Chapter V: Organization and Conduct of Walking Clubs 103 (3)

“Of such journeys on foot which I recall with greatest pleasure
are some that I have made in the encircling of cities. More
than once I have walked around Manhattan Island (an afternoon’s
or a day’s adventure within the reach of thousands), keeping
as close as possible to the water’s edge all the way round.
One not only passes through physical conditions illustrating
the various stages of municipal development from the wild
forest at one end of the island to the most thickly populated
spots of the earth at the other, but one also passes through
diverse cities and civilizations. Another journey of this
sort was one that I made around Paris, taking the line of the
old fortifications, which are still maintained, with a zone
following the fortifications most of the way just outside,
inhabited only by squatters, some of whose houses were on
wheels ready for ‘mobilization’ at an hour’s notice. (It was
near the end of that circumvallating journey, about sunset,
on the last day of an old year, that I saw my first airplane
rising like a great golden bird in the aviation field, and a
few minutes later my first elongated dirigible--precursors of
the air armies.)…

“About every city lies an environing charm, even if it have no
trees, as, for example, Cheyenne, Wyoming, where, stopping for
a few hours not long ago, I spent most of the time walking out
to the encircling mesas that give view of both mountains and
city. I have never found a city without its walkers’ rewards.
New York has its Palisade paths, its Westchester hills and
hollows, its ‘south shore’ and ‘north shore,’ and its Staten
Island (which I have often thought of as Atlantis, for once
on a holiday I took Plato with me to spend an afternoon on
its littoral, away from the noise of the city, and on my way
home found that my Plato had stayed behind, and he never
reappeared, though I searched car and boat). Chicago has its
miles of lake shore walks; Albany its Helderbergs; and San
Francisco, its Golden Gate Road. And I recall with a pleasure
which the war cannot take away a number of suburban European
walks. One was across the Campagna from Frascati to Rome, when
I saw an Easter week sun go down behind the Eternal City.
Another was out to Fiesole from Florence and back again;
another, out and up from where the Saone joins the Rhone
at Lyons; another, from Montesquieu’s château to Bordeaux;
another, from Edinburgh out to Arthur’s Seat and beyond;
another from Lausanne to Geneva, past Paderewski’s villa,
along the glistening lake with its background of Alps; and
still another, from Eton (where I spent the night in a cubicle
looking out on Windsor Castle) to London, starting at dawn. One
cannot know the intimate charm of the urban penumbra who makes
only shuttle journeys by motor or street cars.”

NATURE OF COUNTRY

When it comes to the matter of choosing the region for a walking tour, all sorts of considerations enter in. This has been indicated already; your naturalist will fix upon some happy hunting ground where flowers or birds are abundant, or fossil trilobites or dinosaurs are to be discovered; the fisherman will seek out the mountain brooks; the antiquarian, some remote rural region, perhaps, or scene of battle; the genealogist will visit the graves of his ancestors. But, leaving for the moment such special and individual considerations out of account, what should influence the average pedestrian in his choice of locality?

The choice of locality with relation to season has already been considered, page 43 above.

The choice will not fall upon a flat, undiversified region, particularly if the season be hot and the roads much traveled and dusty. Emerson, in a passage extolling the pedestrian advantages of his native Massachusetts, observes:

“For walking, you must have a broken country. In Illinois,
everybody rides. There is no good walk in that state. The
reason is, a square yard of it is as good as a hundred miles.
You can distinguish from the cows a horse feeding, at the
distance of five miles, with the naked eye. Hence, you have the
monotony of Holland, and when you step out of the door can see
all that you will have seen when you come home.”

Having said so much, Emerson adds, in order to put the Illinoian in good humor again:

“We may well enumerate what compensating advantages we have
over that country, for ’tis a commonplace, which I have
frequently heard spoken in Illinois, that it was a manifest
leading of the Divine Providence that the New England states
should have been first settled, before the Western country was
known, or they would never have been settled at all.”

In Oklahoma, they say, one can look farther and see less than anywhere else in the world.

The pedestrian seeks wide horizons, but he seeks more than that. The only classical walk which the writer now recalls, taken in a level region, was Thoreau’s tour along the beaches of Cape Cod; but there was the sea--itself an unending delight and stimulus to imagination--and the sand dunes, with all the beauties of mountain form in miniature.

There are, of course, the great recreation grounds of the world: the Swiss Alps, the Tyrol, and in our own country the Glacier National Park, the Yellowstone, and the Yosemite. Such a place is the pedestrian’s paradise. But such a place is, for most of us, far away; ordinarily, the requirement is of something humbler.

Let the choice then be broken country. There is all of New England, the Adirondacks, the Appalachian region, the Ozarks, and the great mountain lands of the West. Some fringe of one or another of these regions is accessible to almost any holiday seeker. In addition to the mountainous areas, there are the drumlins and lakes of our glaciated northern states--New York, Michigan, Wisconsin; and, excepting only the prairies, there is diversity of rolling hills and winding streams everywhere.

THE GOAL AND THE ROAD

It is well to have an objective in a walk, a focus of interest, a climax of effort: a historical objective--the grave of Washington, perhaps, or the battlefield of Israel Putnam; or a natural objective--the summit of Mt. Marcy, or Lake Tahoe, or the Mammoth Cave.

Do not, however, set out from the point of chief interest; let there be a gradual approach; if possible, let the hardest work come near the end; let the highest mountain be the last.

Search out objects of interest within five hundred miles of home, choose one of them as the goal--be it mountain, trout stream, or Indian mound--and let the way lead to it.

On long tours, seek variety--variety of woods, rivers, mountains. Do not, by choice, go and return over the same road, nor even through the same region. Better walk one way and go by train the other.

In crossing mountain ranges, ascend the gradual slope and descend the steep. (On precipices, however, there is less danger in climbing up than down.)

Walk from south to north, by preference; it is always best to have the sun at one’s back.

Avoid macadam roads--except when country roads are muddy, or on a night walk. By night smooth footing is especially advantageous. Macadam is wearing to both body and mind--and sole leather; immediately after rain it is tolerable. Avoid highways, seek byways. Leave even the byways at times, and travel across country.

MAPS

On map making, see page 111.

A map is useful, and, on an extended tour, almost necessary. Topographic maps, showing towns and roads also, of a large part of the United States are published by the United States Geological Survey. Better maps could not be desired. Different regions are mapped to different scale, but, for the greater part, each map or “quadrangle” covers an area measuring 15′ in extent each way; the scale is 1:62,500, or about a mile to an inch. Each quadrangle measures approximately 12¾ × 17½ inches and displays an area of 210-225 square miles, the area varying with the latitude. To traverse one quadrangle from south to north means, if the country be hilly and the roads winding, to walk twenty miles or more.

On these maps water is printed in blue, contour lines in brown, and cultural features--roads, towns, county lines--in black. A contour line is a line which follows the surface at a fixed altitude; one who follows a contour line will go neither uphill nor down, but on the level. The contour interval, that is, the difference in elevation between adjacent contour lines, is stated at the bottom of each quadrangle. It is not uniform for all the areas mapped, and is greater in mountains and less in level regions. Every fourth or fifth contour line is made heavier than the others.

A little experience will teach one to read a contour map at a glance; the shape of the hills is indicated, and their steepness. In addition, these maps bear in figures (and in feet) actual elevations above sea level.

Besides the quadrangles on the unit of area mentioned, the Survey publishes maps to larger scale, of regions of exceptional importance: Boston and vicinity, for instance; Washington and vicinity; the Gettysburg battlefield; the Niagara gorge; Glacier National Park; industrial regions such as Franklin Furnace, N. J., and vicinity.

Application may be made to The Director, United States Geological Survey, Washington, D. C., for an index map of any particular region in which one is interested; the index map is marked off into quadrangles, and each quadrangle bears its distinctive name. Information regarding larger maps is also given. So that, on consulting the index map, one may order by name the particular quadrangles or larger maps he may desire. The price of the quadrangles is ten cents each, or six cents each for fifty or more. The larger maps units are of varying price.

For remoter regions, not yet mapped by Government, ruder maps may ordinarily be had.

Such foreign regions as the Alps are, of course, perfectly mapped. The maps in Baedeker’s guidebooks are good, and better still may be had, if one desires.

It is a good plan to have the maps of one’s home region mounted on linen and shellaced.

_Map case._ Maps of small size and constantly in use may be put in form for carrying by cutting them into sections and mounting them on linen, with spaces for folding left between the edges of adjacent sections. A map so mounted may be folded and carried in an oiled silk envelope. Leather is not a satisfactory material for such a case, for, when carried in one’s clothing, it becomes wet through with perspiration.

For a walk on which one has occasion to use a number of maps, it is preferable to provide oneself with a cylindrical case of sheet tin, in which the rolled maps may be contained. A suitable case for the Geological Survey quadrangles measures eighteen inches in length and two in diameter. A close-fitting lid slips over the open end, and there are runners soldered to one side, through which a supporting strap may pass. A small hole in the bottom facilitates the putting on and removal of the lid. Any tinsmith can make such a case in a short time. It should be painted outside. It may be suspended by a strap from the shoulders, and so be easily accessible, or it may, if preferred, be secured to or carried within the knapsack.

WALKING BY COMPASS

Where roads are many and villages frequent, one may easily find his way, map in hand. But in the wilderness the map must be supplemented by the compass. The beginner should go gradually about this matter of traveling by compass; he should gain experience in small undertakings. For one acquainted with the art, there is in its practice an alluring element of novelty and adventure. Most of all, one needs to teach himself to rely on his compass _implicitly_.

A few suggestions about walking by compass may be useful. _First_, study the map, and note the objective points; _second_, on setting out, have always a definite point in mind and know its exact bearing; refer to the compass repeatedly, directing one’s course to a tree, rock shoulder, or other landmark, and on reaching it, appeal to the compass again, to define a new mark; _third_, in making detours, around bogs or cliffs, use the wits, and make proper compensation; _finally_, and as has once been said, but cannot be too often said, trust the compass.

From a mountain top, if the destination can be seen, one may study the contour of the land between and, engraving it surely in mind, direct his course accordingly. But ability to do this is gained only through long experience. For a novice to attempt it were foolhardy, and might lead to serious consequences.

In making mental note of landmarks, one should, so far as possible, get _two aligned points_ on the course ahead, for by keeping the alignment deviation may be corrected.

On a clear day, having laid one’s course, one may follow it by the guidance of one’s shadow. But here again, some experience is needed, before trusting one’s ability too far.

One’s watch may serve as a rude compass, remembering that at sunrise (approximately in the east and approximately at six o’clock) _the watch being set to sun time_, if the watch be so placed that the hour hand points to the sun, the north and south line will lie across the dial, from the three o’clock index number to nine. And at any succeeding time of the day, if the hour hand be pointed to the sun, south will lie midway between the point where the hour hand lies and the index number twelve. Manifestly, this improvised compass can be exactly right only at equinox, and only when the watch is set to meridian time.

WALKING CLUBS IN AMERICA

UPHILL

Does the road wind uphill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.

Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.

But is there for the night a resting-place?
A roof for when the slow, dark hours begin.

May not the darkness hide it from my face?
You cannot miss that inn.

Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?
Those who have gone before.

Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?
They will not keep you waiting at that door.

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?
Of labor you shall find the sum.

Will there be beds for me and all who seek?
Yea, beds for all who come.

Christina G. Rossetti.

IV

WALKING CLUBS IN AMERICA

The walking clubs of Europe have had a long and useful history. The favored regions, particularly the Alps, the Bavarian highlands, and the Black Forest, have, time out of mind, been the holiday land for all the European peoples. Walking there is in vogue as nowhere else in the world, unless it be among the English lakes. Before the war it was interesting to an American visitor in the Tyrol to observe how many people spent their holidays afoot--and how many sorts of people: men, women, old, young. Sometimes one met whole families walking together. It was not a surprising thing to encounter a fresh-cheeked schoolgirl on the peak of the Wildspitze; and pedestrian bridal tours seemed to be, in some strata of society at least, quite the thing. But the impressive fact was that there were hundreds of people--men, women, and children--tramping the mountains together, and finding the inseparable desiderata, health and happiness.

This enthusiasm for walking has expressed itself in walking clubs; they are part of the “Movement”: The Alpine Club, _Le Club Alpin Français_, _Il Club Alpino Italiano_, _Die Deutsche und Oesterreiche Alpenverein_, _Der Schweize Alpenclub_, etc. These clubs lay trails and blaze them, through chasms, across passes, and to summits. (It is the pedestrian alone to whom the mountains reveal their extremest beauties.) The clubs maintain, at comfortable intervals, mountain huts, where one may find simple food and a clean bed; and they prepare and publish maps and guidebooks.

We are followers of the Europeans, and we have this advantage of followers, that we may see and profit by all that they have done.

Already there are many walking clubs in America; their memberships are greatest, as might be expected, in New England and on the Pacific Coast. Some of these organizations are concerned chiefly with feats of mountaineering; others with the needs of the greater number of ordinary people. It is of the clubs of this latter class that some account will here be given. But at the outset a word of apology is needed. The data from which this chapter is prepared are in the necessity of the case casually collected; it cannot be otherwise than that they are fragmentary; and the result must be faulty and ill proportioned. The chapter is offered as a provisional one. Organizations not mentioned, but which might have had place with those which are, are requested to furnish data respecting themselves; all interested are invited to note mistakes and give advice of corrections, to the end that a more useful and more nearly satisfactory chapter may ultimately appear. Communications may be addressed to the League of Walkers, 347 Madison Avenue, New York.

THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB

One of the oldest and the most distinguished of the walking clubs of America, is the Appalachian Mountain Club, of Boston, with its two outlying “chapters,” in New York, and in Worcester, Mass. Following is the official statement of the Club’s objects and activities.

“The Appalachian Mountain Club was organized in Boston in
January, 1876, to ‘explore the mountains of New England
and the adjacent regions, both for scientific and artistic
purposes.’ Its activities are directed not only toward
the preservation of the natural beauty of our mountain
resorts,--and in particular their forests,--but also toward
making them still more accessible and enjoyable through
the building of paths and camps, the publishing of maps
and guidebooks, the collecting of scientific data, and the
conducting of numerous field excursions.

“In the fulfilment of its main purpose it has built and
maintained over two hundred miles of trails, three stone huts
and nine open log shelters, all in the White Mountains, and
a clubhouse on Three Mile Island in Lake Winnepesaukee. It
has also acquired sixteen reservations, held purely in trust
for the benefit of the public, in New Hampshire, Maine, and
Massachusetts. It annually conducts four long excursions: one
in February for snowshoeing, one in July, one in August, for
those who prefer camp life, and one in early autumn, besides
the same number of shorter trips in February, May, early
September, and at Christmas. These are mainly in New England
and New York. In addition there are Saturday afternoon walks
to various points of interest in the country around Boston
and New York City, the latter under the New York Chapter.
Occasionally there are special walks for those interested in
natural history. Those wishing to go farther afield can obtain
privileges in connection with the annual outings of the western
mountaineering clubs.

“From October to May monthly meetings are held in Boston and
to these members may invite friends. In connection with these
meetings illustrated lectures are given upon mountain regions
and other outdoor subjects of interest.

“Clubrooms are maintained in the Tremont Building [in Boston],
where committee meetings and small informal gatherings are
held, and where the fine library, many maps, and a large
collection of photographs are kept.…

“Members are kept informed of the activities of the Club by
a monthly Bulletin, and at least once a year an illustrated
magazine, entitled _Appalachia_, is published.… In addition the
Club has published a ‘Guide to Paths in the White Mountains
and Adjacent Regions’ ($2.00), a ‘Bibliography of the White
Mountains’ ($1.00), ‘Walks and Rides about Boston’ ($1.25), a
booklet ‘Equipment for Climbing and Camping’ (10 cents), and a
‘Snowshoe Manual’ (10 cents).

“In January, 1919, there were about 2300 members (the New
York Chapter numbers 145). Membership in the Club costs eight
dollars for the first year and four dollars a year thereafter.
No climbing qualification is necessary, but candidates must
be nominated by two club members, to whom they are personally
known, and approved by the Committee on Membership. Application
blanks and further information may be had by addressing the
Corresponding Secretary, 1050 Tremont Building, Boston.”

THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB

The Green Mountain Club, of Vermont, was organized March 11, 1910, with the object of making the remotest and wildest regions of the Green Mountains accessible to pedestrians. As rapidly as its income permits, it is building the Long Trail, which when completed will be a “skyline” trail for walkers, following the mountain ridges and ascending the peaks, throughout a course of about 250 miles, from the Canadian line to Massachusetts.

Two portions of the trail have already been built and are in use: one, a stretch of thirty miles, extending north and south near Rutland; the other, a continuous section of sixty-seven miles, extending from Middlebury Gap, fourteen miles east of Middlebury, northward, to Smugglers’ Notch, on the east side of Mount Mansfield. It requires eight days to cover this section of the Trail. There is a cabin of the Club, or a clubhouse, farmhouse, or hotel available at the end of each day’s hike. It is better to carry food and blankets, though blankets may be hired and food sent in under arrangements made in advance. There is good prospect that by the end of the summer (of 1919) new trails will be built, connecting the two portions mentioned, and extending the northern stretch some miles further, to Johnson. The Club will then have built and brought under its care 130 miles of continuous trail.

Some account of walking the Long Trail may be found in “Vacation Tramps in New England Highlands,” by Allen Chamberlain.

The dues of the Club are $1.00 a year; the membership exceeds 600. There are several sections or branches, each of which has charge of the construction and maintenance of a section of the Long Trail.

The Burlington Section in the course of the year holds a number of outings in the vicinity of Burlington, and conducts two or three trips into the mountains. On Washington’s Birthday, each year it makes a trip, either to Mount Mansfield or to the Couching Lion.

The New York Section, organized in 1916, has 212 members. It conducts many half-day, full-day, and week-end outings in the vicinity of New York City, and an occasional excursion to the Green Mountains. During the year 1918-1919, in addition to the activities indicated, it gave three social reunions with camp fire suppers, four illustrated lectures, conducted a pilgrimage to the home of John Burroughs, and held a membership dinner at a New York hotel.

For information regarding the Long Trail, advice about shelters, for maps, and for suggestions regarding particular hikes, write to the Corresponding Secretary, 6 Masonic Temple, Burlington, Vt.

THE AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB

The American Alpine Club requires the highest qualifications for membership of any walking club. Its one hundred members come from all parts of the country. An annual dinner is given in Boston, New York, or Philadelphia. The address of the secretary is 2029 Q St., Washington, D. C.

WALKING CLUBS OF NEW YORK

Mr. Albert Handy is the historian of the walking clubs of New York, and his account of them is, with his generous permission, here given. It appeared first in the New York _Evening Post Saturday Magazine_, for May 6, 1916, and has been revised for the purposes of this handbook.

“The first walking club in America of which any record is found
was the little Alpine Club organized by some of the professors
at Williamstown, Mass., which came into being about 1863 and
went out of being a few years later. But before its demise Mr.
and Mrs. Henry E. Buermeyer and William B. (better known as
‘Father Bill’) Curtiss had formed the habit of exploring the
wilds of Staten Island or the highlands of the Hudson--there
were no developments then, and it was a wilderness--on Sundays.
‘Father Bill’ Curtis was the premier athlete of America and the
founder of the New York Athletic Club. Mrs. Buermeyer was one
of the first women to ride a bicycle in this country, and Mr.
Buermeyer was a noted swimmer.

“This little group constituted the beginnings of the Fresh Air
Club, which is today the oldest walking club in New York, and
which can alone contest the claim of the Appalachian Mountain
Club to the premiership of the United States. Shortly after its
foundation the winged-foot organization sent a score of its
members on these walks and Mrs. Buermeyer dropped out. Later
some members of the old American Athletic Club, in conjunction
with others from the Manhattan Athletic Club, developed a
walking cult, and for a time pedestrianism seemed destined to
become a popular pastime. In this group was E. Berry Wall,
whose name is associated with dancing rather than athletics in
the minds of the majority of New Yorkers.

“Then interest diminished gradually until each organization
furnished but a negligible number of walkers. Followed
something in the nature of a renaissance, the two groups
consolidated, and the present Fresh Air Club came into being.

“In the early eighties interest in athletics increased, there
were organized baseball clubs, tennis clubs, cricket clubs, but
for a long period the Fresh Air Club was the only organization
devoted to walking, with the exception of the Westchester
Walking Club, otherwise known as the Westchester Hare and
Hounds (whose members were recruited from the then prosperous
but long since defunct Harlem Athletic Club), which rose,
flourished, and decayed, leaving its spirit and traditions to
be carried by the Fresh Air Club, which in February, 1890, was
incorporated.

“What the Appalachian Mountain Club did for New Hampshire the
Fresh Air Club did for the country within a fifty-mile radius
of New York; there is not a section of northern New Jersey, or
of Rockland, Westchester, or Orange County, which has not been
explored by some of its members. On Friday of each week during
the tramping season ‘Father Bill’ who was official pathfinder,
would go over the route of the walk projected for the following
Sunday, when necessary blazing a trail, so that the party might
proceed without any delay or casting about for the right road,
until finally the paths up Storm King, Bear Mountain--there
wasn’t any Interstate Park then--Anthony’s Nose, and the
highlands of the Hudson became as familiar to him as the path
to his own door.…

“Today the Club has about seventy-five members, of whom some
forty are active. Its walking season extends from October to
December and from March to June, and walks are scheduled for
all Sundays and holidays, to a few of which women friends
of members are invited. During the winter months skating
excursions, when weather conditions are favorable, are
substituted for walking. The Fresh Air Club does not seek an
increase in membership; in fact, a member remarked to the
writer that it did not desire publicity or even a considerable
amount of inquiry from would-be candidates for membership. Its
bulletin states:

“‘That its constitution, by-laws, and rules have not been, and
will not be, published; that it accepts no members who are not
good cross-country walkers, and that membership can be obtained
only after personal acquaintance and such participation in the
excursions of the Club as is needed to prove the candidate’s
fitness and ability.… Participation by non-members in the
excursions of the Club is by invitation only.’

“As a veracious chronicler it becomes incumbent upon me
to here set down that during its long existence of nearly
half a century it has exercised practically no influence
and has never attained a place in the sun as a constructive
factor in the encouragement of general walking, although its
object, according to its certificate of incorporation, is the
‘encouragement and promotion of outdoor sport for health and
pleasure.’

“The year 1911 was momentous in the history of walking.
Outdoor life was enjoying a popular boom; for this condition
the motor car and the country club were in large measure
responsible. The open-air enthusiast found a ready hearing,
his preachments falling upon fertile ground. In this year a
little group of about ten walkers organized the Walkers’ Club
of America, and almost simultaneously Charles G. Bullard, of
the Appalachian Mountain Club, established a New York branch
of that organization, the membership being drawn principally
from the members of the Boston Club residing in or near this
city. Prominent among the organizers of the Walkers’ Club was
James H. Hocking, one of the most enthusiastic pedestrians in
this country, and one who believes that walking will cure most
of the ills to which mind and body are heir. This organization
was opposed to hiding its light under a bushel; its conception
of its functions was thoroughly democratic; its primary purpose
was to induce the largest number of people possible to use
their legs in the way that God intended that they should.

“Now, while walking could scarcely be said to be attaining
widespread popularity, there was in the ensuing year or two
a steady growth in interest. A walking organization was
formed by some of the members of the Crescent Athletic Club
in conjunction with the Union League Club, also of the ‘city
of homes and churches,’ and a programme of Sunday walks was
prepared. But it was in 1913 that the actual recrudescence
in walking occurred, when the _Evening Post_ and the _Times_
gave considerable space to articles on walking. In the late
winter of that year, too, there began to appear inconspicuous
paragraphs on the sporting pages of the Monday morning papers
to the effect that on the previous day members of the Walkers’
Club had hiked from City Hall to Coney Island, or perhaps from
St. George to New Dorp or from Columbus Circle to Hastings.

“The schedule time of the Coney Island walk, for the novice
squad, to be completed before noon, was about two hours and a
half. And the average New Yorker, who regards a long sleep and
a good breakfast on Sunday mornings as his inalienable rights,
gazed gloomily at these items, and then turned to an account
of a murder or a break in the stockmarket, anything in fact
radiating a more cheerful influence. Even the enthusiastic
golfer sighed to himself as he thanked God that he was not as
some other man.

“It was in 1913, too, that the Ladies’ Walking Club, affiliated
with the Walkers’ Club of America, was organized, but it
has never had many members or attained any marked degree of
popularity. Prior, however, to its formation, the Alumnæ
Committee on Athletics of Barnard College prepared a programme
of intercollegiate outings for Saturdays, Sundays, and
holidays, which included several pleasant hikes; and these
attracted a much greater number of participants than did the
events of the Ladies’ Walking Club.

“Under the impetus derived from the Walkers’ Club several of
the evening high schools formed pedestrian organizations which
turned out with the parent body. One of the morning newspapers
offered century medals, which seems to have materially
stimulated interest, and by the beginning of 1915 there were
six or eight schools that sent out their squads of hikers every
Sunday.

“It was early in 1915 that the Walkers’ Club, with a membership
of over two hundred, was incorporated. Shortly thereafter a
schism arose in its ranks, which resulted in the birth of the
American Walkers’ Association. At a meeting of the Walkers’
Club, held in June, seven members withdrew. Within a week
twelve men had formed the Walkers’ Association, which was
almost immediately incorporated. Of the split it may be said
that it was deplorable, and beyond that its history must occupy
a blank page in the annals of American walking.

“The Walkers’ Association immediately began an aggressive
campaign to secure members. It adopted a small emblem which the
majority of the one hundred and twenty men on its rolls wear.
It also adopted the walking associations of most of the evening
high schools, as well as all promising material which it could
discover. Finally it organized a women’s branch with a schedule
of walks of its own. It points with pride to a membership of
over 135, a record of 17,856 miles covered by members on its
hikes, so that if a message had been relayed it might have
crossed the continent five times; to one hike on which 107 men
turned out, and to another--not the same hike--when fifty miles
was covered in a day.

“The walks of the Walkers’ Club and the Walkers’ Association
invariably start from New York, and up to the present time have
invariably been along the high roads which the pedestrian must
share, in unequal distribution, with the motorcar and other
vehicles. A speed of four to six miles an hour is maintained
and the walks vary from ten to fifty miles in length. The
walkers are divided into squads, graded according to speed
and the distance to be covered. The hikes of the Fresh Air
Club, on the other hand, start from some point reached by
train, twenty to forty miles from New York, and the trail leads
through the woods and over the hills, through streams and bogs
and over rocks and fallen trees, with an occasional stretch of
road as an incident to the walk.

“Like the Walkers’ Club it has a schedule, and where the going
is good a speed of four miles or better is maintained. The
walks terminate at a railway station which must be reached
before train time. The Appalachians, however, saunter, they
rarely exceed ten miles on their local tramps, they proceed
leisurely cross country, if they see a hill that appeals
to them they climb it and enjoy the view, or they linger
on the shores of some lake. The Club walks are all held on
Saturday afternoons and holidays, Sunday walking being mildly
disapproved.

“As a purely constructive factor in the development of
pedestrianism in the eastern United States, the Walkers’ Club
and Walkers’ Association probably lead. Other clubs have
conceived theories--ideals, perhaps--these organizations have
created pedestrians. Their walking season extends from the 21st
of June to the 22nd of December, and from the 22nd of December
to the 21st of June. Both clubs have trained people to walk. An
officer of one of them once remarked to the writer that fifty
per cent of the members did not know how to use their legs.

“The Walkers’ Club has to its credit an extended list of
activities. It fathered the evening high schools’ walking
movement; it inaugurated a campaign of publicity; it has
through Pathfinder Hocking planned walks of from one day to
one week for individuals and groups; it has done much to raise
pedestrianism from its low estate to an equality with other
sports and the end is not yet. ‘Hocking,’ said a member of a
rival organization, ‘has done more for walking than any other
man in America, but--’ and the rest of the sentence I have
transferred to that unpublished page in the annals of walking
on which the recording secretary spilled his ink.

“A few years ago the Walkers’ Association mapped out a most
elaborate program. With the consummation of its plans, however,
the war materially interfered. It was intended to create a
large number of walking squads. There was to be a squad for the
‘tired business man’--that variety of the genus homo of whom we
read much and whom we never see; a cross-country squad, which
would take tramps similar to the hikes of the Fresh Air Club;
an afternoon squad for the man who desired to spend his Sunday
mornings in dreams; and any other kind of squad that anyone
might desire to suggest.

“It planned the establishment of affiliated clubs in other
cities, and ultimately an organization which would in some
respects resemble the _Wandervogel_, the great national
pedestrian body of Germany. At the present time it has a
prosperous branch at Cleveland with a membership in excess of
five hundred.

“In the meantime, before a consummation of their more ambitious
plans can be hoped for, much less realized, it were well if a
federation of all the walking clubs in New York was perfected,
with a common headquarters, where maps and data of much value
might be made available to all hikers, and where frequent
gatherings might be held for the interchange of ideas and
experiences. And to the attainment of this object the Walkers’
Association may well address itself.”

WANDERLUST

“Wanderlust” is the appellative under which Saturday afternoon walks in the vicinity of Philadelphia are organized. They have been conducted for now ten years. Schedules of walks are published quarterly in advance, and the leaflets bear this advertisement:

“These walks are arranged for the general public. There are no
fees, dues nor other requirements. Everyone is welcome, on one
walk or all. All that is necessary is to be at the starting
place at the time appointed. The only cost is that of carfare.
The walks are all about five miles, and often include some
points of interest, although no special effort is made by the
leaders toward that aim. No fast walking is done, as new people
come each week, and might not be able to keep up. The whole
aim of the walks is to get people out into the open, to learn
how even a simple exercise like walking can mean strength and
health for those who seek it, and pleasure for all.… Copies
[of this announcement] will be mailed only to those who send
a stamped, addressed envelope to any active member of the
Committee, or to the Secretary.”

The secretary (address 351 East Chelton Avenue, Germantown, Pa.) writes (June 13, 1919):

“The Wanderlust goes on about the same as it has done since
1910, though our numbers have been much smaller during and
since the war. So many of our followers were engaged in war
work, or working overtime, that we noticed their absence very
much. For many years our average was about fifty, but for the
past two years it has been around thirty.

“We have two classes of walkers, the regulars, many of whom
have been along from the start, and the irregulars, who come
from one to a dozen times, and seem to drop away for no reason
we can learn. Many people come once and never again, probably
disappointed to find the walkers a happy lot, who apparently
need little to satisfy them. That conclusion we arrived at
after hearing their remarks on many occasions. But the critics
were not ‘hikers’ and did not have the spirit.

“About the permanence of such an undertaking, I can only
say that I feel sure we have lasted so long because we
avoided any form or attempt at organization, and kept it a
free-for-all-come-once-or-always outing party.

“We profited by the mistakes of some other cities, where they
organized, with the usual factional rivalry, and breaking-up
of the club, and in another case, the growth of an exclusive
club, shutting out many who could not afford to continue. So
we have fought all attempts (on the part of a few) to organize
in any way. Of course that means that someone must head the
committee and volunteer to be the secretary or chairman. Being
an assistant to the Director of Physical Education, I was
asked to take charge of the Wanderlust about eight years ago
and am still a willing secretary, and believe that by keeping
the hike under the Department we are keeping it from breaking
up or changing into a less desirable form. Our aim is to give
an opportunity to grown people to get some of the physical
training and efficiency that the school children get in our
schools, and at the same time to encourage outdoor ‘play’ for
young and old.

“Unfortunately this year our Board felt unable to bear the
small expense necessary, so we are charging a small sum for the
announcements and so far have been able to be self-supporting.
But it is not in keeping with our ‘free’ policy, and we hope
soon to do away with the charges, small as they are.”

THE PITTSBURGH HEALTH CLUB

This organization, now fifteen years old, conducts weekly walks. The secretary’s address is 249 Martsolf Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa.

THE PRAIRIE CLUB

The Prairie Club, of Chicago, was organized in 1908 by a committee of the Playground Association of Chicago as “Saturday Afternoon Walks.” It was incorporated in 1911 as “The Prairie Club.” The objects of the club are: “The promotion of outdoor recreation in the form of walks and outings, camping, and canoeing; the encouragement of the love of nature and the dissemination of knowledge of the attractions of the country adjacent to the city of Chicago and of the Central West; and the preservation of those regions in which such outdoor recreation may be pursued.” There are three kinds of memberships: active, associate, and honorary. The initiation fee for active membership is $2.00, and the annual dues are $2.00. The club maintains a Beach House and Camp, situated in the heart of the Indiana dunes, on the south shore of Lake Michigan, 47 miles from Chicago, the privileges of which are available to active members of the club and their guests. The club also publishes an attractive monthly bulletin. During the year 1918 the club conducted 42 Saturday afternoon walks, 8 all-day walks, 4 week-end outings, and 1 extended outing. Up to March, 1919, the club reported 645 active members.

THE SIERRA CLUB

The Sierra Club, of San Francisco, California, is the largest of American pedestrian clubs, with a membership of more than 2,000. It was founded in 1892, and was further distinguished in having as its president, until his death (in 1914), John Muir. Its purposes are defined in these words:

“To explore, enjoy, and render accessible the mountain regions of the Pacific Coast; to publish authentic information concerning them; to enlist the support and cooperation of the people and the Government in preserving the forests and other natural features of the Sierra Nevada.”

The annual dues of the Club are $3 (for the first year, $5). The club headquarters are at 402 Mills Building, San Francisco. A Southern California Section of the Club exists, and advice concerning it may be had of its chairman, address 315 West Third Street, Los Angeles.

THE MOUNTAINEERS

The following note has been furnished by the secretary of the organization:

“To explore and study the mountains, forests, and water courses
of the Northwest; to gather into permanent form the history
and traditions of this region; to preserve, by protective
legislation or otherwise, the natural beauty of north-western
America; to make expeditions into these regions in fulfilment
of the above purposes; to encourage a spirit of good-fellowship
among all lovers of outdoor life--these were the avowed
purposes for which a group of nature lovers met in Seattle in
January, 1907, and organized The Mountaineers. Since then, the
membership has expanded to over half a thousand, and knows no
geographical bounds. Nearly a hundred men and women contributed
themselves in the recent war, while those at home rendered
active service in collecting sphagnum moss, making surgical
dressings, and otherwise trying to do their part. Branches have
been organized, property acquired, permanent funds established,
and the Club has now become one of the worthwhile organizations
of the Pacific Northwest.

“Summer outings and the snowshoe trip to Mt. Rainier with which
the Club welcomes in each new year are the most striking
of its activities. For three weeks each summer a hobnailed,
khaki-clad party of from fifty to one hundred men and women
enjoy a well planned hike into some mountainous region, and
usually climb some famous peak. Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, Mt.
Olympus, Glacier Peak, Mt. Stewart, Mt. St. Helens, and many
others have been climbed once or more. Glacier National Park,
as well as our own Monte Cristo region, has also been visited.

“With pack trains, hired packers, and professional cooks along,
little of the unpleasant work of camping falls on the members,
yet, with each individual’s dunnage limited to thirty-five
pounds, and with frequent shifting of camps and plenty of snow
and rock work, genuine outing experience is afforded. The
leadership is wholly by members, and every precaution is taken
for the safety of the party.

“The snowshoe trip to Mt. Rainier in midwinter must be taken to
be comprehended. Paradise Valley in summer is brilliant with
its mountain flowers, but in winter it is enchantingly somber
with its deep-laid snow, through which emerge the conical
trees with their symmetry of drooping branches peculiar to
the snow-laden conifers. Snowshoeing, skiing, tobogganing,
and climbing afford ample exercise, while the hotel (usually
approached through a snow tunnel) with its comfortable beds and
provisions brought up in summer time, relieves the party of the
usual hardships of winter trips. In the evenings, before the
big fireplaces, vaudeville performances, circuses, and other
entertainments rival similar affairs held in the evenings of
the summer outings.

“Winter and summer trips are taken to Snoqualmie Lodge, a
large log structure built by the Club near the backbone of
the Cascade Range, but easily accessible both to railroad and
highway, as well as to rugged mountains like Chair Peak and
Silver Tip.

“A wholly different region may be enjoyed at the Club’s
Rhododendron Park, a large area across Puget Sound, brilliant
each May with a profusion of the white and pink of the state
flower. The Club is planning the construction of a cabin in the
mountains near Everett, and also one near Tacoma.

“Lecturers are procured for monthly meetings, a collection of
slides maintained of the mountains visited by the Club, botany
and other sciences pursued, and the results of each year’s
activities summarized in an annual publication. A bulletin is
also published forecasting each month’s activities.

“Beneficial as the foregoing may be, the greatest service to
the greatest number is afforded by what are prosaically known
as ‘local walks.’ On each of two or three Sundays of the month
a committee in charge has carefully planned a hike of from
eight to twenty miles by road, trail, or beach. As many as two
hundred persons have sometimes gone on one of these trips.
Stenographers, teachers, clerks, professors, nurses, lawyers,
doctors, men and women, are taken from the cramped atmosphere
of offices, schoolrooms, and hospitals out into the freedom of
the wild, to breathe the fresh sea air, and to acquire that
physical health and hearty mien which are such stimulants to
the growth of character.”

The secretary’s address is 402 Burke Building, Seattle, Washington.

Other western mountaineering clubs are the Mazamas, of Oregon, headquarters, Suite 213-214 Northwestern Bank Building, Portland; and the Colorado Mountain Club.

ASSOCIATED MOUNTAINEERING CLUBS OF NORTH AMERICA

The Associated Mountaineering Clubs of North America, an organization effected in 1916, characterizes itself as a _Bureau_. It has brought into association thirty-one clubs and societies, having an aggregate membership of 62,000. A list of these follows:

American Alpine Club, Philadelphia and New York.

American Forestry Association, Washington.

American Game Protective Association, New York.

American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Adirondack Camp and Trail Club, Lake Placid Club, N. Y.

Appalachian Mountain Club, Boston and New York.

Boone and Crockett Club, New York.

British Columbia Mountaineering Club, Vancouver.

Colorado Mountain Club, Denver.

Dominion Parks Branch, Department of the Interior, Ottawa.

Field and Forest Club, Boston.

Forest Service, U. S. Dept. Agriculture, Washington.

Fresh Air Club, New York.

Geographic Society of Chicago.

Geographical Society of Philadelphia.

Green Mountain Club, Rutland, Vermont.

Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club, Honolulu.

Klahhane Club, Port Angeles, Washington.

Mazamas, Portland, Oregon.

Mountaineers, Seattle and Tacoma.

National Association of Audubon Societies, New York.

National Parks Association, Washington.

National Park Service, U. S. Dept. Interior, Washington, D. C.

New York Zoological Society, New York.

Prairie Club, Chicago.

Rocky Mountain Climbers Club, Boulder, Colorado.

Sagebrush and Pine Club, Yakima, Washington.

Sierra Club, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Tramp and Trail Club, New York.

Travel Club of America, New York.

Wild Flower Preservation Society of America, New York.

The Bulletin of the Bureau, published in May, 1919, states:

“Associated by common aims these clubs and societies are
standing for the protection and development of scenic regions,
and for the preservation of tree, flower, bird, and animal
life. We encourage the creation, development, and protection of
National Parks, Monuments, and Forest Reserves, and our members
are being educated by literature and lectures to a deeper
appreciation of our natural wonders and resources.

“During the past year the Bureau has continued to send to its
members many books on mountaineering and outdoor subjects. The
collection of mountain literature and photographs in the New
York Public Library, 476 Fifth Avenue, has been increased. The
Library has published a selected Bibliography of Mountaineering
Literature, which was compiled by the librarian of the American
Alpine Club, and expects to issue a similar list of the
literature of Wild-life Protection.… The secretary has written
and has published a series of articles on little-known scenic
regions of North America, and he is lecturing before leading
clubs and societies on The National Wonders of the United
States and Canada.…

“Lantern slides may be borrowed by members of the Association
on application.”

Note is made in the Bulletin of the International Congress of Alpinists, which is to be held at Monaco, May 10 to 16, 1920. Relationships with the several organizations which have to do with the care of and development of the national parks are explained. A directory of the constituent organizations is given.

The secretary is Mr. LeRoy Jeffers, 476 Fifth Avenue, New York City.

ORGANIZATION AND CONDUCT OF WALKING CLUBS

OVERFLOW

Hush!
With sudden gush
As from a fountain, sings in yonder bush
The Hermit Thrush.

Hark!
Did ever Lark
With swifter scintillations fling the spark
That fires the dark?

Again,
Like April rain
Of mist and sunshine mingled, moves the strain
O’er hill and plain.

Strong
As love, O Song,
In flame or torrent sweep through Life along,
O’er grief and wrong.

John Banister Tabb.

V

ORGANIZATION AND CONDUCT OF WALKING CLUBS

Those who live reasonably near the home or field of existing clubs are urged to relate themselves to them. Don’t organize hastily. Be sure, first, of two things: that a fair-sized continuing membership is to be expected, to be advantaged by a club; and, second, that, in the multiplicity of already existing societies, there is place for another. Remember that the persons who will be interested and whose interest and support are desired, will in large part be persons already giving much time to altruistic activity. Think this matter through, taking advice of persons of experience and judgment. It may be better, in a given case, to widen the activities of some existing organization--canoe club, perhaps, or Audubon Society--than to form a new one. Pedestrianism may well have place in the program of school, Y. M. C. A., or Boy Scout Troop. But of this something will be said in the sequel. In a city, however, a walking club may well stand on its own feet; and, in such a favored region as the Green Mountains, for example, to organize a walking club comes near to being a public duty.

THE ACTIVITIES OF A WALKING CLUB

Before opening a discussion of the formalities of organization, it will be well to consider what the normal activities of a walking club are; for to the end in view the machinery of organization, simple or complex, should be adapted. The activities of a club may be regarded as of two sorts, and, in lieu of better terms, may be designated as primary and secondary. Primary activities concern the actual business of walking: development of the pedestrian resources of some particular region, trail making, map making, publishing of data, maintaining a bureau, conducting hikes, affording instruction, and contributing seriously to the growing literature of pedestrianism. Secondary activities consist in conducting dinners and other social entertainment, in providing illustrated lectures on travel, popular science, and kindred subjects. There is need of care, to keep such activities in their proper secondary place. The primary activities require further consideration.

_Development of the Pedestrian Resources of Some Particular Region_

This should be an aim of every walking club. The region to be developed will in many--in most cases, indeed--be the region about home. Clubs in large cities, however, and clubs situated in regions not suitable for walking, may well turn attention, wholly or in part, to regions far from home. The mountainous parts of a continent are the natural recreation grounds for the whole people, and those who live far away may still have their proper share in making these parts more readily available. In the Alps, the pedestrian is pleased to find the lodges where he stops at night called by the names of distant cities, whose citizens maintain them--_Breslauerhütte_, for example, or _Dusseldorferhütte_. In this country, too, the Green Mountain Club (see page 84) has its New York Section; and to the New York Section it has allotted a certain portion of the Long Trail (a length of fifty miles). The New York club, accordingly, while not neglectful of pedestrianism at home, opens, develops, and maintains its part of the route in Vermont, and conducts annually a hike in that region.