Episode 169: Building the Best Campfire

Do you love the roar and crackle of a good campfire? Are you mesmerized by the flickering lights, glowing embers and radiating warmth? I've got some tips on building the perfect campfire!

Ingredients 

* Tinder or fire starters

* Kindling

* Dry hardwoods

* Rake

* Ring

* Fan or bellows

* Fireplace gloves or tongs

* Lighter

Start by preparing your ring or stone circle. Remove old debris and rake around the outside of your ring to make sure that any combustible materials are away from the ring.

Good campfires get going by using three levels of materials that burn. Tinder is the fastest burning material and it is used to ignite the kindling. Kindling burns slower than tinder and long enough to get the hardwood larger logs started.

* Tinder - You can forage the forest floor for dried leaves, pine straw, pine cones and very small dry twigs. You need really dry material that will burn up quickly. I usually use balled up newspaper to which I add homemade fire starters that will burn longer than newspapers or twigs. A well made fire starter made with a wax base will burn for several minutes, long enough to get the kindling burning well. If you are not using fire starters you may want to invest in a set of bellows to fan the flames.

* Kindling - Kindling is the medium sized wood that is used to ignite the hard wood logs. It can be fallen branches found on the ground, scrap wood from home improvement projects or slices of hardwood cut off the larger logs with an axe.

* Hardwood logs - Most campgrounds sell seasoned, dried hardwood for campfires. Most states have restrictions on bringing wood in from out of state locations. These regulations have to do with an effort to control the spread of insects that ravage certain species of trees and should be strictly observed.

Tinder is in the center of the fire surrounded by kindling and topped off with the hardwoods. There are a few ways to stack the hardwoods to get your fire going. The teepee style, the log cabin and the upside down. I prefer the log cabin to the teepee which collapses as soon as the kindling is burned up and can smother the fire out. Once the large logs are burning you can add more large logs without having to use additional kindling and tinder. A pair of fire gloves is handy to move wood around.

Photo credit: Camping With Gus

Fire starters are easy to make at home and I like to make them in big batches on a rainy day and give them as gifts. A new one I have recently begun making from paper bags basically eliminates the need for tinder. It's tinder and a fire starter all in one.

Cut lunch bags about 2/3 of the way down the bag. Open the bag and put it in an aluminum pan. Cut the paper into strips and make them into paper "nests."

I make the "nests" by opening the strips and placing them on my wrist like a bracelet. When I have a pile I slide them off and ball them up.

Shaving old candles with a potato peeler allows me to work with wax that is not hot.

I first place wax in the bottom of the bag and then add the paper nests. I top that with more curled ribbon wax and place them in the oven on 300 degrees for about ten minutes. When they come out the wax has melted into the paper and I tie them up with twine and store them in a plastic box.

Collecting Wax

* I buy old candles at garage sales, flea markets and thrift stores.

* The Dollar Store has some great bargains on ten packs of wax candles.

* I ask the 'church ladies' who clean the church to save the candle stubs for me. It's a higher quality wax that doesn't smoke or smell.

* I save all the old birthday candles, gouda cheese wrappers and candle stubs from holiday table settings and use them for these projects.