Lucky's Trekking Tips - Muzzle Blasts June 2025

Comfort From Home: Not every trek has to be painful! In fact, if you are not comfortable trekking on foot or by horse you need to rethink a few things. First, why are you doing it? Is it to test your gear, test yourself or to have fun? In my opinion it should be all three. This is a hobby, and we do it for the love of it and to have fun.

Most people are miserable over one big thing that I have been hitting on for a long time: they carry too much gear. They spend too much time packing and unpacking and the loads are heavy. But one thing most people overlook is to have some small thing that is a comfort of home, something to savor around the fire or spruce up a cup of coffee on a cold wet night.

For me that “go to” is chocolate! In the colder months you can carry a bit of hard chocolate to melt in your coffee or to break off and savor while riding or sitting by the fire. I have managed to keep chocolate from melting in extreme heat if it is deep in your pannier on a pack horse. Short of that you can carry a small tin with powdered chocolate to mix in your coffee or just with water. Here is a great website on the history of chocolate: Editor’s Note: Click here:

You would be surprised how something so simple can put a nice cap on a miserable day and sends you off to sleep more relaxed! Another thing I have carried is a small tin of hard black licorice to suck on while riding in the heat. It helps stave off your bodies demand for water and passing the tin around unexpectedly to your trekking mates is a nice surprise. You can find what I have used at: thecandylady.com. Every trek you should have something like this or try different things, even the fur trappers in the Rockies got something, if available at the rendezvous and enjoyed it until it was gone. Every trek in the woods should get better for you and more comfortable as you improve your skills.

For those that do Rev War trekking, try carrying some cone sugar for that “go to” treat. I am sure if you are clever enough you could use the cone sugar and water to make a paste to coat some meat for cooking over the fire! Leave the cone sugar nippers at home, use your knife or hawk to break it off. No sense adding that extra weight. You can always chunk it before you leave. Historicenterprises.com has some very accurate cone sugar. See you around a fire or on the trail! 

Written by Gerry "Lucky" Messmer. Reprinted with permission from the author.

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Lucky's Trekking Tips - Muzzle Blasts May 2025

The Trekking Pard: Last night I was lying in bed around midnight, wide awake after drinking too much iced tea while doing the dreaded income taxes thinking about my next article topic and it dawned on me what to write about, the trekking pard!

I have done treks alone and while a nice break from society, I cannot lie, they are boring! I would rather watch grass grow than trek alone. First off, the safety of having someone with you makes good common sense since you never know when an injury will happen. We all read lots of stories about people out alone and having to do drastic things to survive. Most of the time these things can be prevented with the application of common sense and having a trekking pard.

My great friend Bryan Knapp and I have racked up some time in the woods together having fun and being miserable at times. The pictures in this article are on a particularly cold 5-day winter camp in December. Our only game acquired was a huge raccoon that we ate down to the bone.

Having a trail pard makes miserable not so miserable and fun more enjoyable and memorable. It just so happens that Bryan is a gourmet cook and that makes all the difference. He made that raccoon taste like roast beef, no joke!

Having a trail pard helps split up camp chores and each person brings a different skill set to the woods. Bryan and I can go to town setting up camp and have it done in no time since we think alike and have camped a time or two together. One starts a fire while one gathers wood and then after that we each set up our bedroll, but not until after the team chores are done.

When finding a trekking pard you don’t always have to find someone that is period correct like you are and that’s ok. We all come into this hobby from different angles, and we all start somewhere.

It helps if you live close to each other to make logistics easier. If they are modern, let them come modern. After they see how you do with period clothing, they may want to take the next step, and it makes the time around a fire more enjoyable and the trek safer.

Remember, for us this is a hobby and not our way of life. We must be smart about things, safe and return home to our loved ones and for those still working, to your job and means of making a living. See you in the woods! 

Written by Gerry "Lucky" Messmer. Reprinted with permission from the author.

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