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Definition of "Siwash" Camping
Posted by Michael Strahan on Feb 12 2006
Thanks, MT, for suggesting a definition of this term. Good idea.
I'm going to take my definition from a book called "Look to the Wilderness", by W. Douglas Burden". This is an excellent book, by the way; one anyone interested in Alaska hunting should have on the shelf. It has several stories of hunting in Alaska. You won't put it down. Unfortunately it is out of print, however I have managed to find copies now and then to give as gifts to some of my hunters. I'm going to quote a few sections, to provide a framework of what Siwash is, plus you might find this interesting reading anyway. The context is a bear hunt on the Kenai Peninsula, back in 1919. There were no roads on the Kenai back then, and these two men had traveled by canoe up the Snow River from Seward to Kenai Lake, down the lake to the upper Kenai River, down through the canyon to Skilak Lake. The two men, W. Douglas Burden and Henry Lucas, were trailing a wounded brown bear they'd shot earlier in the day in the vicinity of the Harding Ice Field, which can be a very cold, miserable place at times (Henry was guiding for Andy Simons, the man that the Andy Simons Wilderness Area was named for).
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"Henry Lucas, my Alaskan guide, and I had been tracking him for several hours before darkness forced us to give up. Then we struggled upward out of the engulfing tangle and into the open hills. Already the clouds were down upon us. Once in the open, the wind was so strong we had to lean against it. In the dim light, it took a long time to find the scrubby mountain hemlocks we were looking for. They were not more than four feet high, stiff and unyielding from battling the mountain gales, but they provided enough wood for a campfire.
A mountain usually varies only in degrees of steepness, but there was one spot between two hemlocks where the slope was sharply reduced. We tied a six-by-four strip of canvas between these two scrub trees, sloped it back and set some rocks on it to hold it down. Then with a sharp stone we dug a little trench on the upper side to carry off the water. After that we started a fire. “Siwashing” is the only way to travel in the hills, but I began to realize that it automatically involves a contest in toughness. “Siwash” is an Alaskan term meaning Indian and “siwashing” is to camp the way the Indians do- with nothing but rifle, fry pan, tea pail, salt, tea, and a little sourdough. Siwashing releases you from the necessity of returning to any fixed campsite. You are free to go where you please- to move as the spirit moves you. You need only to drop down far enough from the summits to find wood for a campfire. Then in the morning you climb again and spend the day on top of the world. And of course, you have to live off the country.
But every night the contest begins anew, for the tougher you are the less fire you need. And as the protecting warmth dwindles with the dying embers and the chill enters your bones, you lie there pretending to be asleep and hoping the other man will rouse up to put on more wood. Henry told me that when he was siwashing with the great guide Andy Simons, he became tired of keeping fire for him. So finally one night he got up very quietly and walked off over the dark mountainside for a quarter of a mile and built himself a new fire. He was just getting himself cozily fixed before a fine bright flame when Andy moved in and lay down without saying a single word. After that, Henry admitted defeat just as I already had.
There was a wild roaring that filled the air. It came down to us from the summits. The wind struck in blasts and scattered the embers from the fire. It was cold, for the wind came directly off the great Kenai snow fields that stretched for a vast area along the divide. Smoke and ashes whirled into our eyes. Henry cooked a bannock in the fry pan, a mess of sourdough with grease, water, and salt added to taste. He could not see what he was doing and it came out roughly charred- but we ate it anyway, with our eyes closed against the smoke.
Now the rain came down in sheets. We had no blankets and no extra clothing. Henry said, “Maybe fire go out.” He reached out to collect all the wood we had gathered and set it around on top of us under the canvas. It did not do much good because the canvas was so old it leaked. Henry said, “Siwashing no good tonight.” I replied, “No, no good.” “Too bad,” he said, “we lose bear.” “Yes,” I said, “I’ve been thinking about him. Do you think he will recover?” “I don’t know,” replied Henry, “Bear plenty tough- him headed straight down for glacier. Maybe try to cross.” The canvas snapped in the gusts. Henry put more wood on the fire. Occasionally it flared up in spite of the rain and I could see Henry’s lean, dark, sensitive face with quick-moving eyes looking into it. No matter what happened, Henry never complained. A good man, I thought.
By lying feet to head, there was just enough room for both of us under the canvas. For a long time I lay there, trying not to roll down-hill. Then I took a stick of wood and wedged it in against me on the low side. For a while I slept. Then the storm lashed us with still greater fury. Our canvas strip formed an eddy that sucked the smoke in on top of us. Feeling suddenly choked, I jumped up and ran out into the rain to get some fresh air into my lungs. Henry came out too, even he could not stand it. Then, with hunting knife in hand, I dove back under the canvas and slit a hole in it near the bottom and stuck my head out into the rain. No, I thought, “Siwashing no good tonight.”
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There’s lots more, but this should give you the sense of siwash camping. I’m not sure if Burden’s etymology of the term is accurate or not, but it’s a good working definition anyway. Anyone who has ever done it probably has their own definition. For me, it’s any time you’re out on the mountain with no shelter or sleeping bag. The fire is the key; I’ve done it with or without and it makes all the difference.
So, how about it? What’s your take on it?
-Mike
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