Light my fire

It's late fall as I write this, my favorite time of year for camping.

Alas, this has been a rainy fall -- which means I've had to be especially careful to make sure I can light a fire as I camp, regardless of the rain and damp.

The other morning, after a night of being lulled to sleep by the sound of raindrops on the tent, I reached out of my sleeping bag to fire up the camp stove for tea. I had set everything up the night before: the pot of water next my little Coleman stove and a box of waterproof matches on the cover of the pot where I could easily find them.

The combination of the rain and two people exhaling water vapor all night had made it very humid inside the tent.

I struck a match on the box. Nothing happened. Dittto for a second match. And ditto for a third. The matchbox had absorbed moisture and I simply couldn't generate enough friction to ignite the match.

Across the tent, my buddy Dave Shedd reached out of his sleeping bag to get his coffee going. Dave is even more of a gear-head than I am, and he has a nifty little Jetboil ( www.jetboil.com ) cooker and coffee press that's lighter, more efficient and more expensive than my stove-and-pot combo.

Dave flicked the Piezo igniter built into his stove. Instantly, he had a flame, which I then used to light a match which lit my stove.

Problem solved. Isn't technology wonderful?

Come prepared to light a fire

It isn't always that easy.

Especially at this time of year, the weather can turn wet, cold and nasty in a hurry. When you're traveling out and about, the heat of a fire, or the warmth of a hot drink can make the difference being comfortable and uncomfortable. Sometimes, it can make the difference between being alive and dead.

So it's just plain common sense to have the ability to build a fire if you need to.

In fact, as I was reminded by this recent incident, it pays to have several means of kindling a fire. That includes having something that's guaranteed to burn, and several options to set it alight.

In my emergency kit (which is entirely separate from the stuff in my pockets), I normally have matches, a butane lighter, firestarter sticks (usually sawdust stuck together with something waxy), some dryer lint in a film canister for tinder in case I need to start a fire from sparks, and a little flint- and steel to strike those sparks.

And, yes, I always have some cord with me, normally for a spare boot lace, but, in a pinch I can use it to make a bow drill and start a fire by rubbing two sticks together (it isn't easy and it requires patience, but I've done it.)

Sure, that sounds redundant, but my whole firestarting kit weighs about four ounces and gives me lots of options whenever I need a flame for safety or comfort. When you need a fire, you've got the means of starting one.

Practice Pyrotechnics

Just as important as the means to start a fire is the ability to start a fire. It's something you have to practice, preferably in a safe place like your back yard or a campground fire pit, long before you need to use the skill to save your life.

Start by building fires in a variety of adverse conditions (rain, wind, snow) with all the technological advantages like matches and firestarters. That way you learn the basics of constructing a fire with tinder, kindling, small wood stacked to create optimum draft and flame, and, eventually wood as large as you can handle.

Learn how to shield a tiny fire from wind, rain or snow until it's strong enough to sustain itself.

Once you know you always get a fire going in any weather, start eliminating your technological aids one at a time. Try this in dry conditions before you do it in rain, wind or snow-but do try it in bad weather as well.

Instead of using firestarter sticks or paste, try using birchbark, or fuzz sticks whittled (you always have a sharp knife with you when you are outdoors, don't you?) from the dead, dry lower branches of a spruce tree.

Then, eliminate the matches or lighter and go to the flint and steel. Learning to start fire from a spark is a wonderful challenge. Then, you can learn to make and use a bow drill and start a fire from nothing.

Part of the fun of being outdoors is learning new skills Just take it in increments so you don't get discourages and practice your skills before you need them.