Lacking easy access to something approximating a bison bladder, or my own goatskin to utilize, I opted to fashion my skins from the bota bags commonly found at any sporting goods store.  Here are some photos of the process.

I began by threading some thick hemp twine through the loops around the perimeter to use as a cord.  Then I traced the bag’s outline on a grocery bag.  I had to measure the circumference of the bag when full in order to know how much extra room to leave on the sides of the outline.  Using the paper template, I cut up the rabbit pelts purchased at Sutter’s Fort, and stitched them together to form a outer lining to the waterskin.  The two ends of the hemp were joined with a fisherman’s hitch and the waterskin was complete.  I may whittle down a wine cork to act as a stopper as I find the plastic cap to the bota bag unattractive.

While easily explained in text, the task proved quite laborious in deed–principally due to the dense fur of the rabbit pelts.  I cannot cheerfully recommend the use of rabbit for the sewing projects of a novice (like me) for I found it exceedingly difficult to pull the thread without dragging along through the hole a large clump of dense fur.  It became necessary to trim the fur around the edges of the pelt to as short a length possible in order to avoid this.  On my second waterskin I prepared the pelts with such a trimmed edge, and it greatly reduced the amount of effort and time required.

• Hudson Bay/Whitney wool point blanket, red, 72″x48″.  8″ L-shaped slice on the interior, partially sewn shut.  To be used as horse blanket, converted into a poncho, or cut into strips for breechclout.
• Wool fabric, black plaid, 2 yard strip.  Likely to be used as breechclout.
• Wool poncho, red and tan, fringed.  A little small but a good price.
• Cotton crepe, unbleached, 1 yard strip.  Good for bandages, sacks.
• 4 Extra flints and 1 steel striker.
• 2 Glover’s needles, 1 hooked leather needle.
• 10 beeswax candles.
• Small clippers.
• Small deerskin poke sack w/ draw string.
• Small tarred leather powder flask.
• Small folding knife with leather sheath and cord; to be hung about the neck.
• Oilcloth satchel; to contain journals and other items deemed sensitive to moisture.
• 4 rabbit pelts.
• Extra sinew
• Small awl
• Small steel shovel head, on which is affixed a tapered steel tube, in which one could inset a strong branch for a handle.
• Iron picket pin, for grazing of stock.  May also be used as a handle for the above shovel head.

All in all a very satisfactory showing.  I found the faire sadly lacking in the remaining clothing I seek–a woolen flannel pullover and linen pullover.  I had also hoped to find an oilskin tarp.  However I also saw things I had not even considered, such as the shovel head, and purchased a few things as backup due to the favorable price, such as the woolens.

Wandering inside the historic walls of the fort, browsing wares, was a exceedingly pleasurable experience.  The docents were preparing a sizable repast of fajitas, and the smell of them on the skillet over an open fire gave the air a savory flavor.

For the long drive I downloaded to my ipod the unabridged journals of Lewis and Clark.  I found this passed the 6 hours rapidly, in fact I was hesitant to end my journey, such was my level of engagement with the narrative.  It’s really helping to inspire me, and build my excitement level.

I’ve found, over the course of about the last month, that the repetitive nature of many of my preparations had begun to take on a toilsome air.  Bake hardtack, grind pemmican, load and unload Bootsie.  The vast majority of my free-time devoted to running various errands,  and the remainder spent pondering what I’m forgetting, what might go wrong.  Sometimes it all feels like so many chores.  It’s important to remind myself that all these actions are in service to the greater adventure to come, and indeed someday I will look back on these chores with nostalgia and perhaps satisfaction.  I try and envision Merriweather Lewis running all over St. Louis trying to make last minute arrangements and secure all loose ends.  I will henceforth view my duties with the same anticipation and glee with which I read of his.

I took this opportunity away from home to subsist on pemmican alone; thereby also saving myself the expense of 3 meals a day eaten out.  The taste of the stuff is agreeable enough, but I could only consume it in small bites as the texture and greasiness are unpleasant.  It’s hard to imagine being able to force down a volume sufficient to sustain my health, but I suppose the necessity will be driven by my hunger.  I could perceive no ill-effects on my system, internal and otherwise, though by the end of the weekend I was feeling mildly queasy and craving some kind of fresh fruit or vegetable.

Things that give encouragement:

• Bootsie handles the pack saddle without complaint.  I can rig it on her and hang both panniers in a very short time and I feel confident with my use of the diamond hitch.
• It seems the panniers have ample volume to carry all of my gear.  Based on my calculations I wont be carrying an absurd amount of weight either.  I built a plywood frame consisting of a bottom and one side and they seem to prevent the panniers from sagging and losing shape.
• I can keep a pretty steady 2.5mph pace with Bootsie on level ground.  I expect this to improve as she becomes used to what will become her daily duty.  I feel like she is bonding to me; trusting me more to lead her and keep her safe.
• I have most of my major items purchased or made.  This weekend I will attend the Mountain Man Traders Faire at Fort Sutter where I hope to buy the bulk of my remaining necessities.  I’m really looking forward to shopping insed the walls of the historic fort, browsing wears under a canvas tent, and qureying some of the seasoned mountain men for advice
• I have only 4 more batches of hardtack to bake.  I’ve got the pemmican process down to about 1 hour per week’s supply, meaning I need about 18 hours in the kitchen to complete my rations.  I’ve decided to finish production in Oregon where I can devote 2 solid days to making the rest.  It will be fresher that way too.
• I’ve got solid expertise to help me in the form of Bob the Mountain Man and Louie the Mule Man, not to mention the countless other folks who’ve generously offered their assistance and support.  Ken from Western Feed in Yucaipa might even be able to trailer Bootsie up to Oregon for me!

On paper I’m feeling confident.  It’s all the intangibles of the trail that give me doubts about my success.  What if Bootsie goes lame, falls ill, falls off a ravine!?  What if my saddle breaks, or the moccasins don’t hold up, or the pemmican plays havoc with my insides?  Many of these factors could be out of my control, and thus worrying about them will serve little use.  I’ve chosen this endeavor and am committed to see it through, come what may.  Yet, that doesn’t prevent me from continually questioning if I’ve thought things through enough, prepared enough.  I constantly make mental evaluations of my plans, my state of readiness.  I currently exist on the bizarre margin between hyper-vigilance and happy submission to the fates of the trail.

I finished my tomahawk sheath, adding a thick belt loop so it can hang around my waist.  On the advice of the verbose Bob McLeish, my Senior Technical Advisor, I also made some very rudimentary center-seam moccasins using this moccasin pattern.  These will be more comfortable for walking around camp, or if I have to get up in the middle of the night to untangle a mule or defeat large bear in hand to hand combat.  The leather I used isn’t the highest quality and, it being my first time, the stitching could be more precise–I’m sure they could be more comfy.  Hopefully a little wear will conform them to my feet.

The most encouraging development of the week is my packing trial with Bootsie.  Granted we only went a little over a mile, but I didn’t want to take chances with our first go.  Though it should have come as no surprise given the price and pedigree of my fine steed, it was with some trepidation that I rigged the sawbuck saddle on her back for the first time.  Happily, she barely batted an eye at the whole ungainly apparatus–breechings, breast-collar and all.  I loaded a 50lb sack of feed in each pannier and hung them from each side of we went without complaint.  Everything with the mule has been such a steep learning curve for me I was relieved to not get any resistance or confusion with this area.

In a way, I think she liked having the packs on.  I perceived a certain calmness or settling of her spirit.  Perhaps it wasn’t enjoyable, but rather she just submitted further to the task I was asking of her.  I’ve heard that some mules prefer to be working and look forward to the day’s march or plowing.  Perhaps feeling the saddle on her back reminded her of her glorious youth driving a covered wagon from Arkansas to Idaho.  Perhaps she felt like she had a purpose again…

There remain many facets of the packing experience that I have to figure out, but at least getting the saddle on and walking around a bit isn’t one of them.  I’m going to practice throwing the diamond hitch tonight with a miniature mock up of the mule and saddle. I thought these diamond hitch instructions were pretty useful if you want to learn.

I tended overestimate the weights or round up an ounce, to give myself a cushion.  This will be offset I’m sure by the missing items I’ve yet to weigh.  Approximately 86 lbs of the load will be Bootsie’s feed, which is unfortunate.  If I were truly doing it in the spirit of Fremont she’d have only what she could graze upon, and I’d have an additional 30 days worth of supplies I could bring!  I’d only need to be resupplied every 6 or so weeks–now that would be a real expedition!

I’m not including anything that I will be carrying on my person, as it wont count towards my mule’s load.  That amount I will determine at a later time.

I ground up a pound of the dried beef from Tillamook Country Smoker today and started playing around with my pemmican recipe.  It’s starting to look like adding nuts and raisins will affect the consistency of the mixture and inhibit effective shaping into bars.  Perhaps it will be better to just mix the beef and tallow alone–I can have the nuts and berries in a separate container to snack on.  It might be nice to have the variety, instead of one big clump of all the ingredients.

This got me thinking on containers further.  I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to shape the pemmican.  Do I pour a giant batch into a casserole dish and cut it into bricks as I’ve seen others do?  Do I find a 2 or 3 cup container and press each individual ration from that mold?  Do I wrap in wax paper, or cheesecloth, do I dip it in wax?  The stuff is very soft and greasy and crushes easily.

I’m toying with the idea, though it would cost $200-300, of buying a case of 16oz tins and making each ration an actual sealed unit.  It would be akin to what might have been provided on an 19th Century military expedition.  This would resolve a lot of questions on how to measure, package, and store my food supplies.  Given that I saved a considerable sum thanks to the beef donation, I could probably afford the purchase of these tins.  It would perhaps give my trip less of a fur trapper aesthetic and more of a military explorer feel, which I would enjoy.  Maybe I’ll even make labels similar to the one pictured for some extra satisfaction.

Other containers I’ll need to acquire are some screw top aluminum or tin bottles.  I’ll be transporting lamp oil for my lantern, denatured alcohol for my stove, and grain alcohol for a night cap.  Each will need a lightweight sealable vessel.  I’ll need tins for my other foodstuffs as well–oats, butter, sugar, coffee.  The more compartmentalized my supplies the easier to load, unload, and find things.

I also bought a nice thick, stiff cowhide scrap. I want to make a sheath for my tomahawk and the veg-tan that I was originally going to use just seemed too flimsy. It was useful for a template however. Unfortunately I got distracted while cutting it and messed up my original plan. I had intended to leave a pair of long straps attached to the top to fold over for belt loops, but now I suppose I’ll have to just lash the loops on as separate pieces…

Further down the road in Yucaipa I stopped in at Western Feed and Livestock Supplies to order my pack saddle from Ken. I got a sawbuck saddle and 2 over-sized panniers, a manty, rope and a scale. It will arrive this week and then I can begin getting Bootsie accustomed to having all this stuff slung on her back.

Spending the night out at the ranch gave me a great chance to test the warmth of my bedroll, and it performed admirably. Currently I have two sheepskins inside what is essentially a long oiled canvas sack. Seeing as how each pelt amounts to a 4 inch thick wool blank with plenty of loft I would expect this to keep me warm well below freezing. It got down to at least 37°, and I was warm as can be.

Of course this set up is quite bulky and heavy. I believe the bedroll weighs around 20 lbs, which might be excessive. I’ll need to play around with it–possibly trim the edges of the pelts to their absolute minimum width to cover me. (This would be good as I’ve been considering lining the insoles of my moccasins with a piece of the sheep pelt for cushioning.) I might even shear once of the pelts down considerably to save weight, using the light one on top for warm nights and the thick one for cold nights.

I’m willing to carry the extra weight and bulk of a good bedroll for the sake of a comfortable night sleep. A passage in Galton’s “The Art of Travel” really struck me a seasoned and sound advice:

“Indeed, the oldest travellers are ever those who go the most systematically to work, in making their sleeping-places dry and warm. Unless a traveller makes himself at home and comfortable in the bush, he will never be quite content with his lot; but will fall into the bad habit of looking forwards to the end of his journey, and to his return to civilisation, instead of complacently interesting himself in its continuance. This is a frame of mind in which few great journeys have been successfully accomplished…”

On Sunday I payed a visit to Bootsie and we had a nice little walk around the neighborhood. She is leading very calmly and obediently. There is a storm drain up the street of which she is scared to death, and I’m glad to have the opportunity to practice on working her past her fear of a specific object. This will no doubt be useful practice for fording streams or crossing bridges and the like.

I started with six lengths of cordage, about 6′ long. I started with one big square knot, and then radiated out wit smaller ones. It looks a little like a flower.

From there, you just alternate square knots to form a basket.

Eventually you can slip the gourd into the basket and start to tighten up the knots for a nice fit.

I gave myself a lot of extra cord so I could braid it into a rope. Hopefully I can lash it onto the pack saddle and it will always be within reach.

Once I got into the swing of it, it went pretty fast. Though somewhat tedious, I tried not to rush my work and to ensure that every knot was true and the braiding tight. Were my handiwork to fail it could result in my gourd falling and splitting open; my precious water supplies compromised.

Pondering this served to remind me that throughout most of our history a man lived and died by the quality of the tools he crafted, the care he gave to his possessions, the forethought and planning he gave to his actions. The world I live in today is blessed with such abundance and ease (generally at the expense of Chinese peasant labor, sadly). If the sole of my shoe wears out, I can replace the whole pair for dollars. If a kitchen knife breaks, another can be had in 20 minutes. Part of the appeal of this expedition will lie in knowing that I have absolutely no one other than myself to rely upon. I’ll have to stitch the sole back together myself. The knife cannot be allowed to break.