Another winter fire

Wednesday was a long walk filled with deer, but yesterday was a shorter walk with reaching a fire-building location in mind. I wanted to go out, get a little fire built, and just relax in the snow for a while. And I did just that.

It wasn't much trouble, but did take two attempts. After the first light the fire burned for about two minutes, but my kindling wasn't catching. I gathered a bit more from a nearby hemlock and tried again. I used some pitchwood, waxed jute twine, and a ferro rod once again. The pitchwood was perhaps unnecessary because as soon as the fine branches from the hemlock touched flame they were up in a matter of seconds. That said, this combination of tinders (pitchwood and waxed jute) is a good one to have in wet and cold weather (works good in rain/when wet), or at any time as a backup. I keep them in my fire kit.

I've now built two fires alone this winter, and helped build two others as part of a group. Winter fires aren't as intimidating as they might seem; in fact, my general opinion on many outdoor skills is that they aren't so much hard as they just require some practice. It's just a matter of doing it. Knowledge of the trees around you, and knowledge of the place in general, are invaluable.

With all of that said, even though I think I might have winter fires figured out I'll continue to practice making them. Fire is another one of those things that I'll probably never learn enough about. Twenty years might go by, and even though I'll definitely learn a lot I bet I still won't know all of the intricacies, subtleties, and secrets of fire. It will always keep some of its mystery for itself, and will always remain enchanting.

And I believe fire has much to teach about other things, as well. You can learn much about the woods simply by practicing your fire-making skills in different environments. There is so much to learn about how different woods burn, where and when and how to gather different materials ... the list could go on much longer I'm sure. (There's also a lot of invisible learning as you go through the woods.) That's why fire is always one of my advised skills to practice, especially for those who are new to the woods. You can never learn too much and you'll always learn more.