Packs, haversacks, equipment and camping?

[Stophel]

I think there is a problem with the way we tend to think about such things. Often you will see a question like "what kind of haversack/knapsack would the average person have carried?", or "what kind of ball mould did he keep in his bag", or what kind of cooking skillet/pot/"corn boiler" did he carry?". I think that the answer might best be given as "the average person probably didn't carry these things anyway". I don't think that ordinary folks, even "frontiersmen" really "camped out" like we like to. They stayed around the house. They worked on the farm or in the garden. When they went hunting, they just went out into the woods near the house, and came back when it was time to come in to eat or it got dark. When they did stay out overnight, they REALLY "roughed it", sitting in front of a campfire MAYBE with a blanket, eating jerky and bread off the kitchen table (if anything). No "corn boilers", no skillets, no oil cloths, no fancy equipment.

I think too many folks are trying to get, use, and justify EVERY available piece of 18th century equipment, and carry it with them camping. They try to transfer the items that MIGHT have been carried by a large hunting party with horses and pack animals to the individual by himself out in the woods.

My own thought is that the average person who actually PLANNED to be out overnight probably just had a blanket carried as a hoppus, with his shot bag holding the necessary shooting implements and fire starting stuff, and a haversack of some type carrying some bread and dried meat. A small hatchet in his belt or carried in a sheath plus his knife and I would bet that that would just about be it.

By the way, as I understand it, there was NO such thing as a "corn boiler" anyway. Why would anyone wish to carry around such an implement anyhow, and go through the trouble of boiling corn or whatever else when he could simply eat the dried foods and be done with it. I can eat parched corn like crazy anyway. Why mess with something so good as parched corn? :grin:

I have the same philosophy when it comes to "modern camping" as well. I have some big Army backpacks and I will take one with me. I can NEVER think of enough stuff to actually fill one up, and wonder just what in the world you could stuff the thing up with anyway. I see soldiers (and yuppie campers) on the TV news with these HUGE backpacks stuffed with who-knows-what. I asked my dad (who was in the army) "what do they carry in those huge backpacks?" The answer: "60 pounds of useless manure".

Well, that's my take on the subject anyway...

 

[onefeather]

i agree that common settlers wouldnt have needed all that.they might have it just in case but not have used it.i think only a longhunter would have needed that stuff :grin: :v

 

[pathfinderifh]

I agree with FatDutchman on his assesment of stuff used or carried by the folks of old. The reason I carry this other stuff when I take to the woods is because I enjoy being comfortable the few times I'm able to go. I do this hobby to enjoy the shinnin' times,not the hardships and struggles. I like the study of history and learning the old way's of doing things.
I don't need to come down with a horrible disease or affliction to appreciate what it was like to have them. :shocked2: Nor do I want to spend the night under a wet blanket frezzing and hungry. :cursing:
Like I said before, I don't get the chance to do this as often as I'd like,so I'm going to be happy and enjoy useing the things I've made and aquired through the years to make my stay enjoyable.

Pathfinder ps.everything I use would be PC.

 

[onefeather]

i like the hardshipes cause they had to endure them but i also dont like to become sick like i was earlier this week lol.but if you dont get to go alot then why not be confrontable

 

[hcook]

i like the hardshipes cause they had to endure them

That's the difference in being 16 and not 51 :hmm: .

 

[onefeather]

like i mentioned.if you dont get to go alot or people your age should enjoy them selves when they are out.they need a good fire and simple pleasures sometimes :grin: i plann to be trekking till i cant trek anymore.i will understand one day :thumbsup:

 

[Swampman]

"My own thought is that the average person who actually PLANNED to be out overnight probably just had a blanket carried as a hoppus, with his shot bag holding the necessary shooting implements and fire starting stuff, and a haversack of some type carrying some bread and dried meat. A small hatchet in his belt or carried in a sheath plus his knife and I would bet that that would just about be it."

Oddly enough I'm working on a "persona" exactly like this. I'm simply a hunter/militaman (depending upon the event) not over a day or two from Williamsburg, Savanna, Charlestown or another colonial city. I'm giving up on the Longhunter thing. I did it too long.

 

This appeals to the logic of today but it is not the reality of history.

The Journals of travelers of the day speak diferently. Thomas Walker, William Byrd, Nicolis Greswell. Nicolis Gist and George Washington in "Indian walking dress". Lewis and Clark ordering "hoppis straps" for the Corps of Discovery. They gathered much of their gear as they traveled the Ohio since it was readily available in the settlements along the river.

The discriptions of the survivors of that day speak diferently. Boone's children, Kenton's children, Dodridge. They all speak of remembering month long hunts long after the lands became settled.

The settlers that came to Nashville TN trekked 500 miles through frozen forests to reach the Cumberland. The youngest was 10, the oldest 60, male and female. Average settlers, 250 strong and more than a month in the forest during the "starving winter" of 1779/80.

There were people that stayed near the house and foraged only on occasion. They were called farmers. They abounded in great numbers after the wilderness had moved westward, the stumps cleared from the roads and the fences enclosed their gardens.

There were others that went into the wilderness for days or weeks, young and old, they were the "new breed" of hunter/settlers. Woodmason speaks of them, so does Issac Weld and william Byrd.

The people you describe did exist, and in great numbers. But there were others too. One would not be wrong in pursuing either persona, but the existance of one does not eliminate the existance ot the other.

 

[onefeather]

:applause: ghost you never fail to amaze me with your logic

 

[charcloth]

Hey Fatduchman,
"I see soldiers (and yuppie campers) on the TV news with these HUGE backpacks stuffed with who-knows-what. I asked my dad (who was in the army) "what do they carry in those huge backpacks?" The answer: "60 pounds of useless manure"."

As a soldier for more than thirteen years I can tell you that after your first "hot" tour most of the useless manure is tossed aside. What you then carry are the things that keep your team alive. Mostly ammunition, food, bandages and batteries.

As for the rest of the stuff people carry who cares? Just carry what is right for you. If some fool wants to be loaded down with every kooky frontier gadget let them carry it. They are happy in their own version of reality.

Hell, if you want to question the all the silly extra b.s. stuff look around at folks at those rv-vous. I myself can't understand driving an apartment out to enjoy the great "outdoors".

Charcloth

 

[pathfinderifh]

One Feather, Thanks for the youthful insite,I do hope you can trek well into old age as I plan on doing.At 51 Toby Keith's song "AS good as I once was" is so clear.I'm the world's oldest 18yr old! :rotf: A good book on how important having stuff with you is "Wolves against the Moon" by Julia Cooley Altrocchi.[pagent book co. loccc# 57-9384,1940 copyright
So I suspect that even though a corn boiler and such wasn't always carried, I'm sure enough was carried to ensure survival should the situation warrent it. I guess it becomes a question as to how and how much was "normaly" carried.

 

[Swampman]

While the corn boiler didn't exist, I see no problem with putting a wire bail on a tin cup.

 

[onefeather]

i cant understand rv's either to enjoy the woods.then they dare to call it camping.i think not. :shake: there are some very misguided people in our world lol :blah:

 

[R. Miller]

right on Pathfinder, I have been cold and wet, not as much fun as warm and dry.you do it when you have to ,not for fun
stickwalker

 

[Stophel]

I think "comfort in the woods" ALL comes down to the weather and environment. If the weather is pleasant, and you have a reasonably comfortable place to lay down and sleep, that's all you need. All the other trappings are unnecessary. AND, if it is hot, or pouring down rain or something and you can't sleep, the corn boilers, and the chocolate, and the tea, and the folding frying pans won't help a bit! :grin:

How many people in the 18th century REALLY were "longhunters"? Not too durn many. And again, their pack animals could carry whatever doo dads they wanted to take. If someone wants to "be a longhunter", hey, that's fine, but in the 18th (and 19th, and much of the 20th) century 80% of the people were farmers, the other 19.9999% were tradesmen. Definitely underrepresented groups in modern reenacting.

Is anyone recreating the settler ON THE MOVE from the east to the west in the wilderness for months at a time? OK, where are your horses and wagons?

The point is that many folks who go out in "18th century style" are out for a day or two by themselves or with a buddy. Maybe doin' a little hunting or fishing. Just like folks at the time might do. They're not really out for weeks or months at a time, they're not traversing the wilderness of Kentucky with 12 other families headed to the new settlement, nor trekking toward the Pacific on a scientific expedition with Lewis and Clark. Why carry all the equipment?

Just my personal thoughts and philosophy, not to be taken as an attack on anyone.

 

[adbranaman]

I think the whole point is just getting out in the woods. I've camped out on hard frozen ground in Alaska on Easter and in a camper trailer in Kentucky on the 4th. of July. I've had fun no matter.I had friends and family around and that made it all worth while.I've treked by myself and it was spiritual in it's way. I just thank God for showing me a little bit of what heaven must be like.I hope you have as many adventures,I plan on having many more. :grin:

 

[onefeather]

see people need to think more like you in this sport(i cant call it a lifestyle cause it offends people) :thumbsup:

 

[oomcurt]

You sure won't offend me if you call it lifestyle. No way do I "live" like the "normal" 21st century copycat that has to have the latest and the best. Something that has always amazed me...if you look at it closely everyone lives thier own "lifestyle". Take someone that works a 9-5 office job. While they may look like others in the work place, does that mean they think and have the same interests as the others? I don't think so...if they do..I feel sorry for them. Living, imo is mostly done in one's head. Not what is the current fad. I firmly believe that one can live the lifestyle one chooses even though that may mean for 5 days out of the week they have to "conform". So what...that does not mean they are 24/5 conformists for that period of time. Same with the people one runs into on a daily basis...there are some I totally ignore...and others I am very friendly with. All a matter of choice. Actually I think we all would have a happier life if we lived life the way we see it rather than putting on some phoney front. As long as I am reasonably polite and obey the law....I could care less who I offend. Just my two cents on the matter....

 

[onefeather]

well it might not be a life style but when im not with friends and school related things like that.this is what consumes my time away from bmx and skateboarding :grin:

 

[pathfinderifh]

Bmx and Skateboarding,like percusion caps and breech loaders are a passing fad! :rotf: Flintlocks are forever :thumbsup:

Pathfinder