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Finding Dry Camp Wood

Author: Ronald B. Shannon | Date: 02/03/2008

Category: Camping | Subscribe: | Share It:

Article Tags: Camp, Fire, Kids, Wood

Whenever you pull into a new campsite, one of the first things you think about is a campfire. If you are at a campground you are restricted as to where you can get wood. Usually it is offered at the general store in bundles. When you find yourself in this setting, you can offer to trade some labor for your wood. Campground owners don't always have the time to get everything done. A couple of hours of work can reap great benefits, including free wood, for you and the owner. Best of all, you will pick up new friends.

When you are at a remote campsite it can be a different story. It is always best to ask the land owner if possible, however if these are Paper Company lands there are usually policies in place on wood harvesting. You can often take dead and down wood. Old slash piles are also an option. Do not, under any circumstances, take wood from a log pile. Not only is it how the paper company makes their money, the wood is too green to be of any use anyway.

Most people do not go more than one hundred yards from camp to find campfire wood. You can simply widen your search area or look for standing dead trees. If there are no leaves during the summer it is safe to assume that this tree is dead. If the top is broken off or the tree is broken in half is also a determining factor. Do not cut any tree with any type of growth! This will certainly get you thrown off the property and lose you free access to a camping area.

If you run into wet weather, standing wood is the best option. As you split the wood start from the outside and work your way to the middle. Set the outside wood near the fire pit to dry. The inside wood will be dry because the rain runs down the outside of the tree. If the tree is lying down the rain will soak through the log making it harder to burn.

You should try to stick to six to eight inch diameter wood as this will be easier to handle, especially if you have kids along. It is light weight, a better chance of being dry and splits easier than larger pieces of wood. Let the kids help you gather wood. This will keep them involved in the camping experience and it also keeps them busy. The last thing you want is bored kids around a camp. Have your little ones look around camp for twigs on the ground for fire starter. This will let them be a part of the fire building experience.

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