number one: I am not a pyro. number two: me and my friends are responsible campers. number three: no matter what you get at the end of this entry, fire will always be cool. thanks Prometheus!
I went camping this weekend and there were lots of fun things that me and my buddies got to do. one staple of camping is building a campfire. now I have made many a campfire, and I had assumed that all of my friends had as well, because we're all pretty "outdoorsy". I learned that only two of them really felt comfortable with it, and success was a must because it got down into the thirties and we had limited firewood.
I'm no MacGyver. I can make a fire with matches and kindling and logs. I have never tried the whole flint spark thing, though I', sure it's a handy talent. but as long as I have matches I can get a very warm, bright and stable fire going. but the last time we went camping I was in charge of the fire building so this time I figured someone else would want to. sure enough, one of my friends wanted to try, and he began by stacking four logs into a tepee and then sticking a brick of "firestarter" underneath and watching it cook.
fire-building is a man's task. so you can see where someone might take it personally if you stepped in and helped with the fire making. as soon as me and the other experienced guys came in to help, he got mad and said "fuck it, you handle the fire!" so I gladly did. we went and got kindling and took the logs off and started a proper fire. this is one of those examples where friends can get into fights over stupid stuff. fortunately, there was plenty of beer and meat to go around so no hard feelings lasted. I still didn't dare to rearrange his logs into a log cabin type of formation, which would burn hotter and be easier to tend to. I think we all would have been happier sticking with the original tepee, so that said friend wouldn't feel too emasculated.
learn how to build a fire. read "to build a fire" by Jack London, it's a nice short story and will open your eyes. I will work on the flint idea. glad to be back!
-Mel
I went camping this weekend and there were lots of fun things that me and my buddies got to do. one staple of camping is building a campfire. now I have made many a campfire, and I had assumed that all of my friends had as well, because we're all pretty "outdoorsy". I learned that only two of them really felt comfortable with it, and success was a must because it got down into the thirties and we had limited firewood.
I'm no MacGyver. I can make a fire with matches and kindling and logs. I have never tried the whole flint spark thing, though I', sure it's a handy talent. but as long as I have matches I can get a very warm, bright and stable fire going. but the last time we went camping I was in charge of the fire building so this time I figured someone else would want to. sure enough, one of my friends wanted to try, and he began by stacking four logs into a tepee and then sticking a brick of "firestarter" underneath and watching it cook.
fire-building is a man's task. so you can see where someone might take it personally if you stepped in and helped with the fire making. as soon as me and the other experienced guys came in to help, he got mad and said "fuck it, you handle the fire!" so I gladly did. we went and got kindling and took the logs off and started a proper fire. this is one of those examples where friends can get into fights over stupid stuff. fortunately, there was plenty of beer and meat to go around so no hard feelings lasted. I still didn't dare to rearrange his logs into a log cabin type of formation, which would burn hotter and be easier to tend to. I think we all would have been happier sticking with the original tepee, so that said friend wouldn't feel too emasculated.
learn how to build a fire. read "to build a fire" by Jack London, it's a nice short story and will open your eyes. I will work on the flint idea. glad to be back!
-Mel
