Going camping always sounds like a great idea, but can be daunting if you aren’t equipped with the essential tools and know how to survive the great big outdoors. Camp Master is here to help you every step of the way to ensure that your camping trip is focused on spending time with your loved ones away from the hustle, bustle and stresses of day to day life.
One of the most important things you will need to be able to do in order to keep warm as well as have an authentic camping experience is know how to build your own fire.
The first step is to gather the necessary tools required to ignite your camp fire blaze. Firstly you will need tinder. This is a small burning material such as wood shavings or strips of cardboard or paper. Next on the list is kindling. Kindling usually comprises of small twigs and branches. Finally you will need the most important aspect of the fire…. Your fire wood. Most camp sites will have firewood for sale, but it is always a good idea to pack some in the car to get you started. Make sure that the wood is dry. This will help you to light it easily and stay lit. Lastly, you will need matches or a lighter to ignite the flame.
The second step in getting your fire started is setting it up correctly. Clear any vegetation and grass in the area to create a fire pit. Dig into the ground and turn up sand to place around the area as you do not want any flammable elements catching a spark and causing a runaway fire. It is advisable to keep a small pile of sand close by in case of emergencies.
There are a few different ways that you can build a fire and depending on what you are hoping to do with the fire, will assist in your decision on how to build it. If you are wanting to cook over the flame, the tepee fire is advisable. To achieve this, you will arrange your kindling in a tepee shape over your tinder and then add a larger tepee shape layer of firewood. Once you light your tepee fire, the flames will light the kindling before lighting the larger firewood.
For a longer lasting fire, set up a cross fire. Lay tinder over a bed of kindling in a criss-cross manner. Then add your logs the same way.
It is now time to light the fire. Start by igniting the kindling at multiple points and let the structure take it from there. Do not use any fluids to ignite your flame. The kindling will be sufficient and is the safest option. To keep the fire going, add wood periodically.
Now that you have your fire going, you can sit back and enjoy camp fire moments with friends and family. Perhaps a camp fire story or some oowey gooey smore’s are in order to top off your night in the outdoors before retiring to your tent in the peaceful night’s sleep.