How to build a proper campfire probably seems pretty simple.
Who, today in modern times, has trouble starting a fire? Sure it is not difficult, given certain elements, and some of us have even started a fire or two without even trying, but what is an easy way to reliably get that fire going? One mistake some people make is to simply buy firewood and assume they are all set.
Firewood is very helpful; after all fires do tend to need fuel.
But if you have ever held a lighter to a log you might have noticed that the log does not start burning all that easily.
Before throwing logs into the fire pit, you are going to want to have some fine, easily flammable materials.
Natural fiber rope is one great example.
Take a length of rope, for example four or five inches.
Begin unraveling the rope.
The objective here is to loosen the fibers as we are no longer interested in using the rope as rope, but rather as fuel to start a larger fire.
Once the fibers are loose, pull them apart but do not completely separate them.
Essentially what we are after here is to make a mock birds nest.
Once you have a ball of loosened natural rope fiber you have something easy to burn which is not as likely to float away on the winds as newspaper often will.
Another bonus as keeping the fire contained is usually desirable.
We are not going to pile logs over the top of our birds nest.
The firewood you spent your hard earned money on will not go to waste, but we do need to exercise some patience.
Instead find small pieces of wood.
Wood which is roughly a quarter inch thick and half a foot to a foot in length is great.
Setup your small pieces of wood over the top of the birds nest in your fire pit.
One classic example here is to setup your small pieces of wood, also known as kindling, in the form of a tepee.
Be sure not to completely enclose your birds nest as you also need good air flow.
One way to obtain these smaller pieces of wood is to use an axe to split a log.
You could also remove large splinters which may already be present.
I bet you think now is the time to toss those logs on, but you would be wrong.
We have not even lit the fire yet! Make sure you have more small pieces of fuel handy which has not been placed into the fire pit yet.
Go ahead and use your flint, lighter or matches to ignite the birds nest.
The birds nest will get the small pieces of wood burning, and they will burn somewhat quickly.
Make sure to add fuel to keep the fire going.
Keep it small so as not to smother your fire before it really begins.
More small pieces of wood, gradually increasing in size and mass, are great ways to build the fire.
At this point take a relatively small log from your store bought firewood supply and add to the fire.
Wait for the log to start burning well before adding more logs.
It is not uncommon to continue adding small pieces of wood during this time to accomplish your goal.
Once your log is burning well, add another log or two from your firewood bundle.
At this point you can usually add fuel as desired since the fire should be well established.
When people simply ball up newspaper, lighter fluid and other similar things to try to light logs it can work eventually.
However this is a rather sloppy, potentially dangerous and often frustrating approach to building a fire.
You will find that following steps outlined here will more often than not produce good results.
Enjoy the warmth!