With that said, what are the best/ rule of thumbs so to say, when finding water? Particularly in mountainous/rocky areas.
And secondly, how, if at all possible, can you get a fire started with only wet/living things to burn. What I mean by this is a lot of live pine trees and not much else. Things are wet because of the daily rain.
what would you use for tinder and kindling? More than that, all you have is a firesteel.
Now once that is established, is it possible to start a fire in the rain or during rainfall *say it has not stopped raining for two weeks. If so, how?
1. Regarding water, It can be harvested in a variety of ways. Dew collecting is one of my preferred. Using a rag or shirt, simply wake earlier and sponge up dew collecting. Watch for poisonous plants, watch for rocks near mines or cow pastures as they will have mineral buildup.
Plants house water. The stem of the thistle (any variety) when scraped and chewed like celery has alot of moisture in it. Birch bark and many others has sugary moisture inside. Succulents/Cacti like agave house alot as well...
Solar stills are efficient. Dig a hole about 3' in depth and in diameter. Place a cup in the hole, dead center. Surround with fresh greens, grasses, etc. Place a plastic sheet or tarp over it (dark works better) and weigh it in the center with a rock so it forms a cone that drops in the center of the cup. Seal circumference of plastic with dirt. Sun will cause plants and moisture in hole to condensate and drip into the cup. Nicely distilled water. You can even pee in the ground about it and have it distill pure. It will also collect rain from above.
Boiling snow if you must, but make sure it's really boiled.
Running streams, but make sure it's filtered and purified.
Always bring water to a rolling boil. Using rocks collected high and dry for rock boiling is good. Basalt works best for rock boiling.
2.Regarding wet wood. Yes, it is possible to get a fire. But you must think of it more like a smolder at first. In a rainy situation or any other for that matter, you do not want wood collected from the moist ground. I snap dead branches off trees. There you have the best dry wood around. Search for dry-semidry mosses.
Using bark to act as a roof for your fire will be best in the rain. I use tepee fires in rain with bark slabs to protect from water and wind. I also use heat reflective walls of rock or wood.
Drying the rest of your protected wood near the fire, once it is going is the next key...
Inner bark, under the outer bark can be found dry as well...
Placing rocks in your fire to bring up temp and add thermal mass is always good. Warm rocks have many uses! Especially as sleeping buddies when its cold.
Carry dry tinder in your pocket.
3. Regarding tinder. You want to make a tinder nest. I make mine with dry grasses on the outside, then dry bracken fern, then cattail down in the center. I also add pinch of rolled mugwort in the center (a secret! acts like lint but chars slowly and creates a large coal that won't burn through the nest as easily) if I have it. Make sure air can pass through the hole nest as you don't want to smother it as you blow it.
Mosses, fatwood (sappy pine bark usually found in the stumps of cut trees) thistle down, dry inner bark, dry bracken, cattail down, dry leaves, etc. can all be found in nature.
Lint, fabric material, jute twine, cotton balls (vaseline or no) can all be found on person or in pocket.
Most firesteel devotees match with fatwood, jute, or cotton...
Hope this helps!
