There is an appropriate garb for the wilderness even as there is the right gown for an afternoon tea. Except for this warning, what you will put in your trunk will be simply an extension of the comforts which you have in duffle bag or knapsack.
As the capacity of duffle bag or knapsack is very limited, the check lists for its contents must be made out with rigid economy. The most important item is foot gear. A well-made pair of medium weight boots, carefully tanned, drenched with mutton tallow, viscol, neat’s-foot oil, or some similar waterproof substance, will prove the best for all-round usefulness. These boots must be broken in or worn before the camping expedition is undertaken. Nothing is so foolish as to start out in a new pair. Have in addition to the boots a pair of soft indoor moccasins. These are good to loaf around camp in. They are grateful to tired feet, and, rolled, take up but little space in the knapsack. To the boots and moccasins add from two to four pairs of hole-proof stockings of some reliable make. If you can get a really first-class stocking and are crowded for space, two pairs will do. One goes on to your feet and the other into your knapsack. There should also be several combination suits, preferably of two weights, high necked, and with shoulder and knee caps.
Now, see that the skirt you wear is of durable material; blue serge or tweed (corduroy is often too heavy); that it has been thoroughly shrunk, and is six inches off the ground anyway. Twelve would be better. Your skirt should be provided with ample pockets; the sweater and jacket also. Under the skirt wear a pair of bloomers, the lighter and slimsier they are, the better; and the stouter the material, the more practical for wear. I have tried many kinds, and believe percaline which is light, strong, slimsy and washable, the best. Silk is not suitable at all. A flannel shirt waist or blouse, a windsor or string tie, a soft felt hat with a sufficiently wide brim, but not too wide, complete your costume.
Into the knapsack put two coarse handkerchiefs, a silk neckerchief to tie around your neck, the stockings and combination suit already mentioned, a string of safety pins clipped one into another, a toothbrush, tubes of cold cream and tooth paste (tubes take up the least room and are the easiest to carry), a cotton shirtwaist, a nail file, comb, small bottle of the best cascara sagrada tablets, a pair of cotton gloves for rough work, a cake of castile soap, a towel, a stiff nail brush, _and, if you are wise_, a book for leisure hours, preferably an anthology of poems or a collection of essays which will afford food for reflection.