Were the rubber hits the road

[upnorth]

I suppose that starting a fire with a lighter doesn't take much skill, but it is an ability. I found today that I'm able to start a fire on a medium windy, snowy day at -18 C. I was out hunting and stopped to write my name in the snow then decided to see if I could start a fire. I scraped off about two feet of the white stuff until I found rock in a semi sheltered area. Then started gathering the usual stick branch assortment. I found that tall jointed grass sticking above the snow here and there, so I grabbed enough to twist into two fat knots or clumps. I made a base of snapped off small sticks then layered my grass knots and had my fine kindling at hand. I assumed that the grass was bone dry but it acted like it was medium dry and I had to hold the lighter under the stuff for a fair while. Actually it was the feather like heads on the grass that really caught and got the whole thing ripping. It wasn't long before I had a dandy fire. With 10 the hardest, it was about a 3 to start this fire, in the winter, in the snow, using only materials at hand. I had an abundance of flammable material all along the lake shoreline. Conclusion: It is fairly easy to start a winter fire here as all the materials are at hand. It would also be better if I used an adjustable flame lighter as the fixed flame I was using wasn't that high, and the wind often blew it out.

 

[2dogs]

Sounds like you had a good time. It is nice to be able to apply a skill on the spur of the moment like that. The Sierras are barren of snow right now and even when they aren't the temps are mild and the humidity is high. We will be spending 7-10 days there, if it snows, this winter and I hope to have many oportunities to make fires. I hope I do as well as you have done.

 

[upnorth]

Sounds like you had a good time. It is nice to be able to apply a skill on the spur of the moment like that. The Sierras are barren of snow right now and even when they aren't the temps are mild and the humidity is high. We will be spending 7-10 days there, if it snows, this winter and I hope to have many oportunities to make fires. I hope I do as well as you have done.

Thanks buddy, but I'd better not start acting like a know it all, because I'm sure not. I grew up in the country but have spent most of my adulthood in the city. I have always hunted/fished but I am absolutely not any type of outdoor authority. I am constantly learning from all of you. I did this today because I flap my yap so much, that I wanted to see if I actually could get it together when the chips come down. It wasn't all that hard and I feel a little more sure of myself/safer with the knowledge, because it really is wilderness here. All of you please keep contributing because you are part of my outdoor education. Thank you.

 

[Grampa]

Way to go, Upnorth!

Now ya need to bring along a billy and some tea leaves and brew yourself up a cuppa while you wait for that moose to amble by!

Cheers!
Steve

 

[upnorth]

Thanks Grampa