Over the years I’ve heard of some interesting fire starters and I thought I would share some of the more ingenious materials you can use to start a fire.

One interesting material you can use is dryer lint. Dryer lint is lightweight and honestly, what else are you going to use it for? You can even dip it in melted candle wax to create a great waterproof fire starter that is great for backpacking or camping.

Another method for starting a fire involves steel wool and a 9-volt battery. This was my favorite as a kid because it is such a fast and unexpected way to get a fire started. Simply touch the contacts of your 9-volt battery to a piece of steel wool and step back. Make sure the steel wool is on the ground and in position before you make contact with the battery; this fire will take off very quickly!

You may have been exposed to the teamwork exercise where your group has to agree on the most important items to scavange from the wrecked plane that just dumped you in the Alaska wilderness. The point of the exercise is to compare the items you would have picked if you were alone versus the group’s consensus choices and to see that two (or three, etc.) heads are better than one. The survival scenario is generally chosen since it’s unlikely that anyone in your group is a survial expert (even if they are, it is difficult for them to convince the group to follow their advice since many of the decisions are counterintuitive). Anyway, next time you do this exercise, you’ll be ready because this tip will give you a way to prioritize what you need to survive in the wilderness.

1. Positive Mental Attitude
2. First Aid
3. Shelter
4. Fire
5. Signaling
6. Water
7. Food

If you find yourself lost in the wilderness (or even if you just can’t find your car at the mall), this simple acronym will help you survive the experience: STOP.

STOP is an acronym we used in Boy Scouts and it stands for Stop, Think, Observe, and Plan. First off, stop and relax to get your bearings. If you’re flustered or panicked, you may make bad decisions or hurt yourself as you try to find your way.

Next, think. You may be able to retrace your steps if you remember how you got where you are or you may recognize a simple way out.

Now, observe. Note the position of the sun: if the sun is setting, the sun is in the west, if it’s rising, it should be toward the east. Can you see your footsteps in the dew or soft earth? Can you hear people or dogs barking? If so, follow the sounds to help.

Finally, make sure you plan. Don’t just set off in a particular direction without a plan. If you’re near a stream, you can plan to follow it down toward a larger body of water where you are more likely to find help. Most of all, once you’ve decided on a plan, don’t give up or deviate from the plan. If you set off then decide to turn around, you’ll find yourself even more lost and worried than when you started out. At the very least you can plan to stay where you are to make it more likely that a rescue team can find you (a stationary person is easier to find than one that is moving from place to place).

We’ve developed a checklist you can use when you pack for your next camping trip. Print out a fresh copy of this checklist each time you get ready for a trip to make sure you have everything. Did we forget something? Let us know!

Note: Requirements for a backpacking or canoe trip may vary significantly.

1. . Will you drive to your campsite or will you need to hike or canoe there?
2. Let a friend or relative know where you plan to go and when you plan to return.
3. Things to bring:
   1. Sleeping gear
      1. Sleeping Bag
      2. Tent with stakes
      3. Ground cloth
      4. Air mattress
      5. Pillow
   2. Cooking gear
      1. Stove or grill
      2. Cookware (pots and pans)
      3. Spatula, tongs, etc.
      4. Plates and silverware
      5. Cups
      6. Cooler
      7. Paper towels
      8. Tin foil
      9. Trash bags
      10. Charcoal
   3. Clothing
      1. Rain gear or poncho
      2. Cold weather gear (jacket, wool hat, wool socks, etc.)
   4. Bug repellant
   5. Sunscreen
   6. Chairs
   7. Water filter
   8. Fire wood and fire starter
   9. Pocket knife
   10. Lantern
   11. Flashlight and batteries
   12. Matches

When going camping, there really is no limit to the variety and scale of the meals you can enjoy. For many of us, practical considerations may dictate more simple meals but don’t let guide limit you!

Here are some easy clean up, easy packing meals you can consider for your next trip to the great outdoors:

Breakfast

• Hot oatmeal
• Cold cereal (don’t forget the milk!)
• Pop-tarts
• Eggs & bacon

Lunch/Dinner

• Hamburgers/Hot Dogs
• Sandwiches
• Steak & baked potatoes

I’ll continue to add to this list as the inspiration hits me. For now, bon apetit!

Most people may not realize it but there is actually a science behind building a campfire. For one of my Boy Scout merit badges I can remember having to start a campfire using just 2 matches, (or was it one?) a difficult task for anyone who has tried.

The key to starting a good campfire is to laying out your kindling and wood in an organized manner. There are two layouts that are fairly common, each of which is described below.

Note: In the photos here I have not placed the fire layout in a proper fire ring. I set these fire layouts up for demonstration purposes only and did not actually light them. If I had intended on lighting them, I would have selected a proper fire ring built on ground free of flammable material and ideally ringed with rocks or other material.

Tee-Pee

The teepee method is probably my favorite because it is generally the most reliable method for starting a great fire. Start by gathering alot of wood (more than you think you’ll need) and grading the wood by size: twigs, finger sized, and log/arm sized pieces. Lay out some kind of fire starter - pine straw, crumpled paper, leaves, or even some form of homemade or commercial fire starter (more on this in another tip). This will serve as the base for your tee-pee.

Now, start with the twigs and begin stacking the twigs together in the shape of a tee-pee. Work your way around the circle to make sure the layout is even. Once you’ve covered the tee-pee in twigs, move onto the finger sized wood. Cover the layout all the way around again, and finally move on to the arm-sized pieces in the same manner.

Now all you have to do is light the fire! Place your match as close to the bottom and center of the layout as possible (long stick matches work well for this). Add larger logs to the outside of the layout as the fire grows.

Dry wood works the best obviously but it is critical that your fire starter (at a minimum) is as dry as possible. As you move outside the tee-pee dryness becomes less important as even large wet logs will eventually burn if your fire is hot enough.

Log Cabin

The log cabin starts much the same way as the tee-pee with fire starter at the center of the layout. Twigs (kindling), branches, and logs are arranged in a square like a log cabin (as shown in the last photo here). This layout is simple to set up and the kids will enjoy building a log cabin out of sticks. This layout is not nearly as efficient as the tee-pee outlined above but a legitimate method for laying out a fire.

So you probably already know how to set up your dome tent, even if you never even cracked open the instructions that came with your tent. Almost every dome tent is the same with two main poles that cross in the center and a shorter single pole that stretches out the rain fly. Here are some instructions and pointers in case you’re feeling a bit rusty.

1. Get out your tent and ground cloth. What’s a ground cloth? Well, most tents don’t actually come with one of these but if you want to keep the bottom of your tent dry and free of rips and tears, you’re going to want to use a ground cloth. Most tent manufacturers will try to sell you a ground cloth separately to exactly match your tent’s footprint (I recently paid more than $30 for a ground cloth to fit my North Face Tadpole, a real rip off). Instead of forking over the big bucks, pick up a plastic tarp at Wal-Mart for about $5 or so.

2. Unfold your ground cloth and roll out your tent. Get the pole bag out of the way and unfold the tent completely. Set the rain fly aside.

3. Assembling the tent poles is perhaps the most exciting part of putting up your dome tent. In most dome tents the poles are attached via elastic strings and often you can simply shake the pole sections into place (just make sure no one is within a 10 foot radius of you as they might get whacked!). Go ahead and put all the poles together at once.

4. This step is probably the most frustrating part of many tent pitchers’ experience. Slide the poles through the pole sleeves starting at one corner and ending at the opposite corner. Be sure to push the poles through as pulling usually causes the pole sections to separate inside the tent sleeve. Thread both poles through without attaching them into the corner pockets.

5. Now you’re ready for the real action: a standing structure. Place the end of one of the poles into the corner pocket. Have a friend help you insert the opposite end of the pole into the pocket on the opposite corner of the tent. You’ll need to bow the tent pole at this point: this is what gives the dome tent its shape. Repeat this procedure for the second pole as well.

6. If you’re camping in a warm climate and no rain is expected overnight (and you’re not concerned about your privacy) you can skip the next step, installing the rain fly.

7. The rain fly typically involves a single pole and is assembled in much the same way the tent itself is assembled. Slide the fly pole into its sleeve and place each end into its pocket. Center the fly with the pole extending across the center of the tent entrance. Attach the fly clips to the corners of the tent.

8. Now, turn your attention to your ground cloth. If you’re using a tarp that hasn’t been custom fitted to your tent, you’ll probably have some excess material sticking out from underneath your tent. It is important to tuck this excess underneath the tent, especially if you expect it to rain. During a downpour, water will run off the roof of your tent and if your ground cloth is hanging out beyond the roof of your tent, it will collect all the runoff water and send it straight to the floor of your tent. Roll or fold the edges for a neat result.

If do a good bit of camping and don’t expect to multi-task with your tarp, you might want to consider trimming your tarp to create a custom groundcloth for your tent. Just set up your tent up to step 7 and trace around the tent onto the tarp using a magic marker. Take the ground cloth out, cut along the lines you’ve marked, and you have a custom ground cover!

Some have found Tyvek to be a great ground cover material for use in camping. Tyvek is puncture and tear-resistant and is semi-permeable, although it is best used with tents that already have water proof bottoms built in. See Goodling Outdoor for more information.

9. At this point you could consider yourself done with tent setup and if you have alot of gear you’ll be keeping in your tent or if the wind is calm you might be right. But most tents come with ground stakes for a reason and you should use them particularly if it is windy in your location or if your tent will be empty during the day (and more liable to be blown away). Push stakes in with your hands in the corners and in any other location on your tent where you find stake holders.

10. Place your stake, pole, and tent bags somewhere you won’t lose them while you’re camping. I like to put mine in the pouch inside the tent so I have them when it’s time to pack up (and so they don’t end up inside a backpack or the car where I can’t find them).

11. Taking the tent down is the same process as above but in reverse. Make sure to shake any condensation off your tent materials (rain fly included) and ideally wait for your tent to dry before rolling it back up. If you must pack up a wet tent, be sure to reopen it as soon as you get home to let it air dry (otherwise you may get mildew or worse). I prefer to store my camping gear (tent included) in the attic where things are relatively dry and hot as opposed to the damp cool basement.

And there you have it, a few tips on putting up your dome tent for your next camping trip.

Sometimes you have to forget about weight and size when it comes to convenience and safety. Carrying a lighter instead of matches is a smart choice when backpacking because a lighter will work even when your stuff gets soaked. If you insist on carrying matches, make sure you pack them in a water-tight ziplock bag so they don’t get wet. Sure a lighter might weigh a little more than a sleek box of matches but you’ll be glad you have it after a cold, wet day of hiking in the rain.

One way to cut down on your pack weight significantly is to leave out the tent altogether. There are several options for keeping yourself dry on the trail without even bringing a tent along!

One alternative to the tent is a hammock. Hammocks are generally light and you can bring a tarp to hang above it to keep you dry in case of rain. Plus with a hammock you won’t have a need for your air mattress so you’ll save even more weight!

Some trails like the Appalachian Trail have shelters or Adirondacks located every 10 miles or so. If you plan your trip well you should be able to hike from shelter to shelter without a problem. But beware: if it’s raining or you’re in a popular location, you may find yourself out in the cold if you arrive too late as shelters can fill up with other hikers.

In packing clothes for backpacking, there is little you can do to save on weight but you can do a great deal in terms of organization, compaction, and watersealing. How can you do all this? Three words: zip lock bags.

One tip I learned as a Boy Scout is that you can save weight in your backpack by packing multi-purpose tools. For example, why bring the knife that’s part of your slick backpacking utensil set when you’ll also be bringing a pocket knife? What kind of food, for that matter, will you be eating that even requires cutting (unless you’ll be carrying steaks with you).

You can take this tip even further and even eliminate the fork from your mess kit. A spoon can do most anything a fork can, but a fork is no good for eating soup. If you’re more comfortable spearing your food, you can always pick up a spoon-fork combo (or “spork”). Plastic cutlery can help you save weight but make sure whatever you bring is durable.

I probably don’t have to tell you that when backpacking two things are at a premium: space and weight. This trick saves a little of both (and every little bit counts!).

First off, estimate how much toilet paper you’ll need for your trip based on the number of days you’ll be out. The actual amount you bring is really a personal decision but realize you probably don’t need an entire roll for a two night trip.

Now, remove the cardboard roll and squash your toilet paper flat. Now your toilet paper takes up less space since it’s compressed, weighs less without the cardboard roller, and its protected from moisture by the zip lock bag. Perfect!