LightBackpacking.com

It’s simple to obtain gear lists, fill your pack and head out on the trail. Problem is, that approach doesn’t necessarily prepare you for the real conditions you’ll face. Let me share one of my own experiences with starting fires.

A few years ago, on a backpack in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, I set up camp at Garnet Lake and day-hiked. On the way back to camp it started to rain. No problem since I was prepared with rain gear. But when I arrived back at camp I realized I hadn’t covered the wood I had collected for my evening fire. I ignited dryer lint and steel wool to dry out the wood. Didn’t work and my matches were running low. The lighter was no help either. Then I ripped out 104 pages of the book I was reading as fuel. Finally, the wood dried out and I was able to get a tiny fire going. Small, but enough to warm up.

Lesson: take a plastic bag with you and fill it with dry kindling and larger pieces of dry wood if you can find it. The Sierra is known for summer storms. Even overnight drizzle or moisture can make it difficult to get a fire started in the morning.

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.