Backpack

Gear

Natural Materials

In the old days, aboriginal people fashioned clothing and tools from natural materials. Trees furnished climbing sticks and tool handles; barks and plants provided fibres for textiles and rope (top). Mountain goat wool is very fine and was an important trade material; it was woven into large beautiful blankets (bottom). Today we have Gore-Tex and fleece for our mountainous travels, but the old materials worked just as well for most purposes.