Well, it started snowing around noon today, so I decided to take a dayhike. I got a visa giftcard for christmas, and bought a pair of North Face goretex light hikers. As I have yet to try them out, I figured today would be an excellent day. So, I packed my lumbar pack, threw my PSK in a cargo pocket, and off I went.
We have a local mountain (read; hill) here that is fairly popular for hikers. Birdwatchers come to watch the hawks migrate in the fall as well. But, today, I came across about 15 people out hiking this hill, which is more than I usually see during warmer months! It was nice to see people out enjoying the weather. My girlfriend thinks I'm a little wierd for wanting to go out into this weather, but, hey, to each his own. There were even a group of 3 spending the night on the mountain.
So, I decided to try lighting a fire in not so ideal conditions. To set this up, here is a visual; It was about 25* today, with light snow. I was on top of a bald mountain, about 1500' or so above sea level. Wind was from the north, about 10-15 mph. Wind was a constant on the hill. I figured that I couldnt get too much a worse condition to try & light a fire. So, off with the mittens, and onto firebuilding 101.
First attempt, with vaseline impregnated cotton balls and spark-light; tried for a good 5 minutes, got nothing. Gave up.
Second attempt, using spark-light and tinder quik; after about 15 attempts, got a light. managed to get a bed of tinder going (dry grass) immediately. Let it burn itself out, stomped it out, poured a little water from my canteen onto it, and called it a day. Decided that I am going to pick up more tinder quik, as it lights a helluva lot easier in nasty conditions.
Now, with the cotton balls; what is the secret to getting these to catch a spark? I even tried to light it with a disposable lighter, and got nothing (only tried once though).