You live in dry country (I presume). Up here a lot of down wood is wet or even punky on the outside. You need to expose good dry wood to get a decent fire. You also oftentimes have to make splits for kindling, as small twigs are often wet, snow-covered, or covered with lichens or moss. Depends a lot on time of year and location. I would also add that in a survival situation in the boreal forests, stomping wood to break it is a risky manuever.
The western mountains get plenty of snow and rain and can be quite soggy. The vegetation, coniferous forest, is roughly equivalent to what I have experienced in Minnesota. Northern Arizona is basically Bemidji with mountains. Plenty of dead wood, especially pine knots, which even when wet will take a flame quite readily.
Stomping wood, at least the way I do it, is no more risky than walking off trail on uneven ground ( or exposing sharp cutting edges). A nice 25 pound rock, dropped from chest height, on a propped piece of dead wood, is a great kindling machine.
Even so, as I became more and more experienced with making wood fires, I also became aware of the benefits of alcohol and gas stoves, and carried them regularly. On at least one occasion, that habit paid off handsomely, and is the reason I am still packing around all my original toes and fingers. But I still carry matches and a lighter, along with dryer lint and petroleum jelly or hand sanitizer to get the old wood fire going.
We started referring to white gas as "boy Scout fire starter" when we used it to overcome the reluctance of wet wood to burst into flame. Now that is risky!
Previous Topic
Index
