| Introduction
This excursion was the consequence of a lookout position obtained at the completion of my forestry course at Cornell University. [That's me, second from the right:] [Click on the image to see it larger.]
The appointment was to pay $50.00 a month and board. Lodging consisted of my own blanket roll laid on any level spot in Idaho. I was requested to limit my possessions to 45 lbs., including bed, cooking utensils, clothes, pistol and ammunition for same. My father assisted in my selection of equipment, and generously footed the bill as he always did. The blankets I chose were of used paper mill belting. They were hard and heavy, but thoroughly waterproof. The first two characteristics were almost my undoing. A tarpaulin, blanket and light quilt would have been far superior, as a soft material is far warmer than stiff blankets which invite a free circulation of mountain air down one side of your neck and back the other. The nice shiny aluminum frying pan was soon scratched and never let loose of burnt grease. The sheet iron kind you can heat red hot and then quench in the creek, all grease scaling off. The .45 caliber pistol with its ammunition was by far too heavy, but a consolation at times when I thought of the cougars, wolves and occasional grizzly bears which occupied this region. A higher speed shell of smaller caliber would have been just as effective and much lighter. |
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