From the early days of recreational camping in the late nineteenth century through the multitude of modern camping options available today, Making Camp explores the history and evolution of this popular outdoor activity through the lens of its most important and familiar components: the campsite, the campfire, the picnic table, the map, the tent, and the sleeping bag, as well as the oft-invisible systems for delivering water and managing trash. Find out how early-nineteenth-century German peasants fashioned rudimentary sleeping bags by burrowing into bags full of leaves for the night. Look bade over time to learn about the progression of tents from animal skins, goat's hair, and heavy canvas to featherweight nylon. Each chapter includes a broad range of visuals to help illustrate the rich history of camping and our collective devotion to it, including drawings, patents, diagrams, paintings, advertisements, brochures, and historical photographs.