CAMPING HACKS

How do you make an upside-down fire? 10 tips to build a fire like a pro

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Bradbury was right; it is a pleasure to burn. Whether you're out in the wilderness or simply enjoying a backyard campfire under the stars, starting and maintaining a fire is both a joy and an essential skill. Fortunately, fire is one of humanity’s oldest companions, and we have devised thousands of ways to build and keep it. Whether you need warmth, a cooking flame, or just ambiance, there’s no single way to build a fire. To help you master this art, we've compiled 10 expert tips to ignite and sustain your fire. Maybe you’ll impress your friends or family on your next camping trip or barbecue!

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Tinder is the foundation of any fire. Make sure to gather dry, easily combustible materials like dry leaves, grass, pine needles, or birch bark. These materials catch fire quickly and help ignite larger pieces of wood. Also, kindling can help bridge the gap between tinder and larger logs, building up the heat necessary to ignite the main fuel. Beforehand, find small sticks, twigs, or split wood pieces with a hand axe to accelerate the process.

Finally, if you are away from civilization, always bring reliable fire starters like waterproof matches, a lighter, or flint and steel. In antiquity, people used time-consuming techniques like friction or even resorted to carrying embers in their backpacks, but modern fire starters fit conveniently in your pocket.

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Fire is a chemical reaction that requires oxygen to keep burning. Ensure there’s enough space for air to circulate through your fire structure, and avoid packing materials too tightly, as this can easily smother the flames, leaving you with a smoking (and cold) mess.

However, while oxygen is crucial for sustaining a fire, too much air can be problematic, especially when you're starting it. As anyone who has tried to make a fire on a windy beach can tell you, strong winds can easily disrupt the process. Fortunately, you can shelter your fire by creating a windbreak with rocks, larger logs, or other materials to protect it from strong gusts.

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It may seem obvious, but wet or green wood doesn’t burn well. It produces a lot of smoke and can even extinguish a fire you've already started. If dry fuel is scarce, you can start a smaller fire and use it to dry larger logs by placing them around or above the flames. At home, store your firewood off the ground or in a sheltered area to keep it dry. Having a designated spot for your wood allows you to store green wood and let it dry until it's ready for use.

Additionally, different types of wood are better suited for various stages of a fire: hardwoods, like oak or maple, burn slowly and steadily, making them ideal for sustaining a fire, though they can be harder to ignite. On the other hand, softer, more resinous woods, such as pine or fir, make excellent kindling due to their quick ignition, but they burn too rapidly to be used as the primary fuel for a long-lasting fire.

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Exercising proper fire safety can make the difference between having a warm, pleasant time next to a crackling fire, and experiencing a dangerous, potentially destructive situation. Always clear the area around your fire pit, keep water or a fire extinguisher nearby, and never leave the fire unattended.

When you are done, make sure to extinguish it completely. Douse the fire with water, stir the ashes, and ensure everything is cool to the touch to prevent accidental wildfires. Properly extinguishing your fire ensures that the only lasting memory is the good time you had, not an unexpected disaster.

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There are myriad ways to build a fire, but knowing which type is best suited for different situations can be game-changing. The Lean-To fire is ideal for windy conditions or when you're short on dry materials.

Start by planting a long, sturdy stick or larger log into the ground at an angle. Pile tinder and small kindling against the inside of the log. Light the tinder, and as it catches, lean larger sticks and logs against the main one, creating a shelter-like effect. Alternatively, you can use rocks or any kind of solid structure as support for a Lean-To fire. This setup shields the flame from the wind and helps it grow steadily.

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The Teepee fire is a classic and efficient method. Start by arranging your tinder in a small pile and place kindling around it in a cone shape, as if forming a small teepee. As the fire ignites, the flames rise through the kindling, setting it alight. The heat generated by the initial blaze will help ignite the larger logs you add next, keeping the fire going strong.

However, note that this method often requires more attention at the start compared to other techniques, as it is often more exposed to the elements. Also, you can't add larger pieces of fuel until the flames and heat are sufficiently strong. This initial vulnerability means you'll need to closely monitor and adjust the fire to ensure it catches properly and builds up enough heat to sustain larger logs.

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The Log Cabin fire structure offers stability and a long-lasting burn. Start by laying two large logs parallel to each other, then place two more logs on top, perpendicular to the first pair, creating a square base—just like building a log cabin.

Continue building up in this criss-cross pattern, leaving the center open. Then, fill the center with tinder and kindling, and light it. The stacked logs will provide a steady fuel source, while also creating a sturdy structure that is ideal for cooking.

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The Swedish Torch, also known as a Canadian Candle, is a self-contained, long-burning fire. Legend has it that this ingenious method was developed by Swedish soldiers during the Thirty Years' War to keep warm when dry wood was scarce.

To make one, split a large log into four or six segments, leaving the base intact. Note that this usually requires a saw, as a hand axe can easily split the log completely. Alternatively, you can split the entire log and then tie it together with metal wire. Once your log "torch" is prepared, place it upright, put tinder in the middle, and light it. The log serves as both the fuel and the holder, while the vertical slits allow air to circulate, feeding the flames. This method provides a stable, concentrated flame, perfect for cooking or distributing heat over a larger area.

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If you love a good campfire but hate the smoke, the Dakota Smokeless Fire might be perfect for you. Designed for stealth and efficiency, this method is widely used by the United States military due to its low light signature, reduced smoke, and ease of ignition in strong wind conditions.

This style of fire pit originated with the Dakota people, who used it for hunting bison on the windy Great Plains. To build one, dig two small holes about a foot apart and connect them with a tunnel. One hole serves as the fire pit, while the other acts as an air intake. This setup not only minimizes smoke and maximizes heat but also increases fuel efficiency, helping to conserve wood.

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The Upside-Down fire is an unconventional method that burns from the top down. Begin by placing the largest logs at the bottom, then layer progressively smaller logs on top, followed by kindling, and finally tinder. Light the tinder, and as it burns, it ignites the layers beneath it.

This counterintuitive technique can be a lifesaver in certain situations, as it ensures a slow, steady burn that requires much less maintenance. It provides a consistent heat source for longer periods, making it ideal for situations where you need sustained warmth or cooking time without constant tending.

WILD WORDS

Go On A Safari With These Ten Words Inspired By The Animal Kingdom!

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Whenever we think about vocabulary related to the animal kingdom, our mind usually goes to long, Latin scientific terms that seem extremely daunting to anyone not well-versed in biology. However, we sometimes fail to see how much our animal friends have also influenced the everyday words we regular joes use.

We have compiled ten common words that were either influenced by animals or that downright reference an animal in their meaning or etymology. These words range from the well-known to the utterly surprising. Enjoy!

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We’ll start with what’s probably the most surprising word in this list. The one question most of us ask whenever we see any dog is "Who’s a good boy?" We can’t really think of anyone who thought "Of course! This smiling, furry bundle of joy must be the root of one of the most pessimistic words in the English language".

The word "cynic", which means a doubtful, jaded person, comes from the Greek word cynikos, which can be translated both to "churlish" as well as "dog-like". Historians believe that the name comes from a philosopher movement known as the Cynical movement, who shocked their contemporaries by living in the streets and acting in a rude, indelicate manner.

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Hobby horses are one of the most iconic, timeless toys in mankind’s history. There’s a pretty big chance that your grandparents or even your great-grandparents joyfully rode around their very own toy mount. You might be inclined to think that the "hobby" part of the name comes from it being a pastime.

However, it is actually the other way around: the word "hobby", as in an activity one does for recreation, comes from the hobby horse, which in turn comes from a very specific type of horse. It comes from hobin, an Old English word that means "small horse.

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Contrary to our entry on "cynic", here comes a word that is widely associated with dogs, but comes from an entirely different animal kingdom. The word pedigree, a record used mostly by dog and horse breeders to track down genealogy, comes from a French word that doesn’t designate either of these animals, but rather a very large bird.

Pedigree comes from the Anglo-Norman French term pé de grue, which translates to "foot of the crane." This is because, in family trees and genealogy lines, the shape the lines take resembles the claws of a crane.

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We could have used the picture of a butcher shop in this entry, but we felt it might have been a bit insensitive for the animal friends we are celebrating in this article. We ultimately decided on this adorable goat, in order to illustrate the etymological origins of this timeless profession.

The English word butcher comes from the Old French word bochier, which in turn comes from the word boc, which means "goat." This word found its way into the Middle English language, where it eventually evolved into the "butcher" we all know.

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If you had to associate harpoons with any animals, it would probably be whales. We can thank Herman Melville for it: It’s almost impossible to picture a harpoon without it being furiously thrown by Captain Ahab onto his mortal enemy, the white whale Moby Dick. Interestingly, if we look at the etymological root of this word, there is another animal we can thank for the name of this fishing tool.

The word harpoon comes from the French word harpon, which is an iron structure used to hold stones together. In turn, this word comes from harpe, the word for a dog’s claw. It could be argued that the hooks of a harpoon loosely resemble the wave-like shape of a dog’s claw.

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Medieval knights are seen in our modern lens as defenders of honor and purity, riding in shiny armor and noble stallions. However, the word cavalier, which is derived from the Spanish word for knight, couldn’t be further from the manners we attribute to these knights of Arthurian legend: this adjective is used to describe someone unmoved and uncaring about someone else’s troubles.

As we mentioned before, cavalier comes from caballero, the Spanish word for knight which itself comes from caballo, the Spanish word for horse. Despite the rudeness associated with the word cavalier, in Spanish, the word caballero is often used as a synonym for "gentleman".

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It could be argued that humankind’s obsession with flying sprouted from observing birds soar through the skies. From Icarus to Pegasus, many ancient myths focus on the undying human desire to fly, a desire which was finally fulfilled by Orville and Wilbur Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Curiously, it seems that the word aviation predates the invention of the first airplane. Since they inspired our dreams of flying, it seems only natural that birds also inspired the name of the craft that gave us airplanes: aviation comes from avis, the Latin word for bird.

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Again, why are so many negative words inspired by dogs? Aren’t they known as "man’s best friend"? In any case, this word is heavily associated with both babies desperately crying and people with authority yelling out orders, so we would like to take this time to apologize to every dog reading this for yet another instance of defamatory vocabulary.

Like the English noun "bark", the word "bawl" was inspired by the sound a dog makes. In Latin, the onomatopoeia for a dog’s bark is bau. This sound inspired the verb baulare, which can be translated to "bark like a dog." In the English language, "bawl" was first used to describe a dog’s bark, and its meaning was later on moved to distressing or authoritative loud noises made by humans.

By the way, on the off chance a dog actually made it to the end of this entry, we would like to commend them with a very affectionate "Who’s a good boy?"

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We might need to go deep into history to find the origins of this word, since the word that describes this frigid yet beautiful region has evolved since the times of Ancient Greece. What’s more, the many roots that compose the word "arctic" seem to converge on one etymological origin, an ancient word that describes one of our favorite large mammals.

Tracing the origins of "arctic" takes us to the Old French word artique, which in turn takes us to the Latin word arcticus, and finally to the Ancient Greek words arktos and arktikos, which mean "bear" and "of the Bear Constellation" respectively.

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We’ll end this article with an entry we found delightfully surprising. Blowing dandelions is one of those few childhood experiences we all seem to share, one of those universal pleasant memories that all adults look back on fondly. However, you might find it surprising that the animal behind the name of this pleasant flower is none other than the ferocious "King of the Jungle" himself.

The word dandelion is a mistranslation of the French word dent-de-lion. While you might think that the comparison between lions and dandelions comes from the resemblance between the yellow flower and a lion’s mane, the name actually takes inspiration from the plant’s jagged leaves, since the French word literally translates to "lion’s tooth".