(Originally posted by ML on the Hoods Woods Forum, 07 November 2001; reproduced here with the author's permission)
A Lecture on Tumplines
(With thanks to Mr. Stoskopf for suggesting the topic.)
Ah, the tumpline. The mere word itself is the woodsmoke smell in an old, spark-singed wool Mackinaw, the odor of which evokes bygone days wandering in the timber. But does this centuries-old vestige of overland tramps have a place in today’s pedestrian travels? Join Your Humble Narrator as he once again explores, instructs, and enlightens the members of this Forum.
Readers born after the Lewis and Clark expedition may not even know what a tumpline is. For them, an explanation: The tumpline is a strap of material which runs over the wearer’s forehead and which supports a load on the (some might say unfortunate) wearer’s back. This line may or may not be used in conjunction with shoulder straps, a waist belt, and so on.
Today, only canoeists and students of the trapping era advocate of the tumpline on the North American continent. So has the tumpline largely dropped out of favor for good reason, or is it a neglected item of backwoods lore which we all need to embrace?
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Back when the Good Mr. Hood sold his southern California ranch (complete with spectacular underground bomb shelter), he held something of an epic garage sale. And none other than Yours Truly ended up with his canoe (which, I might add, I still have--thanks again, RH, if you’re reading this).
Canoeists embrace the tumpline for a couple of relatively sound reasons. Most of the duffle in a canoe is best stored in soft bags, waterproof or not. Excessive straps and packframes are an anathema to the squared-away canoeist, for good reason. But canoeists often become their own pack animals during portages, those times when they must schlep their boats and baggage overland for short distances between navigable bodies of water.
So a canoeist wants an adaptable way to carry these bundles, and the tumpline provides it. On each side of the wide headband is a long strap or rope which the canoeist ties to the bundle, box, et cetera. Then, hoisting the bundle onto his back, the tumpline steadies the load, keeps it in position on the back, and the head and neck muscles actually perform part of the load-lifting action. When you’re done with it, you can just roll it up and put it in a pocket, and with only one tumpline you can transport several pieces of different baggage by either lashing them together or making return trips. Thus, the tumpline is light, fast, minimalist, adaptable, and efficient--just what one wants in a piece of outdoor equipment, right?
The absolute best contemporary discussion of the tumpline I have ever read is in Garrett Conover’s 1991 work, "Beyond the Paddle." This book is still in print, and while most of it concerns advanced canoe techniques, the section on tumplines is clear and concise. Conover is a huge advocate of the tumpline, and several photographs along with the text show his recommended techniques for use. Conover recommends a tumpline with some form of adjustment between each end of the headstrap and the longer load-lashing straps. "My guess is that those who are vehemently opposed to the tumpline are those who have never used one without taking the time to fine-tune and ensure a proper fit," he says. "This is the fussiest point in the tumpline equation and requires some patience and experimentation to get right. If one never experiences getting it right, then the anguished howling and abject misery is easy to sympathize with and is entirely justifiable. A tumpline adjusted even a fraction of an inch too long or too short is indeed aggravating beyond belief."
Conover later recommends Herb Evans’ "Canoeing Wilderness Water" (1975) as containing "the most complete discussion of how-to information about the tumpline." Conover also recommends the tumpline, because if one stumbles during a portage, it is easy to dump the load before you suffer a knee-wrenching fall.
Another author, Dillon Wallace in his classic 1912 "Packing and Portaging," describes the construction and use of the tumpline in depth. He recommends "a broad piece of leather some eighteen or twenty inches in length . . . with a leather thong usually about seven feet in length attached to each end." He then goes on to describe how to make up a correct bundle for tumpline portage, much as Mr. Hood describes his bedroll arrangements in Volume 11 of the esteemed Woodsmaster Series. (You have watched Volume 11, haven’t you?) I will say, though, that the construction of the roll does differ in detail from the roll Mr. H. illustrates.
Horace Kephart discusses the tumpline a bit in "Camping and Woodcraft," along with the "bundle" method of carrying one’s possessions. Kephart brings up a good point, though. "Another disadvantage is that whenever you want to get at anything in the pack, the whole thing must be undone and repacked."
He continues: "Generally [the tumpline] will not be used until the shoulders tire; then it relieves the strain. "
Finally, that 1960s stalwart of the woods, Bradford Angier, mentions the tumpline in "Home In Your Pack." He brings up some downfalls: "With the head and neck immobilized by the tumpline, you cannot look around, enjoy the scenery, nor even properly survey the country ahead to pick out the best way. Your eyes are glued to the portage trail, and for the time being you are just a beast of burden with the tumpline a tight band over your head."
Bill Mason, dean of modern canoeists, also has some excellent photos of tumpline use in his two classics, "Path of the Paddle" and "Song of the Paddle." And the truly sharp-eyed will notice that grand old man of the Range of Light, the magnificent, late Norman Clyde, using a tumpline along with a wooden "Alaskan" frame pack way up past the timberline in some of his vintage photos (God bless and keep you, Norman, wherever you are. I hope the rock is warm and you never have to wander far for dry firewood. You’ve been an inspiration.--ML)
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So much for the secondary sources. What’s this author’s personal experience with the tumpline? I’ve tried several, and made a couple of my own. Only certain models of the Duluth packs (see www.duluthpack.com for a company which produces them) still come with tumplines, so far as I know. These are soft-bodied canvas canoe packs (exquisitely made, by the way, but definitely old-tech) designed for the traditionalist. No doubt a modern neoprene drybag is more functional, but canoeing isn’t always about pure function, is it?
Here’s my bottom line: Any modern backpack with a solid, wide, functional waist belt, internal frame or external frame, will carry a load more efficiently than any tumpline setup, or a pack with shoulder straps alone. Oddly shaped loads can be lashed to the pack itself if they won’t fit inside. (I’ve carried entire outboard motors or chainsaws this way, even with an internal-frame pack.)
If you do not have a pack of any sort, or if your pack has only shoulder straps, your may want to experiment with the tump.
Since a tumpline does roll up small enough to fit into a pocket, I have used it when gathering firewood. And for this, I used a tumpline of my own construction.
For the headpiece, I took an 18-inch-long piece of two-inch-wide nylon webbing, and backed it with a piece of polar fleece (my delicate noggin, you know). At each end, I sewed a three-quarter-inch nylon "Fastex" ladder-lock buckle. Through each buckle, I threaded a seven-foot long section of three-quarter-inch nylon strap. The buckle-and-strap arrangement let me fine-tune the load as Conover recommends.
Another version I constructed used shorter 3/4-inch straps (about two feet long) with a loop sewn in one end. To each loop, I fastened a carabiner. This setup let me use parachute cord or whatever to lash up the load, and then I simply clipped into it with the carabiners, adjusted the straps, and stumbled off. Thus, even in relatively steep terrain, carrying the load of wood was a snap. But be advised, I didn’t have too far to go, and trudging along just looking at the path ahead of me like a beast of burden was acceptable.
I bought my first good frame pack from Dick Kelty himself when they were sewn up in the back of his Sun Valley, California shop and the frames were heliarced by men who, only a few years before, were welding up tubing for Lockheed P-38 fighters in Burbank. For heavy loads in steep terrain with good trails, give me a good external frame any time. On skis, snowshoes, or off-trail over really steep terrain (class four and five climbing), the modern, well-made internal frame is the choice. If you do a lot of portaging, or simply want to play around, go ahead and whip up a tumpline for yourself--you can do it in an evening. It’ll be a cheap learning experience, with the exception of the chiropractic bills you may incur for compressed vertebrae.
As always, hope this has served as in inspiration for all you experimenters.
Cheers,
--ML
07.xi.1
Copyright © 2001 by Eric Stoskopf.
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