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Here's a fire starting tip I learned in the Boy Scouts. To qualify for a merit badge we had to start a fire with one match. The match happened to be a "farmers" or kitchen match, still available today.
To prepare for the fire we had to gather small bits of wood or other material available. The twigs at the end of a branch are called squaw wood, because they were small and easily gathered. They had to "snap", indicating they were dry enough to use as fuel. If it don't snap, don't use it as a starter. Small pieces of bark, grass or even shavings from a stick or branch would be good starters.
The whole idea was to spend time preparing to succeed. All you had to do was to stop and look around and think and notice the way nature provided what you needed. There were about 6 or 8 of us and all were successful with only one match.
One trick we used was to "fuzz" a stick. This was to take our trusty knife and shave little splits and when we were done it looked a little like a small Christmas Tree. Boy did those fuzz sticks take off when lit..
Pine needles, pine cones, dry leaves, dry grass, old bird nests, pine tree sap and other such things are good sources for tinder to start a fire. All you have to do is use your imagination and success is yours from the simplest sources.
Submitted by Scott Wortley
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