Post by L.A.C.R.I.M.O.S.A on Apr 27, 2007 19:27:40 GMT -5
How to Build a Campfire
When you are out in the wilderness, it is a custom and tradition to build a campfire. The choice is up to you what kind you want, or if you want to use it to cook food.
Steps:
1. Situate your fire at least 10 feet away from tents, trees, roots and other flammable items if there's no fire ring available. Clear a space 24 to 32 inches across.
2. Make a ring of rocks if one isn't already there, and don't build against a boulder or other rocks. This will help to contain the fire, thus preventing unnecessary forest fires.
3. Gather firewood and kindling if necessary, using only fallen branches. Note that many parks and wilderness areas even forbid gathering fallen material, which plays an important role in the ecosystem.
4. Build a small, loose pile of kindling, making sure to allow space for air to feed the fire. Include paper scraps, dry plant matter, and any type of wood shavings or straw and other small, flammable items.you can make a log cabin, which is when you use the twigs to make a square and build highter or a teepee which you make a tepee in the pit with the twigs or lean to. find a thicker piece of wood and lean the twigs on it at an angle.
5. Construct a pyramid of dry twigs and small sticks around and above the kindling pile.
6. Light the kindling with a match.
7. Add increasingly larger sticks and then logs as the fire grows in strength, always leaving enough space between them for the fire to breathe.
Tips
-Bring along a grill, which may be rested on the fire ring to cook on. A pot in the coals works great too.
-Whenever you go into the woods, take an electronic lighter with you. If a flint type lighter gets wet, the flint swells and soon sticks. Then, when it wears down, it no longer makes contact with the spark wheel. An electronic lighter only needs to be turned upside down and taped against the palm of your hand and is good as new. Even if submerged in salt water, you only need to swish it around in some fresh water and the loose drops knocked out and it continues to work.
-If you are building a fire in rainy weather, prepare by bringing along a "trench candle". Roll up a strip of newspaper (3-4 inches), and dip in melted paraffin. This will stay dry in wet weather, and help slightly damp kindling light.
-If using a campfire spot others have previously used, make use of any "charred wood" left behind- it will burn in your fire, and will decrease the amount of logs you will need to gather and burn.
Warnings
-Always have someone watching your campfire - don't leave it unattended.
-Be sure to familiarize yourself with the fire regulations of the area you're camping in before starting a fire.
-Never make a ring around the fire with rocks from a water source-the water can embed itself in the rocks and the heat can cause them to explode.