First Backpacking Adventure

Do you remember your first backpacking experience?

My first backpacking experience occurred in the late 1950's. I was a member of the local Boy Scout troop in Northern Virginia, a bedroom community for many government agencies in Washington D.C.  Most of the parents' occupations ranged from rocket scientists to Secret Service agents.  Our common bond was that we all loved to be outdoors. One of the most prized Boy Scout awards was the Tote and Chip Award.  A requirements for the award was to complete a fifty-mile backpacking trip. 

 Four of us decided to try for the award.  The group consisted of Scott, the scoutmaster's son,  Will, whose father was an accountant for the Pentagon,  Billy, the son of a statistician for the treasury department and me the son of an engineer.  We planned the trip in detail  so that we would not make any errors while hiking the trail.  We were only fourteen, and we were going by ourselves without any adult supervision.  

The Trip

We decided to hike the Appalachian Trail from Front Royal, Virginia to Swift Run Gap, Virginia, a little over fifty miles to be completed in seven days.

The backpack trip was planned entirely by the four of us.   We planned to hike approximately eight to ten miles a day for a week, beginning after the last day of school. The extended weather forecast was sunny with very little possibility of rain. The scoutmaster reviewed our plan and he made the final approval.

Scott, the planner,  planned the route including the drop off and pick up spots.  
Billy, the "professor," kept us all informed about the facts of the hike, such as why the sand was pink on the Mohave Desert, and how many steps we would have to take each day in order to complete our hike.   He kept daily records of each of the day's totals.  Will, the whiner, entertained us by complaining about everything, including being tired, thirsty, cold, hot, and hungry. I was the coordinator and sweeper who kept everybody together and on schedule.  

Equipment

There were very few hiking and backpacking stores, and most of our equipment had to be purchased from stores that sold old military equipment.  Much of the equipment consisted of gear used by the military during WWII. 

Our backpacks had external wooden frames with rope tie-downs.  Everything had to be attached, and the average pack weighed about fifty-five pounds.

Our sleeping mats consisted of a ground cloth or tarp.  My ground cloth was an old piece of shower curtain. ​

We did not carry tents because we planned to sleep in the three- sided shelters along the trail. 

Most shelters had wooden bunk beds all along the three sides.  Each of the beds contained old metal no-sag type springs, like you may have seen in military barracks.  One night we shared our shelter with Grandma Gatewood.  She was 67 years old, and the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail.  She slept on the bare metal springs with only a wool blanket.  She hiked in Keds tennis shoes and carried a shoulder bag.

We all carried the old Sears fabric-filled sleeping bags that weighed a ton.

Our hiking boots were high-top military style.  At the end of the hike we all had blisters.

For rainy weather we carried the full length heavy plastic, non-breathable rain coats.

Our light was an "L" shaped plastic flashlight that contained C cell batteries.  Head lamps were not available at that time.

Our eating utensils consisted of assorted  aluminum pots and pans held together by the handle of the fry pan.

The knife, fork, and spoon were held together by attachment holes in the handle. 

The water bottles and drinking cups were old Army issue canteens and cups.

Some of the food was carried in tin cans and was opened by the standard issue can opener.

.We learned a lot about life in the outdoors, and how all of nature's beauty was truly created by God.

"And I shall strengthen them in the Lord,
      And in His name they will walk," declares the Lord. Zechariah 10:12