Selecting a camp site & Setting Camp
Where to camp. Selecting a camp site. What to look for. The best camp to use. Building a lean-to. 
Shacks. Tepees. Tents. Permanent camps. Canoe camps. Gypsying by auto.

VERY often camp life is made miserable and an outing is a failure merely because the spot selected for a campsite 
is unsuitable. Many people seem to think that one can make camp at any old place, but this is a grave mistake. To 
be sure, temporary, one-night camps need not be selected with the same care as permanent camps, but there are 
certain things essential to camping which should always be sought. An old woodsman apparently makes camp 
wherever the humour suits him or nightfall finds him, but in reality he uses keen judgment and foresight and selects 
the spot for his camp with reference to its location and surroundings. But the experienced woodsman sees and 
realizes these things instinctively, or else knows through long experience where to look for them, and intuitively
seeks the right spot. To the amateur it's quite a different matter, and one place may appear quite as good as 
another; and, moreover, he seldom can judge ''by the lay of the land" where to look for the essential requirements 
of a good campsite. As a result it often requires some time and not often a little search to find a suitable spot in 
which to camp, and hence you should not wait until too late in the day to make camp, but should leave yourself 
plenty of time to find a place fulfilling all, or as many as possible, of your requirements.

Of course in a dry, barren country where there is no water, or in an open treeless country, the following rules do 
not apply, but one seldom selects such situations for camping and as a rule camps for pleasure are made in 
well-timbered, well-watered districts. The two prime essentials for a campsite are wood and water. Not necessarily a 
large body of water nor heavy forest, but good drinking water, such as a brook or spring, and with enough timber to
furnish shelter and fire. Given these, you should select fairly high, well-drained land, preferably a knoll or hillock, for
a hollow or depression is always damp and chilly and a heavy rain during the night may flood the camp. Avoid rocky
or stony ground — granite makes uncomfortable beds and it's next to impossible to drive sticks or erect a strong 
camp on ledges or where rocks are covered by a thin layer of soil. Don't camp in a pine or hemlock grove if you can
help it. Fire will creep and spread in the fallen pine needles or hemlock leaves and a forest fire may result, but do 
select a spot where hemlocks, spruce, firs or other evergreens are near at hand for these trees are of the greatest 
value to the camper. You may have to camp on a hillside, but if you do, don't fail to dig a trench around the upper 
side of your camp to carry off the water in case it rains and thus avoid being flooded out.

Don't pitch your tent or build your camp too close to the edge of a pond, lake or stream; they may rise during the 
night and you'll wake up to find yourself in several inches of ice-cold water. Don't select a spot overgrown with thick 
brush or weeds. It's a tiresome job to clear this away and your time can be spent to better advantage. If possible, 
select a location where there is fallen timber or dead trees near at hand as this will save much weary work chopping
and burning green wood. If there are white birches in the vicinity so much the better; birch bark is a very useful 
article to the camper. If you are travelling by canoe choose a spot as handy to your landing place as possible. If 
you are touring and camping by automobile try to locate a camp site within reach of the road and your car. If you 
are using a tent you can pitch it anywhere, as long as there is good drainage, drinking water, firm ground for your 
tent pegs and wood for fuel. If you don't wish to be troubled by mosquitoes and other insect pests select a spot 
which is open to the sun during the day and where the breeze has a clear sweep at night, but don't pitch your camp
to leeward of the fire, unless you wish to be kept awake all night by smoke with the chance of having the camp 
burned down if the wind rises.

THE BEST CAMP TO USE:
As I have already mentioned, there is no best camp for all purposes or for all places. The particular kind of camp to 
be used depends very largely upon conditions, and what might be the best camp in one place or for one purpose 
might be the very worst type under other conditions or in another locality. There is every gradation of camp, from a 
mere shelter of boughs or branches to the elaborate comfortable log cabin, and there are styles and forms of tents 
without number.

It is scarcely necessary to describe tents. Each camper who decides to use a tent must determine upon its size and 
pattern for himself, but personally I consider the "A'' and "wall-tents" the best forms. Where there are but one or two
persons the "A" tent will serve every purpose, but if there are several in the party or a more substantial camp for a 
long stay is desired, the "wall-tent" is preferable. Before pitching a tent, clear up the ground where you intend to 
place it and for some distance around on all sides. With an axe, hatchet or machete this is easily done. Bend over 
the bushes and young saplings with one hand and chop through the strained fibres close to the ground and you will
find that even good sized trees may readily be cut off with a few sharp blows. After the tent is pitched, the ground 
within should be smoothed and softened. Pull up all twigs, roots and small stubs, remove the dead leaves and trash 
and with the back of the axe — used like an adze by swinging it between your legs — knock down all the knobs and
hummocks of earth until the surface is smooth and level. Perhaps you think this an unnecessary labour, but if you 
sleep all night on two or three lumps of earth or a small pebble or a sharp stick you'll wish you'd spent an hour or so
smoothing the ground.

If you are using a "wall" or "A" tent, try to find a spot where there are two trees, ten or more feet apart, and stretch a
rope between them for the ridge pole of your tent or, if preferred, place a strong sapling between the trees instead 
of using the rope. If there are projecting branches or crotches on the trees the pole may be laid in these, but if not
— and it's seldom that two trees have branches exactly the same height above the ground — the pole may be 
lashed in place by rope or withes. The rope ridge is, however, the most convenient for it's always on hand and 
when not in use may be wrapped around the tent. Don't mind if the rope sags when the tent is thrown over it, that 
will be remedied later. Next make your tent-pegs — unless you carry steel pegs with you, which is a good plan if you
have a canoe or motor car, but adds unnecessary weight if you are tramping.

To make tent-pegs easily and quickly, place a young maple or birch sapling — about an inch in diameter — across 
a log and by two sharp blows, at an angle, cut off sections at least 18 inches long. These long pegs will prevent the
ropes from slipping off and will hold the ground far better than shorter ones. Throw the tent over the ridge, peg 
down the four corners, and be sure to get them square and equidistant from the ridge and one another. Peg down 
the edges of the tent and then cut a crotched stick, a trifle longer than the height of your tent in the centre. Wedge 
this under the ridge rope in the centre of the tent and it will draw all sides of the tent tight and smooth.

If a few projecting branch stubs are left on this upright stick they'll serve a useful purpose to hang things on. If the 
ground is rocky or thin you may have trouble in driving pegs. In that case drive them at a sharp angle and pile flat
rocks on top of them, or place good sized logs against them on the side nearest the tent. They will hold even in a 
gale when thus secured.

But it's far more fun to build your own camp than to put up a tent and it takes but little more time, while a well-built 
camp is just as secure and comfortable as a tent.

Probably the best in most places is the kind shown as a *'lean-to." To build a lean-to is one of the very first and 
most important things you should learn, for no one can consider himself a woodsman or a camper until he can erect
a weatherproof, substantial lean-to from the materials at his command in the forest.

Although the lean-to is primarily adapted to one night or temporary camps, yet it is an easy matter to build a lean-to
strong and substantial enough to be used as a permanent camp for a whole summer; the principle being identical 
in either case. It's such an easy matter to build a lean-to that almost any one who can use an axe or hatchet should
have no difficulty, but just the same it will save a lot of time and trouble if you practise the art in woods near home 
before starting off on your camping trip. This will not only save time, but you'll become accustomed to using your 
simple tools and you'll learn which materials are best adapted to your purposes and where to find them, and you'll 
acquire many a little "wrinkle" and get the "knack" of building your camp without unnecessary labour and wasted
energy.

After you have found a suitable camping spot select a pair of strong trees eight to twelve feet apart — the size of 
your camp will of course depend upon the number of campers — and with branches six to eight feet above the 
ground. If you can't find two such trees you need not be discouraged for poles may be lashed to the trunks instead 
of resting them on limbs and, by using a stouter cross-piece, trees twenty feet apart may be used.

But assuming that you have found two such trees, proceed to clear the ground between them and for the space 
you intend for the floor of your camp, as directed for pitching a tent. Next cut three or four poles about twelve feet 
long and at least three inches in diameter at the larger ends. Place one of these across the two standing trees —
resting the ends in crotches of the branches where they join the trunks, or lashing them to the trunks, at a height of 
five to eight feet above the ground according to the size of the lean-to that you wish to build. (Fig, 1.) Then place 
two other poles with their large ends resting on the ground and their small ends resting on the pole between the 
trees as shown in Fig. 2. Be sure these two poles are parallel and extend the same distance from the cross-piece 
between the trees. And here it may be well to state that the crosspiece between the trees will be the front of the
camp and that the fire is to be built before it and hence the spot should be chosen and the camp built with 
reference to this.

Between the two slanting poles place a number of smaller poles parallel with them. (Fig. 3.) Don't make the mistake 
of trimming off the branches from these poles so they are smooth. Leave little stubs about two or three inches long
as these are very useful, or even necessary. Across these slanting poles, and resting against the projecting stubs, 
lay a number of light poles or branches (Fig. 4) and the frame of the lean-to is complete. To form the roof you may 
either thatch it or use bark. If there are plenty of evergreens about, thatching is the best and easiest method,
especially for a temporary camp, but bark — especially birch bark — makes a tighter roof and is advisable for a 
permanent camp. If there are two campers one should be gathering thatch material while the other erects the 
framework; if there are three in the party the third may be gathering firewood and preparing the evening meal, and 
if there are more than three all can take hold and by doing various things at the same time camp will be built as if by
magic.

For the thatch select large flat "fans" or tips, of soft, thick hemlock or fir boughs. Commencing at the lower end of 
the slanting room hook these fans over the cross-pieces in layers like shingles, with each layer overlapping the 
ones below it. (Fig, 5.) Continue in this way until the roof is completely covered, and if you wish still better protection
place a second or third layer over the first. If it's windy or stormy place additional poles over the thatch — running 
them parallel with the slanting roof-poles and lash them in place with hemlock roots, withes or twine. If you wish still 
greater security and shelter place upright poles extending from the ground to the roof poles, place horizontal poles 
across these and thatch them as you did the roof. Very often two lean-tos are built near together and facing each 
other and the fire is then built between them. This arrangement makes a very comfortable camp and one half may 
be used during the day and the other for sleeping or both may be used for sleeping quarters if there are several 
persons in the party. A very comfortable permanent camp may be built in this way and enclosing one side of the
opening between the two lean-tos, and if desired it may also be roofed, in which case the fire must be built outside.

In case you cannot find evergreen trees handy, or if you wish an even more substantial roof, peel bark from birch 
trees or hemlocks and use the sheets like shingles — securing them in position by means of poles laid across them 
and lashed in place. But don't sacrifice trees and leave them to die for the sake of their bark. It isn't necessary and 
by peeling the bark properly the trees will continue to live and grow and will soon recover from their injuries. The 
idea is to leave a narrow, continuous strip of bark, so that the sap may find its way up the tree, which it cannot do if 
the bark is peeled from the entire circumference of the trees.

To peel the bark properly make two cuts nearly, but not quite, around the tree — one as high as you can reach, the
other near the ground. Connect the ends of these cuts by perpendicular incisions (Fig. 6) and by starting the bark 
at one of these the whole slab will come off, leaving the narrow strip on one side of the tree untouched. If there are 
branches, stubs or twigs on the part selected they should be cut close and flush with the trunk before starting to 
peel the bark as otherwise the piece of bark will be torn and ripped as you peel it off.

After the lean-to is built, smooth the ground within it as already directed, and then you may busy yourself making 
the beds.

Although a lean-to may be thrown together in less than an hour, yet such hastily constructed camps are intended 
only for temporary shelters, or for a single night's use. But a lean-to may be built with care which will be practically
waterproof and will withstand the heaviest storms and wettest weather and will last for several seasons. If made with 
a heavy, strongly built framework securely lashed together, and covered with birch or hemlock bark held in place by
light poles lashed across the sheets, a lean-to may be made tight and snug enough for midwinter use.

Another method of making a very warm and comfortable camp is to build two lean-tos a short distance apart and 
with their open sides facing each other. Then, by building the fire between the two, the heat will be thrown into both 
shelters and there will be no chance for cold air to enter.

But in many places there are no suitable trees for the purpose of making, a lean-to, or else, one can not cut timber 
at will and in such localities, the camper may resort to some other form of shack. Shacks or huts may be made of 
almost any material, such as grass, reeds, branches. brush, straw or hay. They may be mere shelters for one night 
and roughly built or they may be substantial snug houses of ''wattled" or "thatched" construction. A well-made 
wattled or thatched shack is wind, water and storm proof, cool in summer and warm in winter and in many parts of 
the world the natives use such huts for permanent residences. They are especially valuable in warm climates, and 
where there is abundant material for their construction, they can be readily and rapidly built.

Wattled shacks may be built of small boughs or withes of almost any sort, such as willow, hazel, birch, etc., for a 
frame and may be covered with any handy material, such as straw, grass, hay, cattails, reeds, tules, bullrushes or 
evergreen boughs or a combination of several.

The first step is to erect a rough framework of the desired size (Fig. 7), This may be of branches, poles, fence rails 
or sticks of any kind and the various pieces may be lashed together with withes, roots, vines, twisted straw or grass,
twine or thongs, or nails may be used, as preferred.

As the wattling will strengthen and stiffen the whole, the frame may be very light and flimsy although if the hut is to 
serve as a permanent camp or for some time, it is wise to make the frame carefully and strongly of good sized, rigid 
material. When the frame is completed the next thing is to attach poles or sticks reaching from the upper edge of 
the frame to the ground as illustrated in Fig. 8. These vertical poles should be spaced three or four inches apart
and openings should be left for such doors and windows as you may desire, as shown in the cut. Then, with flexible 
branches, roots, withes, wisps of grass or straw, reeds, or whatever material is the handiest, weave under and over 
the vertical poles in a sort of rough basket work as shown in Fig. 9. It may seem as if this would be a slow and 
tedious job, but you will find that with plenty of material on hand, the work will proceed very rapidly and you will be 
surprised to find how soon a good sized frame may be covered.

Where the wattling reaches the edges of door and window openings, the material should be bent around the poles 
and tucked back under and over one or two poles as in Fig. 9 A. When the walls are covered, wattle the roof in the 
same manner and finish it by laying slabs of bark, bunches of grass or rushes, or evergreen boughs over it. Place 
the lowest layer first and let each succeeding layer overlap those below like shingles (Fig. 10). If a sufficient *'pitch''
or slant has been given to the roof frame this covering will be perfectly waterproof, even in the heaviest rains.

No doubt your first attempts at wattling will be rather crude and there will be numerous openings between the poles 
and wattling material, but these may be rendered water and wind tight by daubing the whole surface with mud or 
clay, or the crevices may be chinked with moss, sod, grass or other material.

Doors may be constructed of canvas or may be made of a frame covered with wattling and the windows may be 
closed with shutters made in the same manner. If there are any tough, flexible withes, roots or vines available, the 
doors and shutters may be hung with such material to serve as hinges. Even twisted wisps of grass or straw or 
braided reeds will answer this purpose.

Another method of building shacks is by "thatching," which is a very easy method when grass, reeds, straw or 
rushes are abundant and withes and bushes are scarce. Even evergreen boughs may be used for thatching, as 
described in the construction of a lean-to (Fig. 5), but straw, grass or reeds are the best materials. For a thatched 
hut construct the framework as described for a wattled hut, but with the light poles lashed horizontally instead of 
vertically (Fig. 11), Then, commencing at the bottom, lash bunches of the thatching material to these poles,
finishing one complete row before placing the next, and being careful that each succeeding row of thatch overlaps 
the one below and that each bundle of thatch "breaks the joints" of those underneath, as shown in Fig. 11B.

The roof is thatched in the same way and it should be borne in mind that the more closely the bunches of thatch 
are tied and the more rows there are the tighter will be the roof. Doors and windows may be made of thatched 
frames or of wattling and a wattled hut may often be provided with a thatched roof to advantage.

Of all permanent camps, the log house is the most substantial, but to build a log cabin one must be an expert 
axeman and many large trees must be sacrificed and as our forests are being far too rapidly destroyed as it is the 
large trees should never be cut for the purpose of building a camp unless absolutely necessary.

Sometimes, where lumbering has been carried on, a very good substitute for a log cabin may be constructed from 
the bark-covered slabs cut from the logs and cast aside as waste by the lumbermen. In some parts of the country 
sodhouses are in use and where there is an abundant tough sod and one desires a permanent camp a sod house 
may be built to advantage. The process is so simple as scarcely to require description, for it is as easy as building a
snow house. The sods are cut into squares and merely piled one on another to form the walls and the whole is 
roofed with poles which are also covered with sods, or if preferred, the roof may be thatched.

Still another type of camp which has some advantages is the Indian tepee, and while tepees may perhaps be 
classed as tents rather than as shacks, yet a tepee may be built of poles and covered with sheets of bark, wattling 
or thatching. The greatest advantage of the tepee is the ease with which it may be set up, taken down and carried 
from place to place. Moreover it is far better ventilated, more comfortable and more thoroughly weatherproof than 
most forms of tents. Its disadvantages are that long poles must be carried if the tepee is to be used in a district 
where poles cannot be cut as desired while its circular floor plan does not accommodate itself to economy of space 
as readily as the square or rectangular shape of other tents. But in the minds of many its advantages more than 
outweigh its disadvantages and for all around use there are few tents more convenient and portable than the 
tepee. It is a difficult matter to purchase ready made tepees which are really good and many are mere playthings, 
suitable only for lawns or gardens, and it is far more satisfactory to make one's own tepees, which is a very simple
matter.

The size of the tepee to be used will depend upon the number of persons who are to occupy it as well as upon the 
distance it is to be carried and the means of transportation. A tepee 14 feet in height and with a floor 14 feet in 
diameter is large enough for three or four occupants and is about as large as can readily be carried afoot or in a 
small canoe.

To make a tepee of these dimensions will require fifty yards of cloth and the material used will depend upon your 
own taste and pocket book. Cotton drill, light canvas, waterproof silk, khaki or any other tent fabric may be used. 
The breadths of cloth should first be sewed together to form a rectangular sheet 10 yards long by 5 yards in width 
and with each edge lapped and double stitched as shown in Fig. 12 A. Stretch this piece of cloth upon a smooth, 
level surface, mark the exact centre of one of the long edges and drive a nail at the spot (Fig. 12x) secure a piece 
of strong twine or cord and tie a small loop in each end, so that from centre to centre of the loops is 15 feet. Place 
one loop over the nail and in the other loop insert a piece of charcoal, a soft pencil or a coloured crayon, and while
holding the cord tight, draw a half circle on the cloth as at C-D Fig. 12. At the places marked E-E cut out triangular 
spaces each 10 inches deep and 1 inches wide and mark off a space of 7 feet 8 inches from D-G and from C-F and
divide each of these spaces into eight equal parts of 11-1/2 inches. On each of these marks make two small circles 
or dots 2 inches apart and with the outer ones 2 inches from the edge of the cloth. Then mark off 25 spaces 2 feet 
apart along the curved line from C-D. Then, from the corners of the cloth outside of the semi-circular line, cut a 
couple of pieces of the form shown in Fig. 12 B, each of which should be 7 feet on the long edge, 6-1/2 feet on the 
short edge, 3-1/2 feet across one end and 1-1/2 feet across the other end. Sew small triangular pieces in one 
corner of each to form little pockets (K) and attach pieces of strong light rope (L). The cloth may now be cut out 
around the curved line from C-D and the edges from D-G and from F-C should be hemmed. Around the curve from 
C-D hem in a light rope, having loops projecting at each of the marks (I). Each of these loops should be about 1-1/2
inches in diameter and should be made by splicing or seizing the rope as illustrated at Fig. 13, The edges of the 
two pieces B-B should be neatly hemmed and at each of the marks H, holes should be made through the cloth and 
the rough edges finished by "buttonhole" stitching. Finally, attach a couple of pieces of rope at the point X, sew the 
pieces B B in position as shown, and the tepee is ready for use.

In order to set up the tepee twelve straight poles are required, ten of which should be about 16 to 18 feet in length,
while the other two should be at least 20 feet long. You will also need about 25 feet of light rope, eight pins of hard 
wood about 8 inches long and 1/4 inch in diameter and 25 tent pegs 1 foot long and 1 inch in diameter. To erect 
the tepee, tie three of the 16 foot poles together at one end, using a few turns of the 25 foot rope for the purpose, 
mark a 14 foot circle on the ground and place the poles in the form of a tripod with their bases resting on the circle 
(Fig, 14), Then arrange six more of the poles about the circle, with their upper ends resting against the first three 
poles, and fasten all securely by winding a couple of turns of the rope about them (Fig. 14 A), Drive a stout stake
in the centre of the circle, draw the hanging end of the rope tight and fasten it to the stake thus anchoring the pole 
frame as shown at 6 (Fig.14 A).

Now fasten the rope attached to the cloth at X (Fig. 12), to the end of the last 16 foot pole and lift the cloth into 
place as shown at Fig. 14 B. Letting the pole rest against the frame, pull the cloth around the poles and peg the 
bottom into place by pegs driven through the loops at an angle. The two front edges of the cloth should then be 
lapped and pinned together by means of the lacing pins through the holes I - I as in Fig. 15.

Insert the ends of the 20 foot poles in the pockets in the corners of flaps B B and swing the flaps into position, 
quartering the wind, as indicated at Fig, 14 C.

When no fire is burning in the tepee, or in a heavy wind or rain, the flaps should be folded over and held in position 
by the ropes L L, Fig, 12, thus completely closing the opening. The door of the tepee may be closed by lacing or 
pinning the edges together, but a better plan is to make a cloth door on a light frame of withes as shown at 
Fig. 15A and which may be hung to a lacing pin as in Fig. 15 B. If a piece of canvas the desired shape and size is 
made and is provided with eyelets or holes around the edges it may be stretched upon a frame as required and
thus the nuisance of carrying the awkward door may be avoided.

As a rule a tepee should be set up facing the east, as the prevailing winds are usually westerly and thus the fire will 
draw better and, moreover, the door and interior will receive the early morning light and more sunshine. When the
smoke flaps are closed in bad weather, or when the wind is easterly and there is trouble in making the fire draw 
well, the lower edge of the tepee may be lifted slightly and a good draught will be secured. In a country where pegs 
and lacing pins may be cut from standing timber and poles may be secured as required it is only necessary to carry
the rope and cloth, which may be rolled into a compact bundle and tied with the 25 foot anchor rope. Properly made
and set up, with a bright fire burning within, a tepee is cozy and warm enough for midwinter use, while in summer it 
may be kept cool and a free circulation of air insured by lifting the lower edge of the cloth for a foot or so above the 
ground, leaving it pegged down in three or four spots.

In districts where campers travel by canoe or boat on rivers or lakes very comfortable tents and outfits may be 
carried and many tents are now made which are specially designed for canoe use.

Another delightful method of travelling about and camping out is by automobile. A regular tent and outfit may be 
carried by motor car or, if preferred, a camp trailer may be hitched behind the car and in which the complete camp
with cots, cooking utensils, mosquito nets and all other luxuries are compactly stowed. But while one may camp very
comfortably by such up-to-date outfits, yet much of the real enjoyment of "roughing it'' is lost and, moreover, the 
most attractive and best places to camp are usually out of reach of motor cars or boats. Most important of all, 
however, is the fact that when camping by such means one learns little of woodcraft or of self-reliance and 
dependence on nature and in this, after all, lies the greatest value of camping out.

End of Excerpt.
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