Man-made Heat Sources
Building a Fire
Fire Reflector
Maintaining a Heat Source
Fire Bed
Basic Fire Principals
Site Selection and Preparation
Fire Material Selection
How to Build a Fire
How to Light a Fire
Ax
Saws
“Leave No Trace” Campfires 240
Firepans
Fires Without Firepans
Lamps, Stoves, and Torches 242
Fat Lamp
Paraffin Stove
Torches
Greg Davenport
Illustrations by Steven Davenport and Ken Davenport
Fire is the third line of personal protection and in most cases will not be necessary if you’ve adequately met your clothing and shelter needs. In extreme conditions, however, fire is very beneficial for warding off hypothermia and other exposure injuries. Fire serves many other functions as well: providing light, warmth, and comfort; a source of heat for cooking, purifying water, and drying clothes; and a means of signaling. In addition, a fire is relaxing and helps reduce stress. For some of these purposes, building a fire is not always necessary. You might instead use a backpacking stove, Sterno stove, or solid compressed fuel tablets.
A man-made heat source can be used in any shelter, provided there is proper ventilation. If you are in a tent, however, limit its use to the vestibule area to avoid fuel spills or burning the tent.
The two basic styles of backpacking stoves are canister and liquid fuel. Canister designs use butane, propane, or isobutane cartridges as their fuel source. The most common types of liquid fuels used are white gas and kerosene. (For more details on the various styles of backpacking stoves, see page xxx).
Sterno has been around for a long time and still has a place for many backcountry explorers. The fuel is a jellied alcohol that comes in a 7-ounce can. Under normal conditions, it has a two-hour burn time. Although far inferior to a good backpacking stove for cooking, it is very effective at warming water and a shelter in an emergency. An inexpensive folding stove is made for use with Sterno, but with a little imagination, you can create the same thing.
Esbit, Trioxane, and Hexamine are the three basic compressed fuel tablets on the market. Esbit is the newest of the three, and unlike its predecessors, it is nontoxic. This nonexplosive, virtually odorless and smokeless tablet can generate up to 1,400 degrees F of intense heat, providing twelve to fifteen minutes of usable burn time per cube. When combined with a commercial or improvised stove, it can sometimes boil a pint of water in less than eight minutes. These tablets easily light from a spark and can also be used as a tinder to start your fire.
When man-made heat sources are not available or don’t meet your needs, you may elect to build a fire. Always use a safe site, and put the fire completely out, so that it is cold to the touch, before you leave. Locate the fire in close proximity to fire materials and your shelter. It should be built on flat, level ground and have adequate protection from the elements. Before starting the fire, prepare the site by clearing a 3-foot fire circle, scraping away all leaves, brush, and debris down to bare ground, if possible. To successfully build a fire, you need to have all three elements of the fire triad present—oxygen, fuel, and heat.
Oxygen is necessary for the fuel to burn, and it needs to be present at all stages of a fire. To ensure this, you’ll need a platform and brace. Gather or create a platform and brace before you start breaking your fuel down, and use it to keep the smaller stages off the wet moist ground.
PLATFORM
A platform can be any dry material that protects your fuel from the ground, such as dry tree bark or dry nonporous rock. Waterlogged rocks may explode when wet; don’t use them. In snow-covered areas, a snow platform may be necessary. To build this platform, use green wrist-size logs, and break or cut them into workable lengths (approximately 3 feet long). Construct a 3-foot-square platform by using two rows of the green logs. Place the top row perpendicular to the bottom row.
BRACE
A brace is vital. It ensures that the fire will get the oxygen it needs to exist. A 6-foot-long wrist-thick branch or a dry, nonporous rock 2 to 3 inches high will suffice. (Caution: Waterlogged rocks may explode when heated. Don’t use them.) Lay the brace on or next to the platform. Leaning the kindling against the brace, and over the tinder, allows oxygen to circulate within the fire.
A platform and brace keep tinder dry and help ensure adequate oxygen flow to your fuel.
Fuel can be separated into three categories: tinder, kindling, and fuel. Each builds upon the previous one. Before gathering the fuel, make sure to prepare your site and position the platform and brace in the center. Next, gather enough fuel to build three fires. This allows you to step back to a smaller fuel if your fire has problems igniting a larger stage. When breaking the fuel down, lay the smaller stages of kindling against the brace, keeping it off the ground, and within reach of the fire you intend to build. The exact type of fuel used will vary depending on your location.
TINDER
Tinder is any material that will light from a spark. It’s extremely valuable in getting the larger stages of fuel lit. Tinder can be man-made or natural.
When venturing into the wilderness, always carry man-made tinder in your survival kit. If you should become stranded during harsh weather conditions, it may prove to be the key in having or not having a fire that first night. Since it is a one-time-use item, immediately start gathering natural tinder so that it can be dried out and prepared for use once your man-made tinder is used up. For natural tinder to work it needs to be dry, have exposed edges, and allow oxygen to circulate within it. For man-made tinder, this is not always the case; it may just need to be scraped or fluffed so it can catch a spark. The most common man-made forms of tinder are petroleum-based, compressed tinder tabs, and solid compressed fuel tablets.
Petroleum-based tinder: This is very effective, even under harsh, wet, windy conditions. Many kinds are available, but perhaps the most common is the Tinder-Quik tab. It is waterproof, odorless, and made from a light compressible fiber that is impregnated with beeswax, petroleum, and silicones. To use it, simply fluff the fiber so that it has edges exposed to catch a spark. The tinder will burn for approximately two minutes. Although Tinder-Quik was designed for use with the spark-lite flint system (see heat sources) it can be used with any heat source. Less expensive petroleum-based tinder can be made by saturating 100 percent cotton balls with petroleum jelly and carrying them in a 35-millimeter film canister.
Compressed tinder tabs: WetFire tinder tablets are perhaps the most common compressed tinder tablets. Each tablet is waterproof, nontoxic, odorless, smokeless, and burns around 1,300 degrees F for two to three minutes. Unlike the Tinder-Quik Fire Tabs, they are not compressible. To use, prepare the tinder by making a few small shavings to catch the sparks from your metal match (see heat sources).
Solid compressed fuel tablets: Besides serving as a heat source, these tablets easily light from a spark and can also be used as tinder to start a fire. More details can be found under man-made heat sources.
For natural tinder to work, it generally needs to be dry, have exposed edges, and allow oxygen to circulate within it. Gather natural materials for tinder before you need it so that you have time to dry it in the sun, between your clothing, or by a fire. Remove any wet bark or pith before breaking the tinder down, and keep it off the damp ground during and after preparation. Some tinder will collect moisture from the air, so prepare it last and keep it dry until you’re ready to use it. Natural tinder falls into three basic categories: bark; scrapings; and grass, ferns, and lichen. If you are uncertain if something will work for tinder, try it.
Bark: Prepare layered forms of tinder by working pieces of bark between your hands and fingers until they’re light and airy. To do this, start by holding a long section of the bark with both hands, thumb to thumb. Use a back-and-forth twisting action, working the bark until it becomes fibrous. Next, place the fibrous bark between the palms of your hands and role your hands back and forth until the bark becomes thin, light, and airy. At this point, you should be able to light it from a spark. Prepare this tinder until you have enough to form a small bird’s nest. Place any loose dust created from the process in the center of the nest. Many barks will work as tinder, but birch is best as it will light even when wet due to a highly flammable resin it contains.
Breaking down bark*.
Making wood shavings*.
*illustrations from Surviving Cold Weather
Wood scrapings: Wood scrapings are created by repeatedly running your knife blade, at a 90-degree angle, across a flat section of pitch wood or heartwood. To be effective, you’ll need enough scrapings to fill the palm of your hand. Like birch bark, pitch wood will light even when wet. The high concentration of pitch in the wood’s fibers makes it highly flammable.
Grass, ferns, leaves, and lichen: As with bark, fashion a bird’s nest with these materials. You may need to break them down further, depending on the materials at hand. This form of tinder needs to be completely dry to work successfully.
KINDLING
Kindling is usually comprised of twigs or wood shavings that range in diameter from pencil lead to pencil thickness. It should easily light when placed on a small flame. Sources include small dead twigs found on the dead branches at the bottom of many trees; shavings from larger pieces of dry dead wood; small bundles of grass; dry sagebrush or cactus; heavy cardboard; and gasoline- or oil-soaked wood.
Wood shavings.
FUEL
Fuel is any material that is thumb-size or bigger that will burn slowly and steadily once it is lit. Kinds of fuel include dry dead branches at the bottom of trees; heartwood (the dry inside portion of a dead standing tree, fallen tree, tree trunk, or large branch); green wood that is finely split; dry grasses twisted into bunches; dry cacti or sagebrush; and dry animal dung.
This material is great during dry or very cold weather. It provides all of the various stages of fuel when broken down properly. To decrease injury, wear gloves to protect your hands, and protect your eyes by looking away when snapping the branch off the tree. If the branches are wet, you’ll need to prepare them by scraping off all of the wet bark and lichen. Run your knife across the wood’s surface at a 90-degree angle. If it is still too wet, split the wood to expose its inner dry material.
Heartwood requires a lot more energy and time when used to build a fire. However, it is ideal during wet conditions when you need a dry surface that will easily ignite. The best source is a stump that has a sharp pointed top—in other words, a stump that wasn’t created with a chainsaw. Stumps that have a flat surface can absorb massive amounts of moisture, especially when capped with snow. In addition, certain coniferous trees that die from natural causes will contain large amounts of pitch. This wood is commonly called pitch wood and is a great find when you are cold and in need of a quick fire, since it easily lights even under the worst conditions. To gather heartwood, pull, kick, or rip the pieces off of the stump. If unable to separate the wood from the stump, wedge a sturdy pole between the stump and a loose piece of wood, or use your ax or large fixed blade knife to help it along. A small-diameter standing dead tree can be knocked over and broken into workable sections by running it between two trees (a foot or so apart) and pulling one end back until the pole snaps in half. Once gathered, break the wood down from large to small. If using an ax or knife, follow basic safety rules.
If you have a hot fire, green wood that is finely split will burn. However, it should not be used in the early stages of your fire. To increase your odds of success, remove the outer bark and cambium layer.
Dry grass is not only great tinder, but also provides an excellent fuel when tied into bundles. If this is your only source of fuel, tie the grass into bundles that are 12 to 24 inches long with varying diameters, so you can stage your fire up from small to big.
Once cacti are devoid of moisture, the material provides an excellent fuel source, and can quickly be broken down into the various stages of fuel. Cacti may be standing or lying on the desert floor. Sagebrush often has dead lower portions similar to the dead lower branches found on many trees. Breaking these branches away and then preparing them into the various stages of fuel is an easy process.
Dead sagebrush and shrubs provide an excellent fuel source for building fires.
Because herbivores eat grass and other plants, their dried dung makes excellent fuel. Break the dung into various sizes to create tinder, kindling, and fuel. I consider them Mother Nature’s Pres-to-Logs.
Heat is required to start a fire. Before applying heat to your fuel, however, make sure you have enough of each stage to light three fires. This allows you to step back to a smaller fuel when your fire has problems igniting a larger stage. Since matches and lighters often fail and will eventually run out, you must consider alternative sources of heat to start your fire. Options include both man-made (often spark-based) and primitive (friction-based) heat sources, and several are covered here.
MAN-MADE AND SPARKED-BASED HEAT SOURCES
Man-made heat sources include matches, lighters, artificial flint, flint and steel, pyrotechnics, battery and steel wool, and convex glass. Most man-made heat sources are easy to use, and at least one should be part of your emergency survival kit.
Matches run out, get wet, and seem to never work in a time of crisis. However, if you are dead set on using matches, I’d recommend NATO-issue survival matches, which have hand-dipped and varnished heads that are supposed to light even when wet and exposed to strong wind or rain. These matches will burn around twelve seconds—enough time to light most fires. In order to protect the match from going out, light it between cupped hands while positioning your body to block the flame from the wind and rain. Regardless of the type you carry, store them in a waterproof container until ready for use.
Lighters are a form of flint and steel with an added fuel source that keeps the flame going. Like matches, they have a tendency to fail when used during inclement weather, and once the fuel runs out, they become dead weight. If you understand a lighter’s shortcoming and still elect to use one, I recommend a Colibri Quantum. These high-end lighters are water resistant, shockproof, ignite at high altitudes, and are marketed as windresistant. To use, simply place the flame directly onto the tinder.
A metal match is similar to the flints used in a cigarette lighter but much bigger. When stroked with an object, the friction creates a long spark that can be used to light tinder. Most metal matches are made from a mixture of metals and rare earth elements. The mixture is alloyed at high temperature and then shaped into rods of various diameters.
To use a metal match, place it in the center of your tinder, and while holding it firmly in place with one hand, use the opposite hand to strike it with your knife blade, using a firm yet controlled downward stroke, at 45 to 90 degrees. The resulting spark should provide enough heat to ignite the tinder. This may take several attempts. If after five tries it has not lit, the tinder should be reworked to ensure that adequate edges are exposed and oxygen is able to flow within it. The S.O.S Strike Force is the most popular commercial metal match available. There also are two one-hand-use metal matches on the market: the Spark-Lite and the BlastMatch.
S.O.S. Strike Force: The S.O.S. Strike Force has a half-inch round alloy flint attached to a hollow, hard plastic handle that houses emergency tinder. It also has a flint cover with a hardened steel striker attached, making this system completely self-sufficient. Although the system is a little bulky, it weighs slightly less than 4 ounces.
Spark-Lite: The Spark-Lite is small and light, measuring approximately 2¼ by 9/32 by 9/32 inches. Its spark is also smaller than that of the larger metal matches. It has a serrated wheel, similar to that of a cigarette lighter, that strikes a small flint when stroked. In order to make this a one-hand-use item, the flint is spring-loaded, maintaining contact with the wheel at all times. The small flint is supposed to allow for approximately 1,000 strokes before it runs out. To use, stroke the sparking wheel with your thumb while holding the Spark-Lite’s body with your fingers from the same hand.
Unlike matches and lighters, an artificial flint virtually never runs out.
BlastMatch: The BlastMatch is larger and weighs more than the Spark-Lite, measuring 4 by 1 ⅜ by ⅞ inches. It has a much larger molded plastic body that holds a 2½-inch-long by ½-inch-diameter rod of flint. The flint is spring-loaded, and when the cap is released the flint is propelled out. To use it, place the flint tip in the center of your tinder, apply pressure to the side catch with your thumb, and push the body downward. This action will force the scraper, located inside the catch, down the flint, creating a large spark.
Flint and steel and charred cloth.
Flint and steel are effective for starting fires, but the necessary materials may be hard to find. Some flint options are quartzite, iron pyrite, agate, or jasper. Any steel can be used with the flint, but most people use an old file. By striking the iron particles, heart is created when they are crushed and torn away. To use the flint and steel, hold the flint in one hand as close to the tinder as possible. With the steel in your other hand, strike downward onto the flint. Direct the resulting spark into the center of the tinder. The best tinder to use is charred cloth, which can be created in advance by placing several 2-inch squares of cotton cloth inside a tin can with ventilation holes in its top. Place this in a fire’s coals for fifteen to thirty minutes. Turn the can every couple of minutes, and remove from the fire when smoke stops coming out of the holes.
Flares should be used only as a last resort to start fires. It’s best to save these signaling devices for their intended use. However, if you are unable to start a fire and the risk of hypothermia is present, a flare is a very effective heat source. Using it is simple: After preparing the tinder, safely ignite it by lighting the flare and directing its flames onto the tinder. Time will be of the essence, so prepare your firelay in advance, leaving an opening large enough to direct the flare’s flame onto the underlying tinder.
Stretching a fine grade 0000 steel wool between the positive and negative posts of a battery will ignite the steel wool. Lit steel wool can be used to ignite tinder, using the same technique discussed under friction-based heat sources. This method works best with a 9-volt battery.
A convex-shape piece of glass, such as that from binoculars, a broken bottle, or a telescope, can be used to ignite tinder by focusing the sun’s rays into a concentrated source of heat.
NATURAL FRICTION-BASED HEAT SOURCES
Friction-based heat works through a process of pulverizing and heating appropriate woods until an ember is created. This ember can be used to ignite awaiting tinder. The biggest problems associated with these techniques are muscle fatigue, poor wood selection, and moisture that prevents the material from reaching a hot enough temperature. Once you have an ember, relax and take your time. Don’t blow on it; the moisture from your mouth may put it out. If you feel it needs more oxygen, gently fan it with your hand. In most cases, however, simply waiting a few seconds will allow the ember to achieve its pleasant glow. Two circular methods covered here are the bow and drill and hand drill.
The bow and drill is often used when the spindle and baseboard materials are not good enough to create a char using a hand drill technique. The bow helps establish the friction that is needed in order to use materials that would otherwise be inferior or when bad weather adversely affects your ability to create an ember with the hand drill. The bow and drill is composed of four separate parts.
Bow: The bow is a 3- to 4-foot branch of hardwood that is seasoned, stout, slightly curved, about ¾ inch in diameter, and with a small fork at one end. If the bow doesn’t have a fork, create one by carving a notch at the appropriate place. Add a strong line, attached to the bow to create enough tension to turn the spindle once it is inserted. You can use a strip of leather, parachute line, shoelace, or improvised cordage (details on how to make cordage are covered in chapter 13). Securely attach the line to one end of the bow by carefully drilling a hole through the bow with a pump drill or knife, tying a knot in the line, and then running the line through the hole. The knot ensures that the line will not slip or slide forward, and since the line’s tension will inevitably loosen, it allows you to make quick adjustments. Use a fixed loop to attach the line’s free end to the fork on the other side.
Cup: Made from hardwoods, antlers, rocks, or pitch wood, the cup has a socket for the top of the spindle. The cup’s purpose is to hold the spindle in place while it is turned by the bow. When using deadwood, you must lubricate the cup’s socket to decrease the friction between the cup and the spindle. You can use body oils, animal fat, or soap shavings to accomplish this.
Spindle: The spindle is a smooth, straight cylinder made from a dry, soft wood or other plant material that is approximately ¾ inch in diameter and 8 to 12 inches long. The ideal spindle is made from yucca, sotol (a variation of yucca), cottonwood, aspen, willow, sage, or cactus. Dead smaller branches of cedar, locust, and ash may also be used for a spindle. The best way to evaluate the material is to press on it with a fingernail; if it makes an indention, the material should work. To prepare the spindle for use, carve both ends so that one is cone-shaped and smooth and the other is round with rough edges.
Fireboard: Fireboard should be made from a material similar in hardness to the spindle. The ideal fireboard is 15 to 18 inches long, ¾ inch thick, and 2 to 3 inches wide. The fireboard needs to be prepared for use using the following steps.
1. Carve a circular socket three-quarters the diameter of the spindle, at least 4 inches from one end, close to the long side (but not right on the side), and about one-quarter the thickness of the board. If the socket is too close to the side, there will not be enough material to prevent the spindle from kicking out of the hole.
2. Prime the hole by twisting the bowline around the spindle so that the coned end is up and the rounded blunt end is down. If it doesn’t feel like it wants to twist out, then the bow’s line needs to be tightened. While holding the bow and spindle together, kneel on your right knee and place your left foot on the fireboard. Insert the cone end of the spindle inside the cup, and place the round, blunt end into the fireboard socket that you created with your knife. Holding the bow in the right hand (at the closest end) and the cup in the left, apply gentle downward pressure on the spindle, keeping the spindle perpendicular to the ground. For added support and stability, rest the left arm and elbow around and on the left knee and shin. (If left-handed, do the reverse.) With a straightened arm, begin moving the bow back and forth with a slow, even, steady stroke. Once the friction between the spindle and the fireboard begins to create smoke, gradually increase the downward pressure and continue until a smooth, round indentation is made in the fire-board.
The various parts of the bow and drill.
3. Using your knife or saw, cut a pie-shape notch through the entire thickness of the fireboard so that its point stops slightly short of the hole’s center. Place a piece of bark, leather, or other appropriate material under your fireboard for the ember to sit on. This will protect it from the moist ground and help you move it to your tinder.
Once the separate parts of the bow and drill are prepared, it is then ready. Simply apply the same technique used for priming the hole when preparing the fireboard. Once the smoke is bellowing out and you can’t go any longer, check within or below the fireboard’s notch for an ember created by the friction.
The bow and drill in use.
The hand drill is similar to the bow and drill, except you use your hands to turn the spindle. This method is used when conditions are ideal; no moisture is in the air, and you have excellent materials. The hand drill is composed of two parts:
Spindle: The spindle is a smooth, straight cylinder made from a dry, soft wood or other plant material that is approximately ½ to ¾ inch in diameter and 2 to 3 feet long. The ideal spindle is made from yucca or sotol. I have heard reports of people using cattail and mullein, but these materials can be finicky. To prepare the spindle for use, carve the fatter end so that it is round with rough edges. If you can find a straight spindle, you might use a piece of cattail, bamboo, or other available reed as the shaft. Create a plug from a short piece of sotol or other material to fit inside the end, leaving 2 to 3 inches of the plug extending out of the shaft. To help protect the end of the shaft from splitting, wrap it with a thin strand of cord. You could also use this technique to drill holes by replacing the friction plug with a stone bit.
Fireboard: The fireboard is created from a soft wood or plant material of similar but not quite the same hardness as the spindle. Yucca and sagebrush are my favorites. The optimal size is 15 to 18 inches long, 2 to 3 inches wide, and ½ to ¾ inch thick. Prepare a notch as described above for the bow and drill.
When using a hand drill, some people sit and others kneel. The key is to be comfortable while still being able to turn the spindle and apply appropriate downward pressure. To use, while sitting or kneeling, rub the spindle between your hands. In order to optimize the number of revolutions the spindle makes, start at the top and use as much of the hands, from heel to fingertip, as you can. Apply downward pressure, as your hands move down the spindle, until you reach bottom, and then quickly move both hands up while ensuring that the spindle and fireboard maintain contact at all times. Since the spindle will cool rapidly, this step is very crucial to your success. When you begin to see smoke, increase your speed and downward pressure until you can’t do it anymore. Just before you finish, push the top of the spindle slightly away from the fireboard’s notch to help push the coal out. At times, it may be necessary to create additional downward pressure on your spindle. Two methods that are commonly used are:
Creating a coal using a hand drill.
Mouthpiece: A mouthpiece is created similarly to the cup of a bow and drill, but instead of using your hands to hold it on the spindle you use your teeth. When using this technique, shorten the spindle to 18 to 24 inches in length.
Thumb thong: To make a thumb thong, tie a thumb loop at each end of a thong, and attach its center to the top of the spindle. By sliding your thumbs into the loops you are able to provide a nonstop spin with increased downward pressure. As with the mouthpiece, this technique will require you to use a shorter spindle.
Bark and grass are the most common tinder used with a friction heat source such as the bow and drill and hand drill. Form a bird’s nest, and put it in a dry place where it is protected from the elements. Once you have created an ember, gently move it into the center of the bird’s nest, and loosely fold the outer nest around it. Holding it all above your head, lightly blow on the ember, increasing in intensity until the tinder ignites. To avoid burning your fingers, it may be necessary to hold the tinder between two sticks. Once the tinder ignites, place it on your platform next to the brace, and begin building your fire.
When building a fire, it is important to gather enough fuel to build three knee-high fires. This allows you to go back to a previous stage if the fire starts to die and to keep the fire going while you get more material. Once the wood or other fuel is gathered, break it down from big to small, always preparing the smallest stages last. This will help decrease the amount of moisture your tinder and kindling collect during the preparation process. If conditions are wet, you’ll need to strip off all lichen and bark, and for best results, split the branches in half to expose the inner dry wood. Construct a platform and brace (described under oxygen on page 231), and use the brace to keep the various stages of fuel off the ground while breaking it down.
Once all the stages are prepared, either light or place the lit tinder on the platform next to the brace. Use the brace to place your smaller kindling directly over the flame. Spread a handful of kindling over the flame all at once, instead of one stick at a time. Once the flames lick up through the kindling, place another handful perpendicularly across the first. When this stage is burning well, advance to the next size. Continue crisscrossing your fuel until the largest size is burning and the fire is self-supporting. If you have leftover material, set it aside in a dry place so that it can be used to start another fire later. If you have a problem building your fire, reevaluate your heat, oxygen, and fuel to determine which one is not present or is inadequate for success.
Consider building a firewall to reflect the fire’s heat in the direction you want. Secure two 3-foot-long poles into the ground I foot behind the fire circle. In order to pound the poles into the ground, you’ll need to sharpen the ends and use a rock or another sturdy pole to safely drive them in. Next, place two poles of similar size 4 to 6 inches in front of the first ones. Gather green logs of wrist diameter, and place them between the poles to form a 3-foot-high wall. You can angle the wall slightly to reflect the heat down or up.
Fire reflector.
Several methods are commonly used to maintain a heat source for ongoing or later use.
The best way to keep a flame is to provide an ongoing fuel source. The type of wood you use will directly impact this process. Soft woods such as cedar, pine, or fir provide an excellent light and heat source, but they burn up rather fast. Hardwoods, such as maple, ash, oak, or hickory, will burn longer and produce less smoke. These woods are ideal for use at night.
SNOW PLATFORM AND BRACE
Greg Davenport
Illustration by Steven A. Davenport
Oxygen is necessary for the fuel to burn, and it needs to be present at all stages of a fire. To ensure this, you’ll need a platform and brace. A platform is any dry material that protects your fuel from the ground or snow. During extremely wet conditions or when there is a heavy snow covering, a platform can be made by laying multiple green logs next to one another. Building the fire on the green logs will protect it from the snow or moist ground. A brace is usually a wrist-diameter branch that allows oxygen to circulate through the fuel when the fuel is leaned against it. This will prevent the snow from putting the fire out.
Snow platform and brace.
—From Surviving Cold Weather
Either banking the fire or storing it inside a fire bundle can maintain a coal.
BANKING THE FIRE
If you are staying in one place, bank the fire to preserve its embers for use at a later time. Once you have a good bed of coals, cover them with ashes and/or dry dirt. If done properly, the fire’s embers will still be smoldering in the morning. To rekindle the fire, remove the dry dirt, lay tinder on the coals, and gently fan it until the tinder ignites.
FIRE BUNDLE
If you plan on traveling, use a fire bundle to transport the coal. A fire bundle can keep a coal for six to twelve hours. To construct it, surround the live coal with dry punk wood or fibrous bark, such as cedar or juniper, and wrap this with damp grass, leaves, or humus. Around this, wrap a heavy bark such as birch. The key to success is to ensure that there is enough oxygen to keep the ember burning but not enough to promote its ignition. If the bundle begins to burn through, it may be necessary to stop and build another fire from which to create another coal for transport.
Fire bundle.
PUMP DRILLS
Greg Davenport Illustrations by Steven Davenport and Ken Davenport
In addition to drilling holes, a pump drill can also be adapted into a friction heat source that works similarly to the bow and drill. It consists of a spindle, crosspiece, flywheel, and fire-board.
• Spindle. The spindle is made from a piece of straight, debarked hardwood that measures about 30 inches long with a diameter of 1⅛ inch on one end tapering to ⅞ inch on the other. On the wider end, drill a 1- to 2-inch-deep hole, slightly bigger than ½ inch diameter, into its exact center. This can be started with a hand drill with a ½-inch stone bit (described in the Hand Drill section above), and then finished by replacing the bit with a ½-inch wood plug of medium hardness. This technique should create a nicely rounded, burned hole that has an equal diameter throughout its depth. If the hole ends up not being centered, cut it off and start over.
Create a plug from a dry, soft wood or other plant material such as yucca, sotol, cottonwood, aspen, willow, sage, cacti, cedar, locust, or ash. This plug should fit snugly into the spindle’s tip, with 2 to 3 inches extending out of the shaft. Wrap sinew around the end of the spindle for about 3 inches up its shaft to secure the plug and also help prevent the end of the spindle from splitting. On the other end of the spindle, cut a ¼-inch notch into the center of the shaft. The string from the pump drill’s crosspiece will ride there. To help protect the area, wrap the end with sinew from the bottom of the notch to about 1 inch down.
• Crosspiece. The crosspiece is made from a piece of straight-grained, knotfree hardwood that measures 22 to 24 inches in length and about 1½ to 2 inches wide. Create a hole in the exact center of the crosspiece that is ⅛ inch bigger around than the spindle. This can be done with your hand drill or perhaps by using a hot coal. Tie a line to the far ends of the crosspiece so that the line measures 31 to 35 inches from one end to the other. When done, the crosspiece should easily slide up and down the spindle, and the line should fit within the spindle’s notch.
Using the pump drill.
• Flywheel. The flywheel sits on the lower end of the spindle, providing balance and weight. The ideal flywheel weight for creating an ember is 2 ½ to 3 pounds. To make one, gather two pieces of hardwood that are about 8 inches long by 2 inches wide, and burn or drill a hole into the exact center of each piece of wood. The size of the hole depends on the spindle’s diameter. A proper fit allows the lower piece to wedge 4 inches up from the bottom of the spindle and the upper piece 2½ inches above that. Next, find two rocks that weigh about 1¼ to 1½ pounds each, and tie them between the two pieces of wood, one on each side of the hole, making sure that the holes are exposed and are in line with each other when done. Since it is doubtful that the rocks will weigh exactly the same, you may need to add twigs or line to one side of the flywheel to balance it out.
• Fireboard. The fireboard should be made from a material similar in hardness to the spindle plug. The ideal fireboard is 15 to 18 inches long, ¾ inch thick, and 2 to 3 inches wide. Prepare the fireboard by carving a circular socket three-quarters the diameter of the spindle, at least 4 inches from one end, close to the long side (but not right on the side), and about one-quarter the thickness of the board.
Place the plug inside the spindle and the flywheel over the top and into position. Advance the crosspiece down the spindle, letting the center of its line come to rest inside the upper notch. Place the spindle into the socket, and turn it by hand until the line is wrapped around it and the crosspiece has moved up the shaft. At this point, you are ready to begin. This system is not much different from the bow and drill or hand drill. The spindle turns one way and then another while inside the fireboard’s socket. The constant rotation creates friction, which in turn creates heat and eventually an ember. As with both of the other systems, your technique of execution will play a major role in success or failure.
The various parts of a pump drill.
Place one hand on each end of the cross-piece, kneel on your right knee, and place your left foot on the fireboard. Apply a smooth yet forceful downward stroke that has a rapid acceleration early on. As the cross-piece gets close to the bottom, don’t relax. Continue to apply downward pressure while the line is rewrapping itself around the spindle in the opposite direction. By doing this, you maintain a friction force (contact) between the spindle and the fireboard. Try to time it so that as the crosspiece reaches the top, you can quickly accelerate back downward. Stop when a smooth, round indentation is made in the fireboard, and cut your notch in the same manner as described for the bow and drill. Once the notch is prepared, put bark, leather, or other dry material under your fireboard to catch the coal. Place the spindle back in the notch, and repeat the steps as just outlined until you have a solid wall of smoke and an ember is present.
• Revolutions. The ideal number of revolutions per complete cycle, top to bottom to top, is four—two down and two up. If you have more than that, the spindle loses its momentum when going up and, in turn, friction heat. Adjusting your string length will correct this problem.
• Flywheel weight. Although 2½ to 3 pounds is considered the ideal weight, this is not always true. To determine the best weight, use the following guidelines: If your spindle plug produces a dark brown dust and ember, it is just right. If it produces a light brown dust or no dust at all, it is too light. If the spindle is destroyed during use or it goes through the fireboard, the flywheel is too heavy.
• Torque. In order to obtain a fluid motion during operation, the torque applied during the downward motion of the crosspiece needs to approximate the torque created during its upswing. Adjusting the string’s position on the crosspiece—equally on both sides—will correct this problem. You also may need to readjust the string’s length to get the desired number of revolutions.
—From Surviving the Desert
In extremely cold temperate or desert environments, a fire bed will help keep you warm during the night. It takes about two hours to prepare. Used in large shelters or when none is available, the heat generated from these beds has been known to last as long as two days.
Dig a 4- to 6-inch-deep rectangle that is big enough for you to lie in. Since the heat will radiate outward, you may make the area smaller if digging is hard. If available, line the bottom with flat rocks (avoid rocks that contain moisture). Build a long fire inside the large rectangular hole. As the fire grows, spread out the wood until it evenly covers the whole area and let it burn for one to two hours before you stop feeding it new fuel. Once only coals remain, spread them out so they cover the bottom of the hole evenly. Next, place dirt over the coals, stamping it down as you go, until there is approximately 4 inches of it covering the bed. To make sure the dirt covering is enough, push your whole index finger into the dirt that is over the coals. If your fingertip can’t handle the heat, add more dirt. Finally, cover the fire bed with an insulating material like duff, boughs, or leaves. Make sure there aren’t any loose embers that may ignite your insulation bed. Sleeping on this soft, warm fire bed will take the bite out of most cold nights. Once a bed has been created, this process can be repeated as needed. Subsequent fire beds will be easier to make since the dirt will require less energy to remove.
—From Wilderness Survival
U.S. Army
In many survival situations, the ability to start a fire can make the difference between living and dying. Fire can fulfill many needs. It can provide warmth and comfort. It not only cooks and preserves food, it also provides warmth in the form of heated food that saves calories our body normally uses to produce body heat. You can use fire to purify water, sterilize bandages, signal for rescue, and provide protection from animals. It can be a psychological boost by providing peace of mind and companionship. You can also use fire to produce tools and weapons.
Fire can cause problems, as well. … It can cause forest fires or destroy essential equipment. Fire can also cause burns and carbon monoxide poisoning when used in shelters.
To build a fire, it helps to understand the basic principles of a fire. Fuel (in a nongaseous state) does not burn directly. When you apply heat to a fuel, it produces a gas. This gas, combined with oxygen in the air, burns.
FIRE THONG AND BAMBOO FIRE SAW
Greg Davenport Illustrations by Steven A. Davenport
The fire saw is a technique most often used with hollow materials such as bamboo. It is composed of two pieces:
• Saw: cut a straight piece of the hollow material and sharpen the edge on one of its long sides.
• Baseboard: cut the hollow material in half (long ways) and then cut a notch across the width of its convex side. It is usually 12 inches in length.
The baseboard is the moving piece of the fire saw. Place well-prepared tinder in the concave side of the baseboard (in line with the notch you created) and hold it in place with a small twig or piece of the bamboo. Next, place the groove of the baseboard so that a cross is created between it and the sharp end of the saw (which needs to be stationary). Begin moving the baseboard back and forth on the saw, increasing your speed as it begins to smoke and continue until you can’t go any longer. The coal will form on the concave side of the baseboard within the awaiting tinder.
Bamboo fire saw.
The fire thong is a friction system that is often used in the tropics where rattan is abundant. It consists of two parts:
• Thong: made of twisted rattan that is 4 to 6 feet long and less than 1 inch in diameter.
• Baseboard: usually a deciduous material that is softer than the rattan and measures about 4 feet in length.
To use this method, a cross beam is needed to keep the baseboard off the ground and allow the thong to move freely across it. (See the following illustration.) It’s the friction between the thong and the baseboard that creates the heat needed to produce a coal from this method. Be sure to place a piece of bark, leather, or other appropriate material under your baseboard for the coal to sit on. This will protect it from the moist ground and help you move it to your tinder.
Fire thong.
—From Wilderness living
Understanding the concept of the fire triangle is very important in correctly constructing and maintaining a fire. The three sides of the triangle represent air, heat, and fuel. If you remove any of these, the fire will go out. The correct ratio of these components is very important for a fire to burn at its greatest capability. The only way to learn this ratio is to practice.
You will have to decide what site and arrangement to use. Before building a fire consider—
• The area (terrain and climate) in which you are operating.
• The materials and tools available.
• Time: how much time you have?
• Need: why you need a fire?
• Security: how close is the enemy?
Look for a dry spot that—
• Is protected from the wind.
• Is suitably placed in relation to your shelter (if any).
• Will concentrate the heat in the direction you desire.
• Has a supply of wood or other fuel available.
If you are in a wooded or brush-covered area, clear the brush and scrape the surface soil from the spot you have selected. Clear a circle at least 1 meter in diameter so there is little chance of the fire spreading.
If time allows, construct a fire wall using logs or rocks. This wall will help to reflect or direct the heat where you want it. It will also reduce flying sparks and cut down on the amount of wind blowing into the fire. However, you will need enough wind to keep the fire burning.
In some situations, you may find that an underground fireplace will best meet your needs. It conceals the fire and serves well for cooking food. To make an underground fireplace or Dakota fire hole—
• Dig a hole in the ground.
• On the upwind side of this hole, poke or dig a large connecting hole for ventilation.
• Build your fire in the hole as illustrated.
If you are in a snow-covered area, use green logs to make a dry base for your fire. Trees with wrist-sized trunks are easily broken in extreme cold. Cut or break several green logs and lay them side by side on top of the snow. Add one or two more layers. Lay the top layer of logs opposite those below it.
Types of fire walls.
You need three types of materials to build a fire—tinder, kindling, and fuel.
Tinder is dry material that ignites with little heat—a spark starts a fire. The tinder must be absolutely dry to be sure just a spark will ignite it. If you only have a device that generates sparks, charred cloth will be almost essential. It holds a spark for long periods, allowing you to put tinder on the hot area to generate a small flame. You can make charred cloth by heating cotton cloth until it turns black, but does not burn. Once it is black, you must keep it in an airtight container to keep it dry. Prepare this cloth well in advance of any survival situation. Add it to your individual survival kit.
Kindling is readily combustible material that you add to the burning tinder. Again, this material should be absolutely dry to ensure rapid burning. Kindling increases the fire’s temperatures so that it will ignite less combustible material.
Fuel is less combustible material that burns slowly and steadily once ignited.
There are several methods for laying a fire, each of which has advantages. The situation you find yourself in will determine which fire to use.
To make this fire, arrange the tinder and a few sticks of kindling in the shape of a tepee or cone. Light the center. As the tepee burns, the outside logs will fall inward, feeding the fire. This type of fire burns well even with wet wood.
To lay this fire, push a green stick into the ground at a 30-degree angle. Point the end of the stick in the direction of the wind. Place some tinder deep under this lean-to stick. Lean pieces of kindling against the lean-to stick. Light the tinder. As the kindling catches fire from the tinder, add more kindling.
To use this method, scratch a cross about 30 centimeters in size in the ground. Dig the cross 7.5 centimeters deep. Put a large wad of tinder in the middle of the cross. Build a kindling pyramid above the tinder. The shallow ditch allows air to sweep under the tinder to provide a draft.
Dakota fire hole.
To lay this fire, place two small logs or branches parallel on the ground. Place a solid layer of small logs across the parallel logs. Add three or four more layers of logs or branches, each layer smaller than and at a right angle to the layer below it. Make a starter fire on top of the pyramid. As the starter fire burns, it will ignite the logs below it. This gives you a fire that burns downward, requiring no attention during the night.
Base for fire in snow-covered area.
There are several other ways to lay a fire that are quite effective. Your situation and the material available in the area may make another method more suitable.
Methods for laying fires.
Always light your fire from the upwind side. Make sure to lay your tinder, kindling, and fuel so that your fire will burn as long as you need it. Igniters provide the initial heat required to start the tinder burning. They fall into two categories: modern methods and primitive methods.
Modern igniters use modern devices—items we normally think of to start a fire.
MATCHES
Make sure these matches are waterproof. Also, store them in a waterproof container along with a dependable striker pad.
CONVEX LENS
Use this method only on bright, sunny days. The lens can come from binoculars, camera, telescopic sights, or magnifying glasses. Angle the lens to concentrate the sun’s rays on the tinder. Hold the lens over the same spot until the tinder begins to smolder. Gently blow or fan the tinder into flame, and apply it to the fire lay.
Lens method.
METAL MATCH
Place a flat, dry leaf under your tinder with a portion exposed. Place the tip of the metal match on the dry leaf, holding the metal match in one hand and a knife in the other. Scrape your knife against the metal match to produce sparks. The sparks will hit the tinder. When the tinder starts to smolder, proceed as above.
BATTERY
Use a battery to generate a spark. Use of this method depends on the type of battery available. Attach a wire to each terminal. Touch the ends of the bare wires together next to the tinder so the sparks will ignite it.
GUNPOWDER
Often, you will have ammunition with your equipment. If so, carefully extract the bullet from the shell casing, and use the gunpowder as tinder. A spark will ignite the powder. Be extremely careful when extracting the bullet from the case.
Primitive igniters are those attributed to our early ancestors.
FLINT AND STEEL
The direct spark method is the easiest of the primitive methods to use. The flint and steel method is the most reliable of the direct spark methods. Strike a flint or other hard, sharp-edged rock edge with a piece of carbon steel (stainless steel will not produce a good spark). This method requires a loose-jointed wrist and practice. When a spark has caught in the tinder, blow on it. The spark will spread and burst into flames.
FIRE-PLOW
The fire-plow is a friction method of ignition. You rub a hardwood shaft against a softer wood base. To use this method, cut a straight groove in the base and plow the blunt tip of the shaft up and down the groove. The plowing action of the shaft pushes out small particles of wood fibers. Then, as you apply more pressure on each stroke, the friction ignites the wood particles.
Fire-plow.
BOW AND DRILL
The technique of starting a fire with a bow and drill is simple, but you must exert much effort and be persistent to produce a fire. You need the following items to use this method:
• Socket. The socket is an easily grasped stone or piece of hardwood or bone with a slight depression in one side. Use it to hold the drill in place and to apply downward pressure.
• Drill. The drill should be a straight, seasoned hardwood stick about 2 centimeters in diameter and 25 centimeters long. The top end is round and the low end blunt (to produce more friction).
• Fire board. Its size is up to you. A seasoned softwood board about 2.5 centimeters thick and 10 centimeters wide is preferable. Cut a depression about 2 centimeters from the edge on one side of the board. On the underside, make a V-shaped cut from the edge of the board to the depression.
• Bow. The bow is a resilient, green stick about 2.5 centimeters in diameter and a string. The type of wood is not important. The bow-string can be any type of cordage. You tie the bowstring from one end of the bow to the other, without any slack.
To use the bow and drill, first prepare the fire lay. Then place a bundle of tinder under the V-shaped cut in the fire board. Place one foot on the fire board. Loop the bowstring over the drill and place the drill in the precut depression on the fire board. Place the socket, held in one hand, on the top of the drill to hold it in position. Press down on the drill and saw the bow back and forth to twirl the drill [see illustration below]. Once you have established a smooth motion, apply more downward pressure and work the bow faster. This action will grind hot black powder into the tinder, causing a spark to catch. Blow on the tinder until it ignites.
Note: Primitive fire-building methods are exhaustive and require practice to ensure success.
Bow and drill.
• Use nonaromatic seasoned hardwood for fuel, if possible.
• Collect kindling and tinder along the trail.
• Add insect repellent to the tinder.
• Keep the firewood dry.
• Dry damp firewood near the fire.
• Bank the fire to keep the coals alive overnight.
• Carry lighted punk, when possible.
• Be sure the fire is out before leaving camp.
• Do not select wood lying on the ground. It may appear to be dry but generally doesn’t provide enough friction.
—From Survival (Field Manual 21–76)
Greg Davenport
Illustrations by Steven A. Davenport
An ax is a must when traveling into cold-weather environments. It can be used to fell a tree, cut poles, or split wood. Should a large fire be required, the ax enables you to obtain the larger dead wood necessary to sustain a fire. Rhythm, rather than brute force, is the key to properly using an ax. The last thing you want is a broken handle caused by a misguided forceful swing. The weight of a properly aimed ax is all that is required to get the job done.
If possible, always fell the tree in the direction of its naturally occurring lean. For safety, make sure to clear all debris and obstacles from the area within the scope of your swing. Make the first cut—a wedge—on the tree’s downward-leaning side and as close to the ground as safely possible. The second cut should be on the opposite side, and just slightly higher than the first. Caution: Since trees often kick back at the last minute, make sure you have a clear escape route established. When cutting the tree’s limbs, start at the bottom, and always stand on the side of the tree that is opposite of the side you are working on.
When cutting poles hold the wood in your left hand and let it rest on top of and perpendicular to a downed log. With the ax in your right hand, strike the pole in a controlled downward motion, as illustrated. Note: Reverse this if you are left-handed. Not only does this technique help prevent physical injury, it also decreases the chances of damaging your ax. If you need to cut a pole in half and don’t have an ax or a large knife, you can either burn it in half or use a small knife to cut notches around it until it easily snaps into separate pieces.
Felling a tree.
When splitting a pole, hold it firmly in your left hand while, at the same time, holding the ax in your right hand. The pole and ax should be parallel to one another and the sharp side of the ax head should be on top and at the far end of the pole. Swing both the pole and the ax together, striking them on top of a downed log that is perpendicular to the pole and ax. If you are using a knife to split a pole, do not swing the knife down onto the pole. Instead, place the sharp side of the blade on top of the pole’s cut end, and use a pounding stick to drive the knife into the wood, eventually splitting it.
A sharp ax is easier to use, thus decreasing the chances of injury. A file is often used to sharpen an ax. To do this, work the file from one end of the cutting edge to the other, using a controlled motion. Do this an equal number of times on each side. To help prevent accidental injury, file away from—not toward—the cutting edge. Once the edge is sharp, use a honing stone to smooth out any roughness.
The Sven Saw and Pocket Chain Saw are two great items to consider taking into cold climates. Although I wouldn’t consider them a replacement for the ax, both will help break down bigger sections of wood into a more workable size.
The lightweight Sven Saw is made from an aluminum handle and 21-inch steel blade that folds inside the handle for easy storage. When open, the saw forms a triangle measuring 24 × 20 × 14 inches; when closed, it measures 24 × 1½ × ½ inches. The saw weighs 16 ounces and costs around $22.
The 31-inch heat-treated steel Pocket Chain Saw weighs only 6.2 ounces when stored inside a small 2 ¾ × ⅞ inch tin can. The saw has 140 bidirectional cutting teeth that will cut wood just like a chain saw; the manufacturer claims it can cut a 3-inch tree limb in less than 10 seconds. The kit comes with two small metal rings and plastic handles. The rings attach to the ends of the saw blade, and the handles slide into the rings, providing a grip that makes cutting easier. In order to save space, however, I don’t carry the handles and simply insert two sturdy branches, about 6 × 1 inch, into the metal rings. The Pocket Chain Saw costs around $20.
Cutting poles.
Splitting wood.
—From Surviving Cold Weather
U.S. Forest Service
Practice Leave No Trace! ethics by cooking on a stove and avoid building campfires. Today’s backpacking stoves are economical and lightweight and provide fast, clean cooking. In some heavily used areas, fires are not permitted. In fragile environments, such as deserts and alpine meadows, fire leaves scars for many years and depletes wood supplies. Ask at the local Ranger Station or District Office about fire restrictions or closures and whether a campfire permit is required in the area you plan to visit.
Heavy-Use Areas: If you are camping in a heavy-use area, there are probably some existing campfire rings nearby that are maintained for this use. Use them to concentrate the use to one area and lessen the overall impact.
Remote Areas: When camping in remote areas, you may choose to build a campfire, making sure the site is away from trees and shrubs. Campfires are best built on a sandy spot or hard ground since the scar can easily be hidden there. Never build a fire next to a rock because smoke will blacken it. Wildfire can easily start from campfires built on forest duff or peat.
With your trowel, dig up the organic layer of soil and set it aside for later use. Avoid encircling the fire with rocks. There is a misconception that the rocks will keep a fire from spreading. Actually, the rocks may explode from intense heat, and the blackened rocks are hard to conceal.
Wood: Burning small sticks gathered from the ground is the best source of wood. Use only down, dead wood. Never cut green trees or branches; they won’t burn. Standing dead trees will burn but are valuable for cavity-nesting birds and aesthetics, so don’t cut them. Small wood will burn completely, providing good coals for cooking. The remaining white ash is easier to dispose of than partially burned logs. Remember, never leave a fire unattended.
Leave No Trace: In heavily used camping areas, some fire rings are maintained and should be used. Make sure your fire is dead out before you pick out trash that did not burn. To verify that the fire is out, sprinkle it with water and stir the coals. If the coals are cold to the touch, the fire is out. The remaining ash and coals should be carried several hundred feet from the campsite and widely scattered. After you pick up the trash to carry home, your campsite area is ready for the next visitor. A last-minute check of your site for cigarette butts or gum wrappers, etc., will help ensure that you Leave No Trace!
In remote areas, follow the same procedures and then replace the organic material you set aside earlier. Be sure to completely naturalize the area. If you think all this is a bother, difficult, and dirty—it is! Cooking on a stove eliminates these problems.
Remember:
• Use a lightweight stove rather than building a fire.
• Check local Ranger Station for fire regulations.
• Use existing fire circles in heavy-use areas.
• Save sod for naturalizing fire rings.
• Build fires away from trees, shrubs, rocks, and meadows.
• Burn only small sticks.
• Make sure the fire is dead out.
• Scatter the ashes and naturalize the area.
—From Leave No Trace! An Outdoor Ethic
Cecil Kuhne
Illustrations by Cherie Kuhne
Starting into the flames of a campfire is for many canoers the ideal way to end a day of paddling in the wild. But in some areas, fires have left scars that will take decades or more to heal, and trees have been stripped of their branches (and even cut down) to provide firewood. Even collecting deadwood can damage the environment if not enough is left to replenish the soil with nutrients and to provide shelter for birds and animals.
One alternative to the problem is to ban campfires and to use only stoves for cooking. Doing so would certainly eliminate fires, but it would also take some of the pleasure out of wilderness travel. Most ecology experts agree that a complete ban isn’t necessary. It is important, however, to treat fires as a luxury and ensure that they have the smallest impact possible.
Fires may have to be banned, for example, when dry conditions render the fire risk high. Such regulations seem restrictive, but they prevent further destruction. Fires, officially permitted or not, are inappropriate in some areas anyway. In particular, fires should not be lit near and above the timberline, because of the slow growth of trees and the soil’s need to be replenished by nutrients from deadwood.
In other areas, fires can be lit even on pristine sites without much harm to the environment, as long as you take certain precautions. You should leave no sign of your fire, and if possible, use a firepan (discussed in detail at right). Do not leave behind partially burnt wood. If you don’t use a firepan, refill the shallow pit you’ve created with sod or dirt removed when it was dug; spreading dirt and loose vegetation over the site will help conceal it. The ideal place for fires is below the flood level along rivers, since any traces will eventually be washed away.
Do not build a ring of rocks around a fire—the campsite soon becomes littered with blackened rocks. Although the idea is to contain a fire, the best way to do that is to clear the area of flammable materials; a couple of feet is usually large enough. You should also make sure there are no low branches or tree roots above or below the fire. Pitch your tent and other gear well away, preferably upwind, so sparks can’t harm them.
If you camp at a well-used site with many rock-ringed fireplaces, use an existing one rather than make a new one. Take time to dismantle the other fire rings, removing any ashes and charcoal as garbage. Some designated backcountry sites provide metal fireboxes, and when present, they should be used.
If you collect wood, do so with care. First and foremost, do not remove wood—even dead-wood—from living trees; deadwood is needed by wildlife and it adds to the site’s attractiveness. Nothing is worse than a campsite surrounded by trees stripped of their lower branches and a ground bare of any fallen wood. In high-use areas, search for wood farther afield. Collect only what you need, and use small sticks that can be broken by hand—and easily burned to ash.
If you build fires, seriously consider bringing a firepan—a metal container with three- or four-inch sides to contain fire and ashes. They’re often required by the government agency managing the area, and they’re the best way to contain ashes and prevent fire scars. If the firepan doesn’t have legs, set it on rocks so it doesn’t scorch the ground.
On large-volume or silty rivers, the ashes can be disposed of by dumping them into the main current of the river. If you deposit them in an eddy by the camp, the ashes eventually wash back to shore, soiling the beaches. Some campsites have become so littered that the soil has turned black. To prevent this, boaters should dump ashes where the current is strong and will quickly disperse any trace. Better yet, you can store the ashes as garbage and carry them out. To prepare ashes for storage, moisten them until they’re cool and then shovel them into a container (an old surplus ammo can is ideal). At the next camp, dump the ashes out of the container and into the firepan before starting the fire. As the ashes are burned again at each camp, they are gradually reduced to a fine dust.
Firepan.
If possible, locate the firepan near the river, so high water can clean away any small coals that are accidentally dropped. An additional safety tip for removing firepans: Throw a little water on the ground as soon as the pan is removed, because the ground below can burn bare feet.
If you must build a fire without a firepan, build it where it will have less impact; either below the high-water mark on a rocky shoreline, or in a bare spot where it’s easy to remove all remains.
Build as small a fire as you can. An entire meal can be cooked with amazingly little wood. When you’re finished with the fire, thoroughly douse it with water and restore the site to its former condition. Throw any blackened rocks into the river.
—From Padding Basics: Canoeing
Greg Davenport
Illustrations by Steven A. Davenport
To create a fat lamp you will first need to render your animal fat into tallow. To do this, cook it over a low temperature until it is completely melted. It is common to have a few small particles left in the soup. To remove these particles, strain the liquid fat through a porous cloth. If you do not intend to use it immediately, store it in clean jars (fill close to the top), cover, and put in a cool dark place. The tallow can be used to meet many of your needs. It can be used as a lubricant, to make soap, or perhaps as a fuel for a fat lamp.
To create an oil lamp from tallow, use a small can that has its lid slightly attached at one end (a tuna can works great—clean it well). Bend the lid down so that it forms a 45-degree angle between the bottom of the can and where it is attached at the top. The lid will provide a platform for your wick. Fill the bottom third of the can with sand and fill it with liquid fat from that point to just below the top. Create a wick from any fluffy fibrous material. Some examples are milkweed seedpods, cattail seed heads, or perhaps even cotton. Fluff the wick up and set it on the lid platform so that its bottom is touching the fat. Fat lamps are a great outdoor heat source but should not be used indoors for extended periods of time. Note: This same design can be used with gasoline instead of tallow by simply pouring a small amount of fuel over the sand and allowing the bottom side of the wick to slightly penetrate it.
A paraffin stove can be created from corrugated cardboard, paraffin, and an empty tuna can. To make it, cut corrugated cardboard in strips that are approximately 1-inch wide, roll them together, and set them inside the tuna can. Try to pack them inside the can as tightly as possible. Using a double boiler technique melt the paraffin. Caution: Paraffin is extremely flammable and should never be melted over direct heat. Slowly pour the liquid over the cardboard and into the tuna can (a little goes a long way). Let it cool. If the lid is still attached, it can be used as a cover. Although placing a cotton wick in the center of the cardboard makes lighting easier, it isn’t necessary. To use, simply light the cardboard. A paraffin stove can be used for warmth and to cook. If used to prepare food, simply place it under an improvised cooking platform.
BIRCH BARK TORCH
Birch bark is excellent tinder that lights when wet. To make a birch torch, gather up long 2-inch-wide strips of birch and a green sapling that is about 3 feet long. Fold the bark strips in half—lengthwise. Split and trim the end of the sapling so that the bark can slide through it but not so much that it won’t be held in place. To use, light the bark and as it burns down feed the fresh bark forward. Another method of using birch as a torch is to simply wrap and tie it around the end of a sapling. This method is wasteful and I don’t prefer it.
Birch bark torch.
CATTAIL TORCH
A cattail can provide an excellent torch with its built-in handle and medium for holding fuel. To make, cut the stalk 3 feet from the cattail’s head and dip the head into tallow or another fuel source. To use, simply light the head.
—From Wilderness Living
