Last night we took over Tent & Trails, a cavernous woman-run outdoor outfitter in Lower Manhattan. The well-stocked store was an a gear junkies’ dream, complete with a knowledgeable staff who shared stories about climbing Everest without oxygen masks.
Between parkas and plenty of gore-tex jackets, we heard a fantastic lecture on the principles of fire-making by Rhett Godfry, the Sustainability Director at Loomstate Sustainable Apparel. Luckily, the New York City Fire Department wasn’t called, even when Rhett carried live coals outside for a practical demonstration of ignition techniques!
Some things we learned about fire-making without flint or matches:
- There are three friction based methods, the hand drill, the bow drill, and the fire plow (check out this website for the knitty-gritty scoop).
- Each method relies on a softwood spindle to create enough friction to produce an ember.
- The goal is to create a coal that can then be ignited with a tinder nest, so no need to worry about setting your house on flames!
- You need strong hands, lots of practice, and some stamina.
- Even if you never start a fire while freezing in the tundra mid-winter (knock on wood), it’s a pretty sweet skill to learn.
As always, we took lots of pictures, ate too much trail mix, and enjoyed our awesome outdoors community.
