Good story. Been there, sort of.

Toughest fires I've ever built were after a thick fog and after a thick hoar frost. Everything, even spruce twigs and grasses that would normally have been dry, were saturated with moisture. Couldn't even get these going with a Bic. I can't imagine trying with only a flint.

From that point on, I made a point of always carrying half a candle or one of those Coghlans fire starter sticks. Both work, consistently.

If you have any luck, you can pick up a couple of cattail heads for tinder. And there's always the cordite from a shotgun shell ...