Part III: Fire

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ADDITIONAL FUEL TIPS

If you want to generate a tremendous amount of heat, adequate light, and a slow-burning fire that results in fine cooking coals . . . use hardwood for your fuel. On the other hand, should you need quick heat and a lot of light, it's best to find a softer wood such as cedar, tamarack, or juniper. Wet wood, green leaves, or pine boughs can be added to a fire to make a thick plume of smoke and steam that will help searchers pinpoint your location.

Damp fuel can also be used to help you keep a bed of coals burning overnight. ( Green wood works well for this purpose, too, but don't cut living trees for fuel unless you're faced with a true survival situation.) Add a liberal supply to a strong blaze just before you go to sleep. The slow-burning wood will keep the fire going for several hours, and produce coals that'll usually last through the night.

THE TIPI FIRE

Once you've prepared your site and gathered the necessary materials, it's time to lay the fire. I strongly recommend tipi-shape stacking for this job. Since the design allows the fuel to stand high and lean toward the center of the structure—that is, where the flames naturally rise—it starts easily, burns efficiently, and throws out quantities of heat and light. Furthermore, the slanting walls and resulting high flames help the blaze hold up even in rain or snow storms.

Start with a bed of tinder and then, working from your finest-grade materials on up, build a cone-shaped structure. (You may want to lay down a tripod of firm sticks first, to give the design its form.) Also, be sure to leave an opening through which you can reach the interior of the pile to light the fire. This entrance should face the wind so that the prevailing breeze can help drive the flames up through your fuel.

I generally put about six inches of tinder and kindling in the center and add a good supply of squaw wood—working carefully from the skinniest sticks to thicker ones—until the tipi is 8" to 10" across and a foot or more in height. When it's raining, I'll lay small slabs of bark around the cone to help keep the interior dry until I'm ready to start the fire.

If you're carrying matches, you can simply thrust one into the "doorway" of the tipi and watch your blaze take off (even in wet weather). However, if you don't have matches, you'll need an effective alternate method . . . such as the bow drill.

BUILDING THE BOW DRILL

There are five parts to a bow-drill apparatus: the bow, the handhold, the fireboard, the drill, and some tinder. The bow can be made by cutting a 2-1/2to 3-foot length of 3/4" green sapling . . . preferably one with a slight bend to it. Fasten some cordage made from a shoelace, a strip cut from your belt, or a tightly braided piece of clothing to the stick's ends (1/8" nylon cord is a good choice when you're practicing, since it'll last through many trial runs).

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