[Democracyman]

Went out today from the house into the woods. Most all evergreen trees.

Soaking wet from several days rain, no hope for fire it seemed. All is
wet, trees not so big since the area was logged. I guess the oldest
trees around thirty years or so. A lot of limbs on the ground for frame
work but the real problem was fire.

I found some downed logs and dug into them, I only had a leatherman
wave multiple tool, this is all I would carry on a trip into the back country.
I heard that to get pacific north west wood to burn what you needed was
a axe and be able to chop into the wood, I couldn't do that with the little
leatherman. I tried one fire using some semi dry punk from a log. I then
looked around and lucked out. I found a old stump that was hollow in the
middle and about seven feet tall. It had a slab leaning onto the middle and
I pulled that back. Pay dirt, a huge section of wood/punk that was mostly dry.
I used that to start a fired in a small dakota fire hole. The small dead limbs
in the pine trees was soaked far inside the limbs, so these where not very
useful.

I learned something today that to get dry wood in that kind of area and conditions
you have to find a way to get under a log or stump or something.

Also I had a cheap poncho that I brought along for a shelter but it did not
work very well, too small. I decided to pick up a painters cloth and try that
out next time.

You can get large painters cloths cheap, don't know about weight, I guess
the one mil thickness would be fairly light.

As far as the shelter fire combination, no source that I saw said what to
do first?? Do you build shelter first or build fire first?

I would guess you would build shelter first and gather wood first and make
dakota fire hole first, Put in your bedding first THEN work on your fire. Assuming
of course you found a good place to get dry enough wood to
work with at your shelter site.

One problem though the design of shelter would be different if you can't
build a fire verses if you can build a fire, right?

Or should one in wet questionable conditions assume that you can't build
a fire and build shelter to go both ways?

I think the wigwam shelter would be the kind of shelter I would favor
most if I could build it and make fire. To be able to build it in a reasonable
amount of time, I think a large painter's drop cloth could achieve that.

Dan