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                             TOURING AFOOT




                             TOURING AFOOT

                                  BY
                           DR. C. P. FORDYCE

                         [Illustration: OUTING
                              HANDBOOKS]

                               NUMBER 52

                        [Illustration: colphon]

                               NEW YORK
                       OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY
                                MCMXVI


                          Copyright, 1916, by
                       OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY

                         _All rights reserved_




CONTENTS


CHAPTER                                        PAGE

I HITTING THE TRAIL                               9

II GOING IN “LIGHT”                              19

III WOODS WALKING WITH A PACK                    26

IV MAP READING                                   36

V PACKS AND PACKING                              47

VI FOOTWEAR                                      63

VII EFFICIENT CRUISING SHELTERS                  76

VIII CAMP MAKING                                 92

IX THE OUTDOOR BED QUESTION                     100

X CHOOSING THE LIGHT WEIGHT MESS KIT            116

XI THE RATION LIST                              123

XII HEALTH HINTS FOR HIKERS                     139

XIII WINTER TRAVEL AFOOT                        155

APPENDIX                                        167





                             TOURING AFOOT




CHAPTER I

HITTING THE TRAIL


Walking tours are popularly supposed to be feasible chiefly for those to
whom this method of travel is incidental to their occupation--timber
cruisers, landlookers, prospectors, game wardens and trappers of the
North--men who daily match themselves against the forces of Nature. To
the average city man rarely does it occur that by substituting walking,
our most natural means of locomotion--even if carried no farther than
the daily to and from business trip--for the rapid transportation
perfected in our modern industrial life he can attain better business
efficiency and an increased physical and mental well being.

The average sportsman of today is in most cases a plain, unpretentious
business man of sedentary habits and with a consequent physical
condition a little below the normal, but fortunately he retains a
primitive unsatiated love of the outdoors. This same business man needs,
as few others do, exercise to regain and retain health and efficiency.
Without this exercise his occupation which keeps him indoors results in
physical inactivity reducing his usefulness and happiness and markedly
affecting his tenure of life. The average span of life is between 45 and
60 years. The age limit should extend from 80 to 100 years and this can
be made the rule if we but go about it rightly. A large percentage of
American business men have functional heart disease because of lack of
exercise. They could well afford to walk daily until tired out in order
to rid themselves of drawn faces, sallow cheeks, and weak hesitating
steps. To them pedestrianism affords not only profit but real pleasure
in getting away from the routine of city and office irk and hieing to
the glorious out of doors.

Years ago man was a savage, and in spite of the restraining influences
of civilization which have acted for centuries the spirit of this
primitive life is still strong within. There is after all but one class
of men who _live_ in the world and they inhabit the wild places--the
rest of us only exist. We do not thrive in cities but simply adjust
ourselves to their unnatural and perplexing conditions. In the out of
doors sheer physical existence may afford the richest pleasure.

It is commonly conceded as a well established hygienic fact that
unexercised muscles become useless and inefficient, a condition which
only properly directed physical exertion will restore to assist in
meeting the exigencies of our modern top-speed life. This exercise must
be varied to escape tediousness. Indoor gymnastics is not enough:
outdoor games provide proper lung aeration but these are not feasible
for all: pedestrianism is the simplest, safest, most spontaneous, and
hygienic means of exercise. For most people no other sport is such an
untasted experience, yet none is so productive of healthful results or
so well adapted to the means, physique, and temperament of the masses.
Indeed in this age of mechanical transportation we have almost forgotten
that we were endowed with a pair of legs, given us for the sole purpose
of walking--an essential exercise in the building up of healthy bodies
and minds.

A three mile walk daily in the fresh air is an exercise par excellence
and is within the reach of all. It may be tedious at first but when
later it becomes a habit it affords real joy. The first cost is in the
adjustment of business cares and in selecting time: the next involves
physical exertion itself. Anyone who has spent the greater part of his
past life in a sedentary occupation can safely enjoy such trips if he
uses common sense at the outset and starts, say, on a mile a day and
gradually increases the length of the walk. Systematically followed
pedestrianism accomplishes a number of things--there is better sleep, an
increased circulation and new nerve force: all the muscles are brought
into play as is proven by the general stiffness of the beginner (which
however disappears on hard