Adelia B. Beard

“ When you are new to the trail and must hurry, you are intent only on what is just before you—usually the feet of your guide—or if you raise your eyes to glance ahead, you notice objects simply as things to be reached and passed as quickly as possible. Unhurried trailing will repay you by showing you what the world of the wild contains.
Walking slowly you can realize the solemn stillness of the forest, can take in the effect of the gray light which enfolds all things like a veil of mystery. ”

“ Even a bit of meadow or woodland, even an uncultivated field on the hilltop, will give you a taste of the wild; and if you strike the trail in the right spirit you will find upon arrival that these remnants of the wild world have much to show and to teach you. There are the sky, the clouds, the lungfuls of pure air, the growing things which send their roots where they will and not in a man-ordered way. ”

“ You can stop to examine the tiny-leafed, creeping vines that cover the ground like moss and the structure of the soft mosses with fronds like ferns. You can catch the jewel-like gleam of the wood flowers. You can breathe deeply and rejoice in the perfume of the balsam and pine. You can rest at intervals and wait quietly for evidences of the animal life that you know is lurking, unseen, all around you; and you can begin to perceive the protecting spirit of the wild that hovers over all. ”

“ The wild world is, indeed, a wonderful world; how wonderful and interesting we learn only by degrees and actual experience. It is free, but not lawless; to enter it fully we must obey these laws which are slowly and silently impressed upon us. It is a wholesome, life-giving, inspiring world, and when you have learned to conform to its rules you are met on every hand by friendly messengers to guide you and teach you the ways of the wild: wild birds, wild fruits and plants, and gentle, furtive, wild animals. ”

“ You want to plant your feet upon [6] the earth in its natural state, however rugged or boggy it may be. You want your cushions to be of the soft moss-beds of the piny woods, and, with the unparalleled sauce of a healthy, hearty appetite, you want to eat your dinner out of doors, cooked over the outdoor fire, and to drink water from a birch-bark cup, brought cool and dripping from the bubbling spring. ”

“ How to Find the Trail and How to Keep It
There is a something in you, as in every one, every man, woman, girl, and boy, that requires the tonic life of the wild. You may not know it, many do not, but there is a part of your nature that only the wild can reach, satisfy, and develop. The much-housed, overheated, overdressed, and over-entertained life of most girls is artificial, and if one does not turn away from and leave it for a while, one also becomes greatly artificial and must go through life not knowing the joy, the strength, the poise that real outdoor life can give. ”

“ When darkness creeps through the woods, closing in closer and closer; when it blots out, one by one, the familiar landmarks and isolates the little camp in a sea of night, with the mutual wish for nearer companionship, we gather around the camp-fire, the one light in all the great darkness. ”

“ To have seems not so desirable as to be. When you have once come into sympathy with this world of the wild—which holds our cultivated, artificial world in the hollow of its hand and gives it life—new joy, good, wholesome, heartfelt joy, will well up within you. ”

“ You can get a good picture of the trail with a snap-shot when it is in the open, but a forest trail must have time exposure. When your eyes have become accustomed to the dim light of the woods it will not seem dark, and you will be tempted to try a snap-shot because it is easier, but if you do you may certainly count that a lost film. It is not possible to hold your camera in your hands and succeed with a time exposure of over one second. The beating of your heart will jar it, a breath will make it move, so some kind of a rest must be found as when taking the animals with bulb exposure. ”

“ You will learn to dive merely for the joy of the quick plunge into cool waters, but there are times when to understand diving may mean the saving of your own or some one else's life, and no matter how suddenly or unexpectedly you are cast into the water by accident, you will retain your self-possession and be able to strike out and swim immediately.
One should never dive into unknown water if it can be avoided, but as on the trail all water is likely to be unknown, investigate it well before diving and look out for hidden rocks. ”

“ If you do not know the poison-ivy, remember this: It is the three-leaved ivy. Its leaves always grow in triplets as shown in illustration. The leaves are smooth, but not glossy; they have no teeth but are occasionally notched. Sometimes the plant is bushy, standing a foot or two high, again it is trailing or climbing. It loves fence corners and big rocks to clamber over; it will also choose large trees for support, climbing up to their tops. The flowers are whitish and the fruit is a pretty, green-gray berry, round and smooth, which grows in scant clusters. ”

“ The great blue heron is one of the shore folk and his metallic blue-gray body gleams in the sunlight, as you sight him from your canoe, standing tall and slim, a lonely figure on the bank. He flies slowly and majestically, with his long legs streaming out behind. When out in a small boat on Puget Sound a large heron escorted us [130] some distance. As we rowed near the shore he would fly ahead and then wait for us, standing solemnly on a stone in the water or a partially submerged log, to fly again as we approached. [131]
The fish-hawk will sometimes build near the ground. ”

“ Leave corsets at home, they have no place in the outdoor life, and you will be freer if you discard the dress skirt when at camp and on the trail. Have your muscles free, be able to take in long, deep breaths, to move readily all portions of your body, and not be hampered in any way by ill-fitting, uncomfortable clothing. There must be unrestricted freedom of arms and limbs for a girl to be able to use them easily in climbing mountains or hills, scrambling over fallen trees, sliding over rocks, jumping from stone to stone, or from root to half-sunken log on wet trails of the forest. ”

“ There is the wild life that obeys no man's law: the insects, the birds, and small four-footed animals. On all sides you will find evidences of wild life if you will look for it. Here you may make camp for a day and enjoy that day as much as if it were one of many in a several weeks' camping trip. [7]
However, this is not to be a book of glittering generalities but, as far as it can be made, one of practical helpfulness in outdoor life; therefore when you are told to strike the trail you must also be told how to do it. ”

“ To derive joy and strength from your outing it is of serious importance that you sleep well every night while at camp, and your camp-bed must be comfortable to insure a good night's rest.
A bough-bed is one of the joys of the forest when it is well made, and to put it together properly will require about half an hour's time, but the delight of sleeping on a soft balsam bed perfumed with the pungent odors of the balsam will well repay for the time expended. ”

“ The aim of the entire camp dress is to have it so comfortable and well adapted to outdoor life that you will forget it; think no more of it than a bird does of its feathers. When woollen stockings are worn, wet feet are not apt to give one cold, for the feet do not become chilled even when it is necessary to stand in the reedy edge of a mountain lake or stream. ”

“ In addition to the camp dinner prepare some one dish as a pleasant surprise for the other girls. When dinner is over, the dishes washed, and camp again in order, the girls should have one hour of quiet, to read, write letters, sketch, or lie down and rest. Each camper should respect the demands of the hour for quiet and rest and not talk, but leave her companions to their own thoughts and occupations. If you should see your special friend seated off by herself, do not disturb her during the rest hour; it is each girl's right to remain unmolested at that time. ”

“ Another thing to remember is that, unless in broad sunlight, green will take dark and sometimes black; and brown or tan, being of the same color value in the photograph, will mingle with and often be lost in the background. If you are photographing a tawny animal, and most wild animals are tawny, try to get it when in the sunlight with a dark or flat background, or else against a background lighter in color than the animal. For instance, a red squirrel or chipmunk will be lost amid, or against, the foliage of a tree, but on a fence rail or fallen log it will stand out distinctly. ”

“ If there are men in the party they light their pipes and then begin the stories of past experiences on the trail, which are of the keenest interest to all campers. [259] These stories, told while one gazes dreamily into the glowing coals of the fire or looks beyond the light into the mysterious blackness of the forest, have a charm that is wanting under different surroundings. The stories are not confined to the men, for in these days when girls and women are also on the trail, they too can relate things worth the telling. ”

“ To think sentimentally about nature, to sit by a babbling brook and try to put your supposed feelings into verse, will not help you to know the wild. The only way to cultivate the sympathy and understanding which will enable you to feel its heart-beats, is to go to it humbly, ready to see the wonders it can show ”

“ The salty air is fine when the thermometer is self-respecting and keeps the mercury below 90° in the shade, but the oak underbrush harbors wood-ticks, the blackberry bushes cover you with jiggers, the woods are full of deer-flies, and the vicious mosquito, whose name is Legion, is everywhere where he is not barred out. ”

“ The beaver is rarely seen early in the day, most of his work is done at night, so the best time to watch for him is just before dusk or perhaps an hour before sundown. It is not well to wait to see the beaver if your trail back to camp is a long one, leading through dense forests. You would far better postpone making its acquaintance than to risk going over the, perhaps, treacherous paths after dark. Night comes early in the woods and darkness shuts down closely while it is still light in the open. ”

“ If you will realize that your body is buoyant, not a dead weight in the water, and that swimming should come as naturally to you as to the wild creatures, it may help you to gain the confidence so essential in learning to swim. If you are not afraid of the water you will not struggle while in it, and the air in your lungs will keep you afloat while you learn to make the movements that will carry you along. You will not sink if you are quite calm and move only your hands under water with a slight paddling movement. ”

“ When the wind is very faint, put your finger in your mouth, wet it on all sides, and hold it up; the side on which the wind blows will feel cool and tell from what quarter the wind comes: if on the east side of your finger, the wind blows from the east, and so on. Keep testing the direction of the wind as you trail, and if at any time it cools a different side of the finger, you will know that you are not walking in the same direction as when you left camp and must turn until the wet finger tells you [35] which way to go. ”