Anarchist Knight

Chapter 9-Rafe's Camp

Tobal pulled out his cord and undid all the knots in it. He aligned the red line on his compass for a northeast heading and surveyed the landscape seeking the best pathway through it. Choosing his route between trees he set out purposefully with Rafe following cheerfully behind him.

It was rough going the next three days. He didn’t need to worry about water because it rained all the way to Rafe’s camp. Tobal was glad for the makeshift woolen poncho that kept him halfway warm even when it was wet. It was miserable travelling. He made a hat to keep body heat from escaping out the top of his head. It was welcome protection from both the sun and the rain since Tobal had fair skin that burned easily. Rafe had been insistent he had some type of head covering. One of the quickest ways of loosing body heat was not having your head covered. Sun stroke and sun burn could be dangerous killers. In the wilderness these things were not to be taken lightly. Tobal learned to move carefully and deliberately in the rain and slick mud.

Rafe continued his education by pointing out and gathering herbs. The unceasing rain made the snow disappear almost overnight. He explained about tinder and how to find good dry firewood even in the rain. Tobal learned to always have enough dry tinder and kindling to start a fire. He carried it with him in a pouch on his belt. The pouch was created by cutting some of the fabric off the poncho. He used the sewing kit to sew it together. He also used the sewing kit to mend some of his socks.

He made it a habbit to gather small pieces of firewood as they went along so he didn’t need to look so hard for it at night. While it was more weight to carry, it was easier than looking in the rain and darkness for dry wood.

Each evening Tobal would select the campsite and start the fire under Rafe’s supervision. Together they would gather the rest of the evening’s wood and take turns preparing the meal. At night they set snares for small animals. In the morning they would check the snares and sometimes they would be lucky. Often they would find only an empty snare.

They couldn’t get warm enough in the constant drizzle but the fire did feel good even if they couldn’t get dry. During the day they also hunted for small game. Rafe and Tobal each cut a long strip of fabric and made a sling out of it. Together they practiced with small stones at various targets. The first day Rafe hit a rabbit and that night they ate rabbit stew. There was always some kind of greens for a salad.

Small animals were not all they would eat. Rafe showed him how to break open rotten logs and find the grubs within them.

"They are better cooked in something", Rafe grinned as Tobal fought off a wave of nausea. "Still, they are better than not eating at all. The large wood ants have a lemony flavor but you need to make sure you bite them hard before swallowig or they will try to crawl back up."

By water they set traps overnight for fish and set snares for small animals. If they caught anything it was usually a rabbit or squirrel and went into the stew or was simply roasted. They ate the fish immediately.

At noon every day Tobal triangulated his true position on the map and made small corrections in their course. At times he rethought the best route to Rafe’s camp from their current position. The wilderness often looked much different than it did on the map and the differences took some getting used to. Some areas that looked passable on the map certainly did not look inviting in real life and other times it seemed appropriate to take a short cut that had not been considered.

In all this Tobal was the guide and Rafe simply listened and followed. Once in awhile he would make a comment about some of the changes in the plan that Tobal proposed but he went along with them. At times Tobal realized he had made a mistake and hours were spent retracing the way back to their starting point. Still, with each success and miscalculation he learned more about both reading the map and moving through rough country.

Late afternoon of the fourth day they arrived at Rafe’s base camp. The rain had stopped but they were soaked to the bone. It was a secluded valley and Rafe had to show Tobal the hidden entrance or he would never have found it. The main camp was a large teepee with several small outbuildings made of logs. He had his own sweat lodge built next to a small mountain stream. There was also a rack for smoking meat and making jerky. The first thing they did was get into some warm dry clothes and fix a decent meal.

The rest of the first week passed quickly. They stayed in the area and set traps for fish and snares for smaller animals. Tobal learned the ways of each animal he hunted. Rafe showed him the game trails and what the individual tracks of each animal looked like. They smoked the fish and other meat so it would keep and not spoil.

In the evenings at the campfire Rafe had him work first on a bow and then on some arrows so he could hunt larger game. He learned how to skin and dress the smaller animals like beaver, muskrat and mink. He would carefully stretch and dry the pelts for later use as winter clothing. He learned the basics of tanning leather and made his first leather crafted items. The weather was turning too warm to be wearing furs anymore and the pelts would soon loose their value as the animals shed their heavy winter fur. He could always use some leather though and concentrated mainly on tanning leather.

Each morning they explored the area, checking game trails and sneaking up on animals without trying to kill them. They had plenty to eat and practiced stalking larger game animals like deer and mountain goat. During the following week Tobal learned more about tracking and how fresh an old track might be. He was getting fairly good with the sling and practiced every day with the bow.

Rafe explained the best way to survive in the winter was to hunt the larger animals like the deer. Each kill would provide enough food for a week or more and in the winter it was very important to have some food set aside for emergencies and for when the weather really got bad. Winter was also the best time for trapping animals for their fur. He would need some winter clothing before it got really cold and this was as good a time to learn as any. He could make some things now while the furs were prime and keep them at Rafe’s camp until he needed them.