Soot Covered Pot: Campfires

Welcome outdoor adventurers to my campfire cooking post series "Soot Covered Pot".
I envisioned this blog post series to incorporate my knowledge of campfire cooking from years on the trail with my family and friends. Hopefully you'll find this series helpful and a jumping off point for your future outdoor adventures menu.
Before I share my recipes and tips on trail cooking, I wanted to cover the basics of basics in campfire cooking. Fire building.
The key to a successful campfire cooking experience is stoking your fire with a solid layer of coals. Fires come in all shapes and sizes and can be built just about anywhere as long as you follow these crucial steps.

Location Location Location!
That's right, choosing the right spot for your fire is key to a full belly on the trail. Make sure you chose a flat, clear space for your fire. Pull out all grass roots and create a flat dirt bed for your fire. If there is already a designated campfire ring use that as more often than not the work of clearing out a spot is done and it is good trail practice. Look up! Be sure your area is clear of over hanging branches and leaves. Protect you fire pit from wind by choosing a wind blocked spot at your campsite or build a fire ring.

Firewood.
Snap! The best sound you will hear when searching for firewood. Starting with small, dry twigs,  leaves, needles and forest duff called tinder. This will be what the flame catches after you light your starter so make sure you choose thin twigs. Kindling is next consisting of the medium sized sticks about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in size. Keep going up in size. Before igniting your fire gather a pile of firewood to keep it stoked.

Fire Building
There are about four or five different methods for building fires. I choose to build using a lean-to method but please look up the other methods. To build a lean-to start with placing one large log in the direction the wind is coming from. Next lay your tinder in a pile in front of the log. Lean the kindling up against the log, over the tinder. Spread the sticks out far enough along the log to allow air to flow through the sticks but close enough for all the sticks to catch.

Ignition
Flint and stone, matches or battery circuit ignitions are all possibilities when it comes to lighting your campfire. My suggestion is to always bring a lighter, matches and cotton balls or lint in a waterproof case. Ignition can be tricky so watch a couple videos online about campfire ignition before trying it yourself.

Stoking a Fire
Keeping a fire burning is important to achieving a foundation of coals. As your evening is coming to an end be sure to use smaller sticks that you know you can burn down. On the trail we try to build fires that we can manage and completely put out. Leave no trace is a way of life on the trail.

Follow these steps and you will build a successful campfire. Of course if this is your first go at campfire building be patient. I always bring a camping stove as a back up. Even after so many years of building campfires I still practice before hitting the trail and am constantly learning how to improve my building method.

Keep checking back to my "Soot Covered Pot" for campfire cooking tips and recipes.