Building a campfire can be easy but can end up being the hardest thing to do if you don't do it right. However, don't despair if you follow these simple campfire tips you won't have any problems.

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What you are going to need

You will want to make sure you gather all of the materials you are going to need before getting started. You are going to need three things for your campfire: material to burn, ignition source and oxygen.

Oxygen is the easiest thing to provide a fire. Its all around us the same stuff you breathe. Keep oxygen in mind when setting up your campfire. Put on too much wood during the beginning stages of the fire and you will smother it before you get it going.

Many people will say all you need is one match and you aren't a man unless you can light a fire with just one match. You know what I say forget that. Who cares what they think. Your goal is to make a fire. You should use the most efficient tools for the job. I use a windproof butane lighter. Yes I have waterproof matches and even a magnesium fire starter in my personal survival kit and have practiced with them many of times just in case, but I use a windproof butane lighter for everyday camping. With a windproof butane lighter you can easily get a fire started in any condition. I have used a windproof butane lighter to light hundreds of campfires and only have had it fail because I forgot to make sure it was full of fuel.

There are 3 types of material you are going to need. You need to gather tinder, kindling and larger pieces of wood.

Tinder is light dry material that will burn quickly and easily. Some of the things you can use are shredded newspaper, twigs, dry pine needles, wood shavings, dryer lint, cotton balls with a little bit of Vaseline applied.

Kindling is thin pieces of wood that will catch fire when the lit tinder is applied to it.

Larger pieces of wood are wrist to leg size branches and logs.

Where to get your Wood

There are many ways to gather the wood you are going to need for your campfire. Some campgrounds allow you to gather dead wood off the forest floor. If that is the case great you can get your wood for free but if it is not allowed you are going to have to bring or buy your own wood. So make sure to find out if you are allowed to gather firewood before you go.

You can also buy bundles of firewood (1.0 Cu Ft) at the supermarket and usually at a nearby camp store. These bundles should last about 2-4 hours apiece so plan accordingly. Some of the firewood bundles you buy already contain smaller pieces of wood for kindling. But if it doesn't, You are going to have to do some prep work before you use the purchased wood. You need to take at least one piece of firewood and break it down into smaller pieces for tinder and kindling. Here's how.

Take a good pocket knife and shave off about two handfuls of wood shavings for kindling. Now set the same piece of firewood on a sturdy rock. Take a hatchet and cut the rest of the piece of firewood into finger width pieces. Take 2-3 of these pieces and further break them into 3 inch pieces. Take two more pieces of fire wood and cut them into wrist size pieces.

Prepping for the Campfire

Most established campsites will have a campfire ring set up where you are required to place your fire. But if there isn't one on your campsite or you are out in the wilderness this is what you need to do to make your own campfire pit.

Find a flat area with as little bit of brush as possible. Make sure to choose a campfire site far enough away from your tent and other flammable objects and that is not directly underneath a tree. Clear any brush away and scrape the surface of the soil in a 3 foot circle. Put rocks or soil around the fire pit about 6-8 inches high. Remove any other brush in a 10 foot radius around the campfire pit

Gather up all the tinder, kindling and wood you are going to need. One tip you should follow is gather up at least twice the amount of wood you think you are going to need to make sure you don't run out.

Setting up your Campfire

Take several kindling pieces about 10 inches long. Push one end into the ground and angle the other end inward touching the other pieces of kindling in a 8 inch circle. Make sure to leave a few inches of space between each piece of kindling so plenty of air can get inside. Leave an opening on one side large enough to place the tinder inside. You should now have a structure that looks like a cone.

Lighting the fire

Take a handful of tinder, making a tinder bundle and place it inside of the cone. Take another handful of tinder and hold it down at an angle and. Make sure it is burning good and place it inside of the cone. Let tinder burn until you have a good flame.

Slowly place the small pieces of kindling into the fire. As the kindling pieces burn the kindling that makes up the outside of the cone will catch and start to fall inward.

As this starts to happen place one of the medium size logs onto the fire making sure not to smother the fire. Keep adding kindling and medium size pieces of firewood until the fire is burning hot and you have a good bed of coals.

Then add one of the larger pieces of firewood and it will catch on fire and burn for a good amount of time. If the large piece of wood doesn't catch right away just add some more kindling until it does.

An easier way to light the fire is with a Vaseline soaked cotton ball. Take a cotton ball and coat it with Vaseline. Rub it in good and tear the cotton ball slightly open. Place the cotton ball inside of the cone and make sure to wipe the Vaseline off with your fingers so they don't catch on fire. Light the cotton ball and it will burn for about 2 minutes. While the cotton ball is burning Slowly add the tinder and follow the same instructions as above.

A good thing about this method is it works in moderate wind and even light rain. You can pre-make these fire starters before you go camping. So I am always prepared I put the cotton balls into a small Ziploc bag and put them in my personal survival kit.

Putting out your fire

When you build a fire you should never leave it unattended. Before you leave the area or go to bed you should put it out. You can put a fire out with water or dirt. Pore enough water or shovel enough dirt on the fire until it goes out. To make sure the campfire is out take a stick and stir up the ashes. If you see any glowing coals or burning embers repeat the first step until all of the coals have stopped burning. Keep repeating the steps until you no longer see anything burning or smoking.

I like to use Leave no trace behind principles when traveling in the back country. If you made your campfire ring in the wilderness don't forget to dismantle it. Turn the ashes and coals under the top soil. Disperse the rocks you used for your campfire ring in the same area you got them from. Scatter the brush you cleared away from your campfire ring back over the area.

As you read in this article building a campfire is not hard at all. All you need to do is follow these simple steps and and your campfire experience will be a success.

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Article Source: EzineArticles.com

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