Building a campfire is quite a bit of fun. You want to make sure that you're doing it in an area where it's permitted, however, before you even get started. If there's a fire ring at your campground, it doesn't necessarily mean that campfires are permitted. It's best to check with the attendant to see if they're allowed.
First, pick a safe and dry area to start the fire. If you don't have access to a fire ring, you'll want to dig a small pit to make sure that there is some containment. You'll need kindling. This should be the smallest and driest wood you can find in the area surrounding the campfire. If you have the luxury of bringing your own, small slats of wood are excellent for this purpose.
Starting a campfire means starting out very small. Get dry sticks and pieces of bark that you can use to get some hot ashes going. Once this is lit, you'll want to build on it with increasingly large sticks until you get to the point where you're adding logs to it. One exception to this is if you're in a very dry area and you have access to very dry wood. In these cases, it's usually very easy to get a fire going and you don't have to worry so much about building it up gradually.
As the fire gets hotter, you'll generally get a thicker bed of embers at the bottom of the fire. This is what generates the heat and keeps your fire growing. You'll keep adding to this as you go and, gradually, you'll get a fire that's hot enough to burn bigger pieces of wood. If you can split the wood beforehand, this makes it much easier to burn and extends your firewood supply.
Once the fire is going, you can control the size of it by adding fuel at a controlled rate. Don't add so much that you put it out but, by adding a lot, you can encourage the fire to grow. Fire does like to move upward, so stacking logs on top of one another with space between them for airflow will encourage the fire to grow, as well. Throwing a single log on a fire, unless it is very hot, will usually put it out. Remember to stir the embers now and then to keep them hot!
First, pick a safe and dry area to start the fire. If you don't have access to a fire ring, you'll want to dig a small pit to make sure that there is some containment. You'll need kindling. This should be the smallest and driest wood you can find in the area surrounding the campfire. If you have the luxury of bringing your own, small slats of wood are excellent for this purpose.
Starting a campfire means starting out very small. Get dry sticks and pieces of bark that you can use to get some hot ashes going. Once this is lit, you'll want to build on it with increasingly large sticks until you get to the point where you're adding logs to it. One exception to this is if you're in a very dry area and you have access to very dry wood. In these cases, it's usually very easy to get a fire going and you don't have to worry so much about building it up gradually.
As the fire gets hotter, you'll generally get a thicker bed of embers at the bottom of the fire. This is what generates the heat and keeps your fire growing. You'll keep adding to this as you go and, gradually, you'll get a fire that's hot enough to burn bigger pieces of wood. If you can split the wood beforehand, this makes it much easier to burn and extends your firewood supply.
Once the fire is going, you can control the size of it by adding fuel at a controlled rate. Don't add so much that you put it out but, by adding a lot, you can encourage the fire to grow. Fire does like to move upward, so stacking logs on top of one another with space between them for airflow will encourage the fire to grow, as well. Throwing a single log on a fire, unless it is very hot, will usually put it out. Remember to stir the embers now and then to keep them hot!
About the Author:
Wendy is a consultant for a specialty torch lighters store and has expert knowledge of butane accessories, including windproof lighters.
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