that isn't the point of this exercise. As I've said many times, canteens are a necessity today since we can't drink from wild water-sources with impunity. However, be honest with yourself and others and acknowledge they can't really be supported with evidence when in the civilian context. Personally, I carry a canteen (jackware) and a water filter.

The primary point IS that basing one's gear upon what was seen in a Hollywood movie, and a poor movie at that, is a bad idea.

We can agree today that we need canteens, We can also agree they are not in records or journals. We can argue they had to have had something for the dry stretches, but we read about dry camps and being short of water.
I use water pills today, but have drank from creeks without getting sick, would not try it again, but when you think of everything they could die of water was way down on the list.

 

[Black Hand]

The reality is that the West has lots of water-sources, but not all are conveniently located.

Even the L&C expedition spent most of their time following rivers, tributaries & creeks while the Mountain Men looked specifically for water, as that is where their quarry lived.

 

[Black Hand]

The reality is that the West has lots of water-sources, but not all are conveniently located.

When we did a 3-day August trek in Western Montana (now know as the Death Trek), we were up on the ridge between drainages and the only source of water was a large pool of snow-melt (with a resident frog) while the nearest source of flowing water was several hours walk behind us. The next water-source we found was about 8 hours later and our canteens had been empty for hours during a brutally hot day (80-90F).

The only source of water on a spring/summer Eastern Montana trek was a patch of packed snow in a little depression at the top of the mountain. Was enough for 5-6 guys over the period of 2 days.

You find & use water wherever you can...

 

[tenngun]

I did get caught in the bookends in Colorado/Utah border. Night came and I had less then a qt of water. I had spent the last few hours looking for and not finding. Went to bed a little scarred. Next morning got on a small dry creek and found water with a little digging. In the Buffalo National forest in Arkansas a few years ago emptied both my canteens on a warm spring day and had a thirst up before I found a poor spring.

 

[Black Hand]

Melt-water:

 

[Billnpatti]

Good job on that canteen. I just recently watched "The Revenant" for about the third time. I don't know why but this time I was struck by how much snow and cold was in the movie. I don't think I have watched a movie with that much snow and cold since watching "Dr. Zhivago". Both were great movies.

 

[Black Hand]

...I was struck by how much snow and cold was in the movie.

Looks like the winter of 2017-18 in MT.

 

[Billnpatti]

When I lived in Southern Indiana, I enjoyed the snow. In that part of Indiana snow was pretty but never a real problem. But, now that I live in Texas, I have thrown away my snow shovel. I don't need it 'cuz you just can't shovel heat and we do have our share of that in the summer.

 

[satx78247]

Fyi, when I was stationed at Ft. McCoy, a retiring CSM said, "The day that I retire I'm headed to Home Depot to buy myself a new bright orange snow shovel. Then I'm going to put it on my shoulder & start walking South. When I get to a place where people ask me, 'What the H is that on your shoulder??', that's where I'm settling down."

yours, tex