Hikers on hiking trails know how much trouble regular rain can bring. Movement slows down, clothes become damp, and even lighting a fire becomes extremely difficult. However, using the right approach, you can start a fire in wet weather.
Necessary
- - lighter or matches;
- - desirable: dry alcohol, pieces of organic glass or rubber;
- - desirable: ax, knife.
Instructions
Step 1
Choose the right place to start the fire. It should be as dry as possible, protected from wind and rain. If there is an awning in stock, the choice of location is not so critical. Place yourself on any hillock. If there is no awning, look for large fallen trees - there are often dry areas underneath. In dense clusters of old pine trees, you can also find a suitable site. As a last resort, cut or break a few young deciduous trees and build a kind of small hut from their crowns - it will be much easier to make a fire under it.
Step 2
Prepare the kindling material. Experienced tourists take on hikes liquid for making a fire, tablets of dry alcohol, strips of organic glass or rubber from cameras - they burn in almost any weather. If you don't have such things, start looking. Break off thin dry branches from the bottom of tree trunks (preferably conifers), as they are much less wet from rain than those on the ground. If there are birches in the area, remove some birch bark from them - this is one of the best ways to start a fire. If you have an ax, chop up large stumps or old trunks of dead trees - the core will be completely dry. Prick thin torches out of them.
Step 3
Find fuel for the fire. Use the approaches described in the previous step. However, look for branches of medium as well as thick ones. Give preference to conifers - the resin they contain will contribute to a more stable burning.
Step 4
Build a fire. Remove bark from branches and twigs of small and medium thickness. Place a small amount of kindling material on the ground. On top of it, build a semblance of a small hut of thin dry branches. Add more kindling material on different sides and complement the hut with thicker branches.
Step 5
Make a fire. Light the starting material in the very center of the folded hut. Watch the fire start up. If it becomes clear that the kindling is burning out, and the fire has not started, add it to the center or outside of the hut made of branches. If the fire is extremely reluctant to ignite, gently fanning it can help. Draw in more air into the lungs and blow it in a thin stream into the very center of the burning area. After starting a steady burning, add thicker branches to the fire until it reaches the desired size.
