As a nod to the Canadian Voyageurs and lumberjacks, I have been drinking tea with a couple gently rounded teaspoons of sugar for my "energy drink" while cutting wood.
I recall reading about a "Rendezvous" in Canada where one of the contests was to build a fire and heat up a "tea billy" of water to boiling. The people running the contest provided the wood, typically an 8" long piece of 1X8 lumber and the contestant had to provide all of his own tools.
The "grey-hairs" had to use a flint-and-steel to start the fire while the tenderfeet were allowed to use one match.
If I recall, the best times were in the four-to-five minute range and the winners used only a razor-sharp hatchet because putting down and picking up tools takes time.
Pro-tip: Split three pieces off to use as pegs driven into the ground to support the billy above the fire.
\I was a Boy Scout in 1959 & entered a flint & steel contest at our camporee. I had been practicing and lit a fire in under six seconds. Legitimate tinder & charred cloth. Got a fire going & with my prepared firewood boiled water in record time. Prepare, prepare, practice and practice some more. No big deal just personal satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same age and did that too. But I never got one going that quick. You're really good at it. Now most kids that age don't know how to do it with matches. Really, Hand some kid a box, or pack, of matches and most can't light them.--ken
DeleteWhen I learned flint and steel, i made a tinder bowl, like a bird nest. And would hold it up so the opening was down. Fire burns up, right. And sparks fall down, and burn off eyebrows.... 😑
ReplyDeleteYep, Boy Scouts here too... that was a LONG time ago...
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