e let linen or cotton or
silk undergarments get thoroughly moistened, the first chilly little
wind is your undoing. You will shiver and shake before the hottest fire,
and nothing short of a complete change and a rub-down will do you any
good.

Now, of course in the wilderness you expect to undergo extremes of
temperature, and occasionally to pass unprotected through a rainstorm or
a stream. Then you will discover that wool dries quickly; that even
when damp it soon warms comfortably to the body. I have waded all day in
early spring freshet water with no positive discomfort except for the
cold ring around my legs which marked the surface of the water.

[Sidenote: Wear Woolen Underclothes Always]

And if you are wise, you will wear full long-sleeved woolen undershirts
even on a summer trip. If it is a real trip, you are going to sweat
anyway, no matter how you strip down to the work. And sooner or later
the sun will dip behind a cloud or a hill; or a cool breezelet will
wander to you resting on the slope; or the inevitable chill of evening
will come out from the thickets to greet you--and you will be very glad
of your woolen underwear.

A great many people go to the opposite extreme. They seem to think that
because they are to live in the open air, they will probably freeze. As
a consequence of this delusion, they purchase underclothes an inch
thick. This is foolishness, not only because such a weight is
unnecessary and unhealthful, but also--even if it were merely a
question of warmth--because one suit of thick garments is not nearly so
warm as two suits of thin. Whenever the weather turns very cold on you,
just put on the extra undershirt over the one you are wearing, and you
will be surprised to discover how much warmth two gauze tissues--with
the minute air space between them--can give. Therefore, though you must
not fail to get full length woolen underclothes, you need not buy them
of great weight. The thinnest Jaeger is about right.

[Sidenote: The Laundry Problem]

Two undershirts and three pairs of drawers are all you ever will need on
the most elaborate trip. You perhaps cannot believe that until you have
gotten away from the idea that laundry must be done all at once. In the
woods it is much handier to do it a little at a time. Soap your
outershirt at night; rinse it in the morning; dry it on top of your pack
during the first two hours. In the meantime wear your sweater; or, if it
is warm enough, appear i