A campfire is part of the outdoor experience when you’re camping, backpacking, or hunting and plan on spending the night in the wilderness. Having a campfire is one of those experiences that make an overnight stay in the woods memorable. It’s disappointing if you’re at a campground that has signs in the fire pit that says No Campfires. That means it’s too dry to have a fire. Please don’t ignore these warnings for your own convenience. Forest fires are terrible events that are usually avoidable, since many are man-made.
Although most campgrounds have fire pits, you may find a place to camp while you’re backpacking that does not. If it’s been dry you’ll need to be extremely careful where you build your campfire.
The first thing to do is pick your spot for the campfire. Make sure it’s away from anything that burns easily like dry grass and tree limbs from nearby trees. Clear an area twice the size as your fire ring will be. An errant spark from a breeze could cause a fire in a nearby field of dry grass or trees.
The next thing to do is to collect rocks for your fire ring and build it approximately a foot high and 3 feet in diameter. If you’re near a stream, creek, or river you’ll be sure to find good rocks to build your fire ring. If rocks aren’t available, pass on having a fire. The fire ring will prevent the ashes from spreading and keep the fire concentrated in a safe place.
If you have not brought any fire wood or are not in a campground that sells it, you’ll need to search the forest floor for dead tree branches and pine cones. If you’re in a forested area you’ll be sure to find plenty for your needs. An axe, hatchet or folding saw are tools you’ll need in this endeavor. You’ll want to cut the branches and limbs you find to fit the parameters or your fire ring.
Start small when you first build your fire! To start the fire you’ll need tender; small sticks, dry leaves twisted newspaper, pine needles or anything that will easily catch fire. Bring a couple of different methods to start a fire – camp lighters, cigarette lighters, water proof matches, or fire starters that emit sparks by rubbing flint against steel are ideas to think about. When you have a small flickering fire, then it's time to gradually add larger sticks of wood. As the fire gets larger and hotter you can add even larger chunks of wood. You can lay the wood on the fire any way you like as long as there is enough air flow from the bottom of the coals to the top of the fire, to keep the logs burning.
Building a fire is mainly common sense. If you have a small fire, add enough wood, any way you like, to make it into a larger fire.
Try not to build your fire too big. Raging fires are not cool. There's too much of a chance that a spark will get away and set fire to someone's tent or the nearby fields and forests. Keep the fire at a reasonable level and have a safe, happy stay in God’s great outdoors!
Although most campgrounds have fire pits, you may find a place to camp while you’re backpacking that does not. If it’s been dry you’ll need to be extremely careful where you build your campfire.
The first thing to do is pick your spot for the campfire. Make sure it’s away from anything that burns easily like dry grass and tree limbs from nearby trees. Clear an area twice the size as your fire ring will be. An errant spark from a breeze could cause a fire in a nearby field of dry grass or trees.
The next thing to do is to collect rocks for your fire ring and build it approximately a foot high and 3 feet in diameter. If you’re near a stream, creek, or river you’ll be sure to find good rocks to build your fire ring. If rocks aren’t available, pass on having a fire. The fire ring will prevent the ashes from spreading and keep the fire concentrated in a safe place.
If you have not brought any fire wood or are not in a campground that sells it, you’ll need to search the forest floor for dead tree branches and pine cones. If you’re in a forested area you’ll be sure to find plenty for your needs. An axe, hatchet or folding saw are tools you’ll need in this endeavor. You’ll want to cut the branches and limbs you find to fit the parameters or your fire ring.
Start small when you first build your fire! To start the fire you’ll need tender; small sticks, dry leaves twisted newspaper, pine needles or anything that will easily catch fire. Bring a couple of different methods to start a fire – camp lighters, cigarette lighters, water proof matches, or fire starters that emit sparks by rubbing flint against steel are ideas to think about. When you have a small flickering fire, then it's time to gradually add larger sticks of wood. As the fire gets larger and hotter you can add even larger chunks of wood. You can lay the wood on the fire any way you like as long as there is enough air flow from the bottom of the coals to the top of the fire, to keep the logs burning.
Building a fire is mainly common sense. If you have a small fire, add enough wood, any way you like, to make it into a larger fire.
Try not to build your fire too big. Raging fires are not cool. There's too much of a chance that a spark will get away and set fire to someone's tent or the nearby fields and forests. Keep the fire at a reasonable level and have a safe, happy stay in God’s great outdoors!