With a little coaching, faith and encouragement, bacpacboy made his first solo twig fire today!

First he collected tinder and kindling (pencil lead thick, pencil thick, thumb thick and thicker) and put them in separate piles.
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Then he made some shavings and feather sticks with his SAK Camper, and placed the shavings in a pile on a small platform of sticks on the sand



Then he used his SAK and ferro rod to try and light the shavings. He tried using the SAK's awl, but found it uncomfortable to grip so he tried the scraper that came with the ferro rod and then went back to the SAK. His technique still needs a lot of coaching but it's getting better. I laughed when he said "I agree with Myke Hawke - just carry a ding dang lighter!" LOL!


After some coaching and lots of perseverance, he did it! (Good thing we had lunch before fire practice. We had hiked for three hours and were starving!)



Here's a couple videos of it. Sorry for the gap in the middle. He needed some help getting rid of the lanyard on the ferro rod and with his technique, but he eventually got it and was very proud of himself when he did. I was proud of him too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GKTeDXKvPU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbvRb1y1XqY

Thanks for looking!

Pass along a hearty "Well done and congratulations!" to bacpacboy from me. I know he doesn't know me from Adam, but I am still excited for him. Also, you deserve a bacpacpatontheback (give yer dog a bone - sorry couldn't help myself) for being such a good coach and mom. Both of you can have a drink of your choice on me.

He's done better than I can do!!!

There's SO much to be said for having an "I can do this" attitude. You're gettting him off to a great start!

Nice!

Boys and girls that age should be allowed to play with fire and knives.(supervised at first of course)If more parents did this there wouldn't be the stigma against them.It is a shame that many outdoor schools have to teach something as simple as starting a proper fire.It is hard to believe that there are adults that have never done what your boy has done.GOOD ON THE BOTH OF YOU!Especially you Bacpacjac for encouraging him......

BOATMAN
John

Thanks guys. I totally agree, Boatman. I am constantly amazed/befuddled/speechless at the level of unnecessary "safety" people seem to think vital these days. I've got one friend who is just beside herself that I'm teaching my kid to use a knife, make fire and, heaven forbid, letting him go on a no parents allow camp out with his 14 year old cousin and 23 YEAR OLD sister. LOL! (The fact that she's a Scout leader REALLY scares me. Honestly.)

Putting our kids in bubbles is doing them a disservice, IMO. I can't define where the line is. You have to know your own kids, and understand that they're way more capable than most people give them credit for. Childhood curiosity being what it is, telling not to do something they're interested in isn't going to work. At least not with my kid. Better to teach them to do it safely and responsibly. Heck, my hubby burned down a field of hay playing with fire when he was a kid. His mom was (and still is) a "OMG! He's too young for that!" type. Coincidence? hmm......

We were at the river yesterday, and bacpacboy was climbing up and down this HUGE sandy river bank, having a blast. Another family arrived with three kids - one slightly younger, one about the same age, and one a little older. Those kids were so scared for him, and kept yelling at him to get down. He was fine but they were so nervous. He told them "I'm not coming down but why don't you come up?" No way hosay. It was fascinating to watch. (So much so that I shot of video of it.) Finally one of the kids said "I'm going to tell your mom!" and he said "Go ahead, she just took a picture of me." LOL!



He was up pretty high but the slope was easily climable, soft and, let's face it, fun. I watched him and wasn't worried at all, except for asking him to please not take off up and over the ridge and into the thick forest, where we wouldn't be able to hear each other, unless he took his lanyard with whistle, which he had no interest in. (Amoung other things, I had bacpacbaby with me and wouldn't be able to go get him when it was time to head home.) The other kids didn't stop TELLING him to get down, until he finally did - when he was darned good and ready. LOL!


P.S. I should point out that although bacpacboy loves climbing, he is scared of heights, and that was a good gauge of just how dangerous that slope was, IMO.

He's 10 and has one more year of Cub Scouts, Montanero. He desperately wants to get all his permits as soon as he can when he moves up to Scouts next year. David Arama, Les Stroud's survival instructor, runs a survival camp for kids in the summer, and his old friend Alex has gone to it a couple of years now. bacpacboy has a goal of going in two years, when he's 12, the minimum age requirement for the camp.

Interesting, Izzy. I think you're right. I suspect it's a little like smoking - they're either going to go do the same thing or be repulsed by it.

I put a high priority on safety, but I also believe that we should teach our kids to be independent, and give them the freedom to explore it as they're ready for it. There are lots of little steps along that path, and sometimes we stall for one reason or another, but if we never lengthen their "leash" how will our kids ever learn to be self-sufficient and be able to handle it when we expect that of them?

LOVE that!! Describes my son to a tee. And so far, his little sister seems to be following in his footsteps so far.