Camping tips how to build a campfire

Posted: 02/09/2007--25/11/2008 || Rate this Article: 3 || Views|| Sign In || Register ||Hello Guest

Camping is fun, but its not without its challenges. If you came prepared, itll be much easier, but if youve forgotten some little important items for your trip, you could be in some trouble. Its not that hard to build a campfire if you have all the right components: dry wood, small limbs, paper and matches or a lighter. But when one or more of these items are missing, building a fire can be very challenging.

Before starting a fire, make sure you follow certain safety rules. Firstly, never throw gasoline or other combustible fluids on a fire. The fire can blow outwards, burning skin and catching clothes on fire. Secondly, clear a space of about six feet, all the way around the intended fire spot to prevent the fire, once its started, from traveling. If its a grassy area, remove the grass and build the fire on the dirt. And be sure to completely extinguish any fire or hot coals before abandoning the area.

There are certain ways that you can arrange the sticks and other fire starters which will help to get the flames going quicker. A good way to begin a fire is to stack kindling or small, dry sticks in a teepee-type arrangement. Place paper inside the teepee, then light the paper with a match. The teepee set-up allows air to flow under and between the sticks, starting the fire more rapidly.

Another way to get a fire going well is to place two logs, about a foot apart, on the ground. Lay smaller sticks on top of the two logs, about three to four inches apart. Place paper or pieces of dry bark between the two large logs, under the sticks. As the fire begins, start laying more sticks in a cris-cross pattern on top of the other sticks.

Sometimes theres no paper to help start the fire. When thats the case, you can gather dry leaves and tiny pieces of sticks or bark to help start the fire. Another thing that helps is to pull out any loose threads from clothing. Thread catches fire quickly, and so does 100% cotton fabric. Cotton balls and 000 steel wool will also catch fire rapidly.

Weve all seen movies where someone rubs sticks together to start a fire. Its nearly impossible to start a fire by simply rubbing sticks together. A flint and steel set can help you get going, if you happen to have one. Striking a piece of flint against steel, will cause a spark but thats no good unless you have something that will catch fire quickly, like leaves.

When planning a camping trip, try to prepare by taking a stack of newspaper along. Newspaper can be rolled tightly to form logs which catch fire quickly. Some people soak the newspapers in kerosene for a couple of hours, then let them dry out. Later, when starting the fire, simply lay a match on top of the newspaper and youll have a fire in a few minutes.