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Camp and Trail Methods
Kreps, Elmer Harry
273 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1940
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 14, 2018
I read this book as a child. We had an old dogeared copy in our collection. It's an amazing book if you understand what it is and is not.
The book was written in 1910, before REI was a gleam in someone's eye. Camping gear was heavy duty and heavy in weight. Axes were considered a critical piece of equipment. This book details lost arts like making a bed of pine boughs, brain tanning a hide, making plaster from ashes, sand and salt, fabricating a log cabin or a food cache, and creating your own sourdough bread from scratch.
In short, while the 20th century went one direction, this book went the other. But if you love the outdoors, if you've ever been disoriented and had to spend a night outdoors by necessity, some of the skills in this book might become pretty important.
If nothing else, this is an excellent book to read to get in touch with what outdoor living was like a century or more ago. Kreps has a great sense of humor and a healthy perspective on the fact that his ways might not work for everyone. Or as he says, "The instructions given here are for the hardy outdoor man, inexperienced in bush life, but with a desire to learn of the methods employed. I give my own methods of traveling and of camping out, and if others think they have better ways, they should remember that we woodsmen are all cranks and that their modes might seem as absurd to me as mine do to them."
The book was written in 1910, before REI was a gleam in someone's eye. Camping gear was heavy duty and heavy in weight. Axes were considered a critical piece of equipment. This book details lost arts like making a bed of pine boughs, brain tanning a hide, making plaster from ashes, sand and salt, fabricating a log cabin or a food cache, and creating your own sourdough bread from scratch.
In short, while the 20th century went one direction, this book went the other. But if you love the outdoors, if you've ever been disoriented and had to spend a night outdoors by necessity, some of the skills in this book might become pretty important.
If nothing else, this is an excellent book to read to get in touch with what outdoor living was like a century or more ago. Kreps has a great sense of humor and a healthy perspective on the fact that his ways might not work for everyone. Or as he says, "The instructions given here are for the hardy outdoor man, inexperienced in bush life, but with a desire to learn of the methods employed. I give my own methods of traveling and of camping out, and if others think they have better ways, they should remember that we woodsmen are all cranks and that their modes might seem as absurd to me as mine do to them."
March 3, 2021
Interesting
This book was written in 1910, and the reader needs to keep that in mind. There are many typos which might become distracting.
I enjoyed descriptions of how things were done in the past, before hi-tech gear was available. I won't spoil it, but there is a unique perspective on how to develop the skills necessary to cure animal skins. It brings to light how much our world has changed. All in all it was a worthwhile read.
This book was written in 1910, and the reader needs to keep that in mind. There are many typos which might become distracting.
I enjoyed descriptions of how things were done in the past, before hi-tech gear was available. I won't spoil it, but there is a unique perspective on how to develop the skills necessary to cure animal skins. It brings to light how much our world has changed. All in all it was a worthwhile read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews