Okay Mr. Boy Scout leader ex-journalist, yeah, yeah! I already got "raked over the coals" on that back channel. Flamed crisp. Actually, I haven't used the discarded-book-page-fire-starter method for some years now. I once packed a cheap paperback of no significant description to use as fire-starter (suggest discarded trashy romance novels from spouse): compact, light, and burns better than glossy paper (Miss July, etc.). Unused toilet paper can also make good fire starter, but tends to absorb saltair moisture. I used to be a good scout long ago, and "rekindled" some skills this past few years after a desperate day on a storm-bound coast a while back where my fire-starter flares didn't work (they weren't waterproof, and disintegrated in my hands after taking them out of the baggy. (These were fire-starter specific flare-like devices sold in survival stores). I've now learned how to start a wet-wood fire, anywhere, anytime of year. A lighter works better than a match (but tends to burn finger tips after a few moments of use), then by finding the right wood and resin deposits, I've actually been able to impress some of my friends who were poo-pooing my methods until moments later when things were rip-roaring. I can get a fire going without matches, but I have to admit that when my hands are barely functional and I'm really hungry, a flare just seams handier than the string-and-dowel methods (though, one can use tent-bound days to practice some of these survival skills. Kills the time, and might save a life one day). As a side note, I carry a miniaturized version of the SAS survival manual. There are also some really good survival courses out there, including the WKI one out of Port Hardy (there, a plug for John Dowd). I also recommend carrying a folding saw, especially for shoulder-season paddling. You shouldn't assume the availability of drift wood if caught having to land quickly in a small bouldery bay. You may need to harvest dead wood limbs. For normal camping situations, I'm much better than I used to be in terms of making fires for trash-burning, etc., below the high tide mark. I wasn't always so. BTW, I still pick the wrong place to sit in order to avoid the smoke. I'm currently re-doing my survival kit. Doug Alderson has some good tips in his "Sea Kayaker's Savvy Paddler" (reviewed in the June 2002 SK issue). I'll be implementing some of these ideas, some gleamed from PW, and any other suggestions I extract from other sources/suggestions. I'm thinking I should contact that Australian bloke who appeared on the Tonight Show a few months ago. He collects belly-button lint, supposedly an excellent fire-starter. And now that I've traded in my multi-pocketed PFD for an inflatable, I really need to think through where and how I'm going to carry survival stuff. As for book-burning fanaticism, I'll leave that up to my none neo-fundementalist friends, of which I have many; and you are right, very scary indeed when knowledge and freedom go up in flames (but then you should see me with flares!). I tend toward over-tolerence on many issues. I'd probably get burned at the stake in some of the bible-belt environs. Gordin Warner wrote: > At 06:20 PM 02/05/08 -0700, Doug Lloyd wrote: > > > All hard-core paddlers know you are supposed to burn your > >paper money first, then your tide tables, then your guide book, and then > >your reading material. And never your log book. I take throw-away books > >from the used book store, and use up the pages-read as fire starter... > > A Christian burning books! Doug, sometimes you scare me. ;-) > > Gordin Warner *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri May 10 2002 - 06:18:09 PDT
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