Maps and distances
Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 8:31 am
This is just for interest, and I certainly don't recommend it for modern wilderness adventurers. I just finished reading a book about Robert Stuart, who led 6 people from Astoria (mouth of the Columbia River) to St. Louis in 1812-1813. Most of the journey was on foot, and without "much" knowledge of their route (no maps) and constantly evading Native Americans. Someone named Hunt, working for the same trading company, had actually done a different route east to west previously. This west to east route eventually became the Oregon Trail (Stuart's group were the first people to cross the Rockies over South Pass).
We frequently talk about the weight of our loads, maps, x-country traveling, and etc. on this Board. I'm not encouraging any one to be a "Robert Stuart", I'm just illustrating what people can do.
They carried beaver traps, dried food (whatever they killed the day or two before), guns, ammo, and powder, buffalo hides, etc., everything they needed to survive in the "unknown" wilderness.
Get this, these guys walked, carrying all this weird stuff, day by day, many months through snow, between 25 to 35 miles every day (historians have verified this). And they didn't have their heads looking at the ground. Stuart kept a journal, describing every creek and river (and its width) and mountain they passed. They hunted and kept their eyes out for danger. It's amazing what we can do.
We frequently talk about the weight of our loads, maps, x-country traveling, and etc. on this Board. I'm not encouraging any one to be a "Robert Stuart", I'm just illustrating what people can do.
They carried beaver traps, dried food (whatever they killed the day or two before), guns, ammo, and powder, buffalo hides, etc., everything they needed to survive in the "unknown" wilderness.
Get this, these guys walked, carrying all this weird stuff, day by day, many months through snow, between 25 to 35 miles every day (historians have verified this). And they didn't have their heads looking at the ground. Stuart kept a journal, describing every creek and river (and its width) and mountain they passed. They hunted and kept their eyes out for danger. It's amazing what we can do.