# Obsolete camping advice **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732 "2016-06-29T19:39:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/161 "2024-07-27T18:55:48Z")
It occurs to me to wonder about native Americans- what would they carry with them say on an extended hunting trip away from their village? Western depictions of natives make it look like they journeyed with next to nothing but the buckskins they were dressed in. A knife and a small pouch on their belt, maybe a spear or tomahawk. Were people raised to wilderness survival really that independent of kit? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/162 "2024-07-27T20:47:36Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > It occurs to me to wonder about native Americans- what would they carry with them say on an extended hunting trip away from their village? Cooked corn, jerky, maybe dried berries. But yeah in some areas you could get all you needed by foraging. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/163 "2024-07-27T22:04:55Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > True, but some stuff like Picaridin works quite well. Skin so soft works poorly vs skeepters. Picaridin not only works about as well as DEET, it doesn’t dissolve the plastic parts of your gear. I’ve retired DEET from my arsenal. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2024, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/164 "2024-07-28T23:48:35Z")
Quartermain’s group was trekking across the desert, which adds a lot of difficulty (and hence weight): You can’t count on finding much of food or water, so you have to bring it all yourself. Most Native Americans (at least, until they were forced into more marginal lands by European settlers) lived in places where food and water were abundant, and the climate was more agreeable. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/165 "2024-07-29T00:55:04Z")
> [@robby](#): > > My background – I was a Boy Scout years ago, and I’ve been a Boy Scout leader since 2004, and have been on nearly a hundred overnight campouts (in tents), including several week-long canoeing and backpacking trips. My background too, with my Scouting years the late '60s. _Damn, were we destructive back then!_ Every summer we trekked into the wilderness, and the first thing we did was clear an area for our campsite, fell some smaller trees, and make picnic tables out of them. What a difference from how we did things when my kid was in Scouts and I was a leader, 40 years later. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/166 "2024-07-29T01:04:09Z")
Yikes! We wouldn’t have dreamed of that, when I was in Scouts in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/167 "2024-07-29T20:56:11Z")
> [@digs](#): > > My background too, with my Scouting years the late '60s. > _Damn, were we destructive back then!_ > Every summer we trekked into the wilderness, and the first thing we did was clear an area for our campsite, fell some smaller trees, and make picnic tables out of them. Wow, I was a scout back then also, and we never did any of that. We only used or burned deadwood. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/168 "2024-08-01T01:44:59Z")
Heh, I have an old bushcraft manual that’s filled with things like how to make chairs and benches for your camp lashed together out of suitably shaped timber. Real pioneering stuff that these days you’d never use unless you were in the deep Canadian wilderness. On another note, I was researching the various uses of Swiss Army knives, and one thing that kept getting referred to was places in your knife where one can tuck away a small neodymium magnet. Fine I suppose, but the only things they mention that actually being good for are magnetizing a needle for a makeshift compass, and being able to retrieve things like dropped key rings using a line and the magnet. Neither seems like a priority to me; has anyone here ever found magnets to be a useful survival item? ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/169 "2024-08-01T01:57:51Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > It occurs to me to wonder about native Americans- what would they carry with them say on an extended hunting trip away from their village? Pemmican. Dried meat pounded into a sawdust like texture with fat and maybe berries mixed in so it becomes a power bar. Can be eaten while on the move or used as a base for a better meal. [Pemmican - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemmican) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/170 "2024-08-01T02:01:05Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > …or used as a base for a better meal. It’s sort of like dwarven bread, that way. Having pemmican with you makes you realize just how many other things constitute a better meal. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/171 "2024-08-01T04:23:30Z")
Pemmican is almost as good as prime rib, especially on those occasions when you don’t have any prime rib. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/172 "2024-08-01T21:18:07Z")
😀 🤪 I have tried it- it tastes a lot like beef jerky, but it has an odd texture. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/173 "2024-08-05T18:41:19Z")
I belonged to a local outdoor science group for kids in and went for my first backpack trips with them. I was eleven, twelve, so it would have been 1966 or so. We would sometimes camp near Boy Scout trips, and our counselors gave us lectures about NEVER doing the things they were doing – hacking down trees, making bonfires – they left carnage in their wake. We spread their slash and cleaned up the garbage they left after we meticulously cleaned our own minimal campsite. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/174 "2024-08-05T18:45:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s sort of like dwarven bread, that way. Having pemmican with you makes you realize just how many other things constitute a better meal. Surprising things taste delicious when you’ve hiked 20 miles at elevation. I think the only thing I’ve ever found inedible on a backpack trip was gjetost (sweet whey cheese). I hiked out with that stuff in my otherwise empty food bag, fasting. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/175 "2024-08-05T18:53:30Z")
Let me remind you of: Lembas bread, the magical Elven food, sustains the Fellowship on their arduous journey. Here’s what Tolkien tells us about lembas: _“the food was mostly in the form of very thin cakes, made of meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the colour of cream.”_ We also know it’s sweet and that the Elves wrap them in Mallorn leaves to keep them fresh. … and say, only: **Pop-Tarts** ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/176 "2024-08-05T19:47:14Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > and say, only: **Pop-Tarts** No, no, no. Pop-Tarts are specifically designed to fit perfectly in a cycling jersey pocket. They are cycling food, not hiking food. On the other hand, I suppose the mylar packaging could be used as an emergency signaling device. Or a tiny emergency blanket. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/177 "2024-08-05T20:16:21Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > We would sometimes camp near Boy Scout trips, and our counselors gave us lectures about NEVER doing the things they were doing – hacking down trees, making bonfires – they left carnage in their wake. That is about the time I was in Scouting, and we never did any of that. The only bonfire we had was a big events where they had a campfire amphitheater, where we would sit around a fire and sing. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/178 "2024-08-05T20:39:34Z")
I’m probably in the minority as someone who liked the original power bars. Most people were turned of by the flavors and the fact that they were basically extruded from some taffy-like goo. I really liked the malt-nut and cookies & cream flavors, I would stock up on them before every trip. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/179 "2024-08-05T21:18:34Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > Lembas bread, the magical Elven food, sustains the Fellowship on their arduous journey. > > Here’s what Tolkien tells us about lembas: > _“the food was mostly in the form of very thin cakes, made of meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the colour of cream.”_ > We also know it’s sweet and that the Elves wrap them in Mallorn leaves to keep them fresh. Lembas was intended to be an homage to the Eucharist, not pop tarts. The ‘dwarven bread’ is probably a reference to, in The Hobbit, the men of Dale’s travel bread _cram_ which according to dwarves was pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732/180 "2024-08-05T21:21:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That is about the time I was in Scouting, and we never did any of that. > > The only bonfire we had was a big events where they had a campfire amphitheater, where we would sit around a fire and sing. Must have been a rogue district. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-camping-advice/758732.md?page=10)