The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1922-11-17
HIKING DOWN The
LONG BROWN PATH
Vacationists With Shelter Tents
and Tin Cow Learning to
Walk All Over Again.

1
Nor the rife on your shoulder,
Nor the five inch crust of khaki-coloret
dust
That makes you feel your limbs ar,
And it's not the hike on the hard turnpike
That drives away your smile.
Nor the socks of sisters that raise the
blooming blisters-
It's the last long mile
-Plattsburgh Marching Song.
Stringing out from the suburban
transit terminals of New York every
Sunday and holiday goes the army of
khaki-clad mixers. There may be an
automobile for every twenty of the
country's population, but host of
city folks disprove the theory of a
future leg-enfeebled citizenry and are
learning to walk all over again.
To the more casual minded, the hike
Is just exercise, but to those who
catch its real significance the hike
means great deal more. 1t is the
cheapest form of recreation and
therefore appeals to those living in
crowded districts and unable to avail
| themselves of the more expensive
amusements. And these people, be
| 1t noted, are just those the country
is so anxious to have spread out and
settled in the farming sections The
hike, indeed, has possibilities as
real starter for the back to the farm"
movement.
Doughboy and Boy Scout Lead Way
Just a brief survey of the rolliclSing
groups which move off from the out
lying terminals on holidays estab-
fishes few general types. There Is
the ex-service man and his friends
who will hear from him the story
of more serious excursions on the
muddy roads of France. He tight
ems a strap here and another there
on the blanket roll adjustment or the
shelter half" In which the commits
sary Is packed for the midday feast
by the roadside. Expert directions
come from him on the method of
singing the pack so 1t will not feel
so heavy or interfere with the free
body movement. He will pass along
the information gained In his army
days, of how that same pack was
evolved after numerous experiments |
to find the, easiest way of carrying |
the heaviest load With results he
now compliments, but which he char
acterized when a doughboy as
"blankety-blank total failure
Then there are the boy scout par
ties, adept at everything pertaining
to "shanks mare" travelling and wood
craft The ex-seryice man and the
boy scout are pioneers In the hiking
game Listen to one of them right
off the train and making ready for a
twelve mile jaunt: Get that cam
teen over to the side, Jimmie, and
it won't keep bouncing off your leg
every step. Is 1t filed? Well, then,
we drink. How about the eats? Let's
check 'em off. You got the spuds,
Bill: the bacon Jimmie. Who has the
coffee and the Borden tin cow?"
fright here" announces a freckled
,omrade of the road, patting his KNAPP
sack. "Snitched the mocha and the
can Of milk when Sis wasn't looking
"WelI then, let's go" snaps the
commander of the expedition.
This party is travelling light for real
distance. Another must expect to
make shorter hitch or else be count
ng greatly on its power of endur-
ance. Perhaps the camp Is not far
off because the group Is equipped for
IN overnight stay with heavy blanket
oils matches, lanterns, canvas wa
erpails, rubber ponchos, kettles, pots, 4
lew tangled firestand, etc., etc. The t
blankets are laid out for a better Q
,sckIng of the bags and cans of food. v
When the party commences to load v
10 the members bristle all over with c
amp tools and equipment. I
Back to the Farm
The veteran from the crowded city I
enement has found new territory
n roam and one almost unknown to c
Is associates. He is introducing them
o this newly discovered land and
eaching them how to be independent
( any transportation but their own
God legs and of any subsistence but n
that they can carry and prepare.
Walk, and cook your own" Is his z
lotto. e
Who will say the leaven thus fer |
renting In the city crowds will not r
ear fruit In a keener appreciation of n
ountry delights, especially as these Il
re added to by increased comforts h
d the farm. With his radio hitched a
D, the farmer listens in on the best d
the country has to il
fer. Modern home devices wipe our 0
any hardshlps formerly imposed d
BON isolated dwellers. There Is, In n
tort, rapid cutting down of the fl
fferential between farm and city a
fe. OF
In the meantime, knowledge must n;
ecede a true appreciation Of what P.
e country holds, and this is what
e hike supplies. There is more APP n,
,aI In ono annie free In blossom than -