Smoke From a Distant Fire

Smoke From a Distant Fire

Classic camping is “smoke from a distant fire”, a feint wisp at first, but once you get a face full it will cause a sickness with no cure.

The distant fire becomes a fire in the belly and knows no boundaries. It will seep into every camping experience as you begin to use traditional camping gear. The fire becomes the center of your camp—cooking in a billy or a dutch oven—placed in front of your Whelen lean-to, Baker tent, or other traditional shelter, like a Baker tent. It is a throw back in time to real camping without the use of nylon. The sound of wind flapping a loose piece of cloth is unlike the flat, sharp rustle of nylon.

Cotton, wool and leather seem to heighten the experience of our forefathers and bring it to you right now in sharp focus. Camping seems brand new with the use of traditional gear, as you learn the ways of woodcraft as it was meant to be. The clothing is all for a practical purpose and has proven to be so over the last century. Wool and cotton clothing will weather any storm. Top it off with a real hat, broad brim and lowered to shed rain and sun and you are beginning to feel the real life of a camp. The smell of coffee hangs in the air along with the smoke of your fire add to the feeling.

As you accumulate traditional gear, you will find you begin to be very picky about what you collect and spend hours tracking down what is the real deal. The fun is the journey and rescue of a piece of gear you salvage from someones junk pile. “oh that old lantern is just junk”. At night, that lantern will create a nice soft glow around your camp without the relentless hissing common to modern day lanterns, or the cold soulless light of a battery driven lantern. Add a few old time wooden camp chairs and your camp will begin to pulse with a heartbeat all its own. The gear can pop up anywhere and at any time. Keep an eye out for the gear and be ready to snatch it up before it ends mercilessly in a landfill

Sure you are going to make mistakes, but it is learning curve that makes it fun. No one is going to say that isn’t traditional, or it is not a true reenactment as the mountain men do. There is no contest other than with your self. Replicas are fine, however, I try to track down the real deal, sometimes abused. In the beginning you will find you are mixing and matching old with new but your goal is to wean out the new and replace with the old style until you have it just right which will never happen, but the journey is one of magic.

It is really a fine sight once you get most of your traditional camp in order. It makes the modern look seem dim and false. I was once asked if I am comfortable with the old style. My answer remains the same, “way more comfy than you are”. Spoken in a humble tone of course.

I think as you progress you will find that most so called modern gear is just a rehash of an older style done up in glaring colors and marketed as the next new big deal, when in fact there is nothing new about it, save for a few exceptions. With woodcraft being your core, you now lend yourself to being capable and investing your self in the camp life and being aware of the nature of a real camp.

I have also found that with many other campers the curiosity factor brings folks to your setup with lots of questions about the gear and where to find it and “why are you doing it this way?” Just think about the impact of all those nylon and man made materials are making on the environment, as opposed to natural materials. The questions can come hard and fast but you will be amazed at what you have learned and how you are able to handle those questions with ease and knowledge because of your path.

Traditional style remains a choice. It may not be for everyone, but everyone I know of who dips into the old style gets hooked into it. For many old hands, it is a new start at camping and it knows no age limits. Anyone can do it. Most of you have the basics already. It is just a shift of an outlook. It is not expensive and the effort is well worth your time and will prove to be a fresh and fun experience. Try it you will like it…The smoke from a distant fire is in your own camp.