THE CAMPFIRE

     The first thing that comes to mind when I think about camping is the Campfire. The second thing is, “I sure hope they never stop us from having them”.  In this day of  Spare the Air Days at least in the State of California, they have still not outlawed the good old campfire. I would gladly give up the right to have a fireplace fire in my home to retain the right to have a campfire in the wild.  I’m sure there are those of you who do not agree with me on this point, but I am pretty sure most of you agree that a campfire helps retain the real romance of living outdoors.

     Putting the romance of the campfire aside for the moment, there are very practical reasons to have one. Here are a few: heat, light, cooking, cleaning and warding off most wild animals. I know that each one of these can be replaced by: a stove, lantern, boiling water on a stove and a weapon of some sort. But if you are going to have a campfire for esthetic reasons why not also use it for practical ones too. In that way you are not using as much propane, white gas, batteries or ammunition, I also hate roasting marshmallows and chestnuts over my camp stove.

     The main ingredients of a Campfire are: tinder, kindling, wood, igniter, air and a contained place to burn it. Configuring the layout of a fire is as important as having all of the ingredients. Before all of these are combined you should always make sure that Safety and Respect are always present. Having a container of water, at least one gallon and a shovel are important. Keeping all flammables away from the fire area is paramount. Last protecting your body particularly your hands and arms is mandatory. I have a pair of Fire Gloves, with them you can reach into the fire and adjust things without a stick. I will talk about them when I go into equipment.