Camping with Suzi

An important feature of camping is the campfire.  Even if it wasn’t used for cooking, a campfire was always a feature of our campsite.  Our routine, upon arriving, was for Dad to set up the tent, I would get all our “stuff” organized, and the children would go hunt firewood from the “dead-and-down” trees around the campgroun.  It didn’t feel like we were camping until the tent was up, sleeping bags spread out inside, our camping kitchen boxes on the picnic table, and the children’s pile of firewood in its place.

In most national forests, it is still possible to gleam firewood from the forest surrounding your campground but, for some, buying a bundle or two seems easier.  (FYI: Some forests will not allow firewood to be brought in from beyond a specific geographic area, so if that is your plan call the District Office before arriving to confirm it is okay.)  If hunting firewood isn’t your thing (I have to admit, once the children were grown, it wasn’t mine) then possibly the best thing is buying firewood locally. Here’s some tips for selecting good firewood:

*  Buy split firewood that was cut to size before it was dry, suggests University of Kentucky.
*  Look for cracks in the ends.  As the wood dries it shrinks – look for big cracks caused by shrinkage.
*  Don’t buy wood that you can’t see the split face.  The greyer it is, the better.
*  On the split face look for splinters beginning to come off of the wood.  If these are dry and brittle that’s good.
*  Maryland DNR (Department of Natural Resources) suggests looking for wood that has the bark falling off of it.  But good firework can be found with the bark still attached.
*  If it grows in the area, try to find ash wood. It burns even if it’s wet.
*  Remember pine burns hot but fast.  For a great long burning campfire, hardwoods, such of well dried oak, is best.

And Smoky Bear reminds us:
*  A campfire is not the same as a bonfire.  You aren’t trying to signal friends in the next state.   Keep it small and have water close by, in case of an emergency.
*  When gathering firewood collect only “dead and down” wood.  “Green” stuff won’t burn well and smokes badly.
*  Use kindling (small twigs, dried leaves, wood chips, etc) to start your fire.  NEVER soak wood with charcoal lighter fluid or some other combustible liquid.
*   Always, always, always be sure your campfire is dead and cold before you leave it.  My preferred method is to drown and stir: another time honored task delegated to my children.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 16th, 2010 at 4:08 am and is filed under camping, family vacations, national forests. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.