The recent discussion on fire starters reminded me that one faces a problem when lighting a fire on very wet ground: even if you're successful in getting a flame, the heat of a small fire can produce enough steam to make keeping the fire alight a real pain, if it's possible to keep it burning at all.

The solution is to lay out a piece of aluminum foil and build your fire on it. (The foil serves as a barrier to separate and protect the fire from the steam it creates beneath it.)

Before leaving home, determine the size of the foil you want to carry (say, 14" — 16" square). Cut the foil to size, and then cut a piece of tissue paper to the same size. Place the tissue paper on the foil and fold the two together several times until you reach a size that is packable (the purpose of the tissue paper is to make unfolding the aluminum foil easier).

The weight of the foil & paper is next to nothing, and having the foil can make life much easier when the chips are down.

Hope everyone has a very happy Independence Day, and that we all reflect a bit on what the significance of that event is!

That is a great trick and I personally know that it does work great. Thanks for posting a simple but very effective tip.
I'm glad to hear you say you will be doing some reflection of the 4th, if more people took the time to do the same maybe we could get back to what makes this country great and what it takes to keep it that way. I feel like as a country we have lost our direction and we really need to stop and check our compasses from time to time, and the 4th of July is a great time for all of us to do just that.

Thanks again.

SR

BL, great tip, and a folded piece of tin foil take no room or weight in a guy's kit.

Thanks for the kind words.

I should give credit for this to Jim McNutt, who is both friend and teacher. I've benefitted immensely from his knowledge and experience.

We all learn from someone, and he's my radio/backpacking/survival/mountain rescue techniques guru.

B.L., EXCELLENT idea!

Don't forget all the OTHER uses for aluminum foil.

Like cooking... and a bunch of other uses!

I would recommend using paper towel instead of of tissue when folding up the foil. But that is personal preference.

That is a good idea. I kept a folded piece of foil in a micro survival kit I made up for winter use as I thought it could also be useful to fold into a bowl and used to heat water (in the winter when it is cold it is amazing how just a cup of hot water warms you up). I didn't put tissue on the fold, but I'll experiment with that sometime.

Oh, I never did use the foil.

Use the "heavy" or better yet the "super duty" foil, if you can find it.

Brad and others, very useful tips all. Yes, the heavier foil makes sense.

Living in Japan as I do, I am regularly amazed at the numbers of locals, especially elders, who hike around in the mountains without much thought about precautions. The newspapers are full of reports of fatalities due to what I think we would view as totally normal changes in the weather. It is as though folks believe that "the government" will protect them from hypothermia, etc. or that proximity to civilization means you can't fall off a trail. I do read these tips and pass them on. Thanks.

I've used bark for this same purpose. Don't know if it was as good but birch works well to get it going. A big chunk of pine bark works well.