Trappers Path
Just fresh untrodden snow was there before them; And snowshoe tracks was all that lay behind; Alone they tramped the long and lonely traplines; And knew content and ease and peace of mind.- Leslie Pardy, Ode to Trappers, in Tim Borlase, Songs of Labrador.
A trapper's path extended in a zigzag pattern of about three days' walk from one end to the other, with 200-300 traps set about half a kilometer apart along the way. Traplines were blazed with an axe, and other line was considered to close if it lay within 15 kilometers on either side. Smaller tilts were built about half a day's walk apart so the trapper could stop to thaw and skin each day's catch.
On shorter trips, some trappers took young men (often brothers) along with them. Horace Goudie started as such an apprentice with her father, and a friend Douglas Best.
As more and more trappers' sons grew up and began to trap, it became necessary to set traplines at greater distances from the winter home. Finally, many trappers moved into the Height of Land (inland, where Labrador 's many rivers have their sources).
In some cases, paths were rented to other trappers for a season especially if, for example, a widow had no sons old enough to go trapping. The owner of the trapline supplied to tenant with a canoe, tent and stove, and received one-third of the price of the furs in exchange.
Before going out each year, the men would have to make a new canoe or cover the old one with canvas. Their wives would make canvas bags that could hold about 25 kilos of food, and which could be easily loaded aboard the canoe. A little bag called a prog bag was also carried. It contained sewing tools, a first-aid kit, a box of safety matches, a Bible, a picture of the family, and a flask of brandy for emergencies.
In September, the trappers started out for their trapping grounds in canoes. When they came to a rapid, one man would tie a rope to the nose of the canoe, while another walked along the shore, the other end of the rope tied around his waist. The man still in the canoe used a pole to steer away from rocks. At a wilder rapid or waterfall, it was necessary to portage their equipment. In this case, they would have to carry everything canoe and all on their backs as they walked along the shore, skirting the fast water.
It took about three weeks traveling in this way to get to the first of their small cabins, or tilts. The main tilt at the beginning of the trapline was larger and more comfortable than the others spread along the route. It was here that the trapper stowed his canoe, on a scaffold, covered with spruce boughs. Before separating, trapping partners would agree to meet at a certain tilt on a chosen day, possibly a month later.
To aid in your marathon run we have done most of this preparation for you and it is wise to concentrate on your running schedule.
A trapper's path extended in a zigzag pattern of about three days' walk from one end to the other, with 200-300 traps set about half a kilometer apart along the way. Traplines were blazed with an axe, and other line was considered to close if it lay within 15 kilometers on either side. Smaller tilts were built about half a day's walk apart so the trapper could stop to thaw and skin each day's catch.
On shorter trips, some trappers took young men (often brothers) along with them. Horace Goudie started as such an apprentice with her father, and a friend Douglas Best.
As more and more trappers' sons grew up and began to trap, it became necessary to set traplines at greater distances from the winter home. Finally, many trappers moved into the Height of Land (inland, where Labrador 's many rivers have their sources).
In some cases, paths were rented to other trappers for a season especially if, for example, a widow had no sons old enough to go trapping. The owner of the trapline supplied to tenant with a canoe, tent and stove, and received one-third of the price of the furs in exchange.
Before going out each year, the men would have to make a new canoe or cover the old one with canvas. Their wives would make canvas bags that could hold about 25 kilos of food, and which could be easily loaded aboard the canoe. A little bag called a prog bag was also carried. It contained sewing tools, a first-aid kit, a box of safety matches, a Bible, a picture of the family, and a flask of brandy for emergencies.
In September, the trappers started out for their trapping grounds in canoes. When they came to a rapid, one man would tie a rope to the nose of the canoe, while another walked along the shore, the other end of the rope tied around his waist. The man still in the canoe used a pole to steer away from rocks. At a wilder rapid or waterfall, it was necessary to portage their equipment. In this case, they would have to carry everything canoe and all on their backs as they walked along the shore, skirting the fast water.
It took about three weeks traveling in this way to get to the first of their small cabins, or tilts. The main tilt at the beginning of the trapline was larger and more comfortable than the others spread along the route. It was here that the trapper stowed his canoe, on a scaffold, covered with spruce boughs. Before separating, trapping partners would agree to meet at a certain tilt on a chosen day, possibly a month later.
To aid in your marathon run we have done most of this preparation for you and it is wise to concentrate on your running schedule.