How do I start a fire…

Here is how I teach my coaching students to begin their skill of lighting a fire…

I call it the single match fire…

I have them imagine that on of their group has fallen into a river, and is beginning to show signs of hypothermia and it is their job to get a fire going in the next 20 minutes to save the life of their group member…

They have a box of wet matches that was being carried by the group memebr who fell in the river, they have layed them out to dry but it is likely they will get more than one that will light…

When they find a match that lights it may be their only chance to get a fire going…

So the first thing they must do it prepare the fire…

So i send them out for 5 minutes to look for twigs that are the diameter as a pencil lead, a few mm across. Any twigs that look whispy, between them all they need are two handfulls, and they must be as long as they can get them, more than 10cm is long enough…

Next I send them out to gather twigs the diameter of your little finger, this time a few handfulls will be enough…

The another 5 minutes to gather sticks the diameter of your thumb…

All this wood must be dry, so look in trees, fro branches that have fallen but got caught int a tree before they got to the ground…

Hazel always has a lot of dead wood that has not fallen tot he ground yet and can be snapped off and used…

Quite often dvbranches of living trees near the ground are dead, maybe they have not had enought light, but these can be gathered and used…

Now while one member of the group builds the fire, the others can spend another 5 minutes gathering tinder material…

Tinder is the material which will start to burn the instant the flame from the match touches it, dry leaves will do it, sometimes the fluffy white fibres in thistle flowers will do it, dry grasses will often light from a match flame…

This is when playing with different things before you need them is the best thing to do…

To build the fire, hold all the pencil lead diameter twigs together, one bundle in each hand and intermingle the tops of the bundles, and splay the bottoms of the bundles so their will be enough room for the tinder material to be placed there…

Next lay the little finger diameter twigs around the pencil lead twigs in a pyramid or upsidedown ice cream cone pattern..

You should end up with a structure that is pointed at the top and wide at the bottom, that will stand up without you needing to hold it up…

Next come the thumb diameter sticks, again placed around in a pyramid or unsidedown ice cream cone shape…

You need to leave a small openin at the bottom, where you will push in the tinder once it it on fire…

So now you are ready, and it really is simple, you get the tinder bundle as close to the opening in the base of the sticks as you can, you light it witht he match, blocking the wind from the match as best you can…

As soon as the tinder bundle has caught and is turning to a flame bundle, push it deep into the base of the prepared sticj pyramind and with practice your structure will be a raging fire in less than a minute…

The key here is that the flames and the heat in the flames always goes up, so the pyramind structure is designed to have as much material above the flames as possible, in theory a well made fire can be stood in an inch of water or on damp ground, and as long as the tinder stays dry and their is dry wod above the flames it will light…

The tinder flames touch the pencil diameter twigs which light, then the flames moves to the little finger diameter twigs, and then to the thumb diamter twigs, at each stage the flames is getting stronger and stronger…

The most flamable items are on the inside of the structure and the the items harder to light are on the outside…

The most important thing is to have easy to light twigs first and very dry tinder…

Once these are alight you can gather other twigs and sticks to burn as you need them…

This is known sometimes as a tipi or teepee ire…

Always light fires where you have permisiiona nd always light them where there is zero risk of starting a fire in the forest meadow where you are…

And it is good to note that fire can burn underground in some areas, in tree root, in some soils…

I hope this helps…

Please ask questions as they come up on the ask questions page…

Walk in Awareness

The freedom to go where you want whenever you want…

Question from:

Michael Bridger – Oxford, UK

“I would like to know what rights to roam there are within the UK and is there a good website to give information on the legalities of lighting camp fires etc? . . . Many thanks.”

Rights to roam…

The freedom to go where you want whenever you want…

Not quite but it is getting better…

If you want the latest information about this topic, I would highly recommend going to the Ramblers Association website…

http://www.ramblers.org.uk/freedom/

The ramblers association has been at the forefront of the movement to get more access to the wild places of the UK, and this site will give you the latest information…

An interesting point made on the website is that there are new ordinance survey maps with areas designated as freedom to roam, take a look at the page below…

http://www.ramblers.org.uk/freedom/righttoroam/latestdevelopments.html

Another useful website I found is a government site about open access land, it has an option to look at maps in your area your interested to find out if it has open access…

http://www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk/things_to_do/open_access

So my interpretation is that the right to roam still needs to be granted, for certain pieces of land, and can be taken away for reasons of safety or to protect wildlife…

The freedom to go on any piece of land you choose does not exist although it is only a criminal offence to trespass on certain places the next website has a great deal of good information about trespass and the law…

http://www.naturenet.net/law/common.html

Below is a quote from the above website:

“…it is within the power of the landowner to ask any person to leave, assuming that person does not have some other lawful reason to be there. The landowner does not have to give a reason. If the person does not go immediately, by the shortest practical route, then they are trespassing. Despite the well known sign ‘trespassers will be prosecuted’, trespass is not a criminal offence and trespassers cannot usually be prosecuted. They can, however, be sued. There is little chance of such a matter ever being so serious as to be worth suing over, and so

this rarely happens.”

I took another quote from the following website:

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/section12/chapter_f.html

Section 61 CJPOA <Stones 2001 8-24900> enables a police officer to direct trespassers on land (who are there with the common purpose of residing there for any period) to leave the land where the occupier has taken steps to ask them to do so, and either

* they have damaged the land; or
* they have used threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour to the occupier, her or his family, employees or agents; or
* between them they have 6 or more vehicles on the land.

Failure to obey a direction to leave or returning to the land as a trespasser within 3 months is an offence.

So it seems the right to roam has been extended, and trespass only becomes a criminal offence if you take something without a landowners permission

Another quote from the following website:

http://www.naturenet.net/law/common.html

“In many cases people take things from the countryside, such as stones, wood, earth, and so on. They have all committed theft if this is not authorised by the landowner.

On the subject of lighting fire and right to roam guide on the ramblers association site has this to say:

http://www.ramblers.org.uk/freedom/righttoroam/guide.pdf

“The new right of access is restricted in several ways.For instance,it does not allow walkers to drop litter,light fires,cause damage to plant or animal life and bathe in non-tidal water.It does not allow camping and organised games.The Act does not distinguish between access during the day and at night, although local restrictions could affect access at night.Walkers are responsible for their own safety at all times.Anyone breaking a restriction will be treated as a trespasser and barred from entering the land for the next 72 hours.The Act does not confer additional rights for cyclists or horse-riders but existing rights are not affected.”

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 can be accessed

at:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukpga_20000037_en_1

I would advise you do your own research about the places you wish to explore to see if open access has been granted there, and also become familiar with the trespass law, so you know where you stand if you do find yourself on private land, which can easily happen if your not an expert map reader…

It seems that only theft,violence, abusive or insulting behaviour would get you in trouble, if asked to leave by the landowner…

I have sucessful deveoped relationships with landowners who were more than happy to have me and a group on their land, mostly because they liked me, but also they could use group visits to their land as part of satisfying part of grants they had for things like planting trees…

I have written to wildlife trusts and got permmision to run classes on thier land, providing I followed their rules…

And I have spoken to the forestry comission’s main office who were more than happy to grant me access to their land fro the purpose of teching if no one else was using it…

There are many ways to get use of private land, even without right to roam extending everywhere…

My hope is you have some usefull resources here

please ask more questions if you have them…

Walk in Awareness

Poacher or Big Game Tracker, Perception Can Change Everything…

Shikari is a word that comes from the Indian Himalayas. It was and I hope still is a word used to describe someone who lived off the land…

It was later used to describe someone who was a big game tracker. Because as agriculture took hold, people who continued to live off the land got given a new name. “Poacher’s”. The way they lived had not changed, just the ownership of the forest. So from someone who had been respected, they became someone who was seen as trouble and were now stealing from the landowner…

To become respectable again and to earn a living these great trackers and survivalists began to lead the rich on hunting expeditions, and so regained the respect they once had from their tribes and people. They once again became known as Shikari…

A Shikari is some one who watches and observes, and can deduce many Things from the smallest of details. The scapes in the dirt to them would Speak volumes, the type of animal that made it its direction, its speed, the Time it passed. The list of information available become volumous as your Skill levels increase. But its like learning a language it takes time, and you First need to learn your ABC’s…

So the aim and vision of Hunter gatherer School is to mentor you to become a great Shikari. To develop awareness skills so advanced that the things you know will seem Like magic. Maybe people will think your psychic or that you have ESP (Extra Sensory Perception). But All that will be going on is you’ll be noticing things they have missed…

I have a quote in my mind, and I’m paraphrasing here. “Any technology that is advanced enough will seem like magic to anyone who does not understand it…”

When you have learned the skills that we teach here, what you will be able to do Will seem like magic…

Imagine yourself walking with a friend, you here a bird Alarm in the distance, and because of your training you know by the intensity and shape of that alarm, that it is a fox that has triggered that alarm. You turn to your friend who didn’t hear it and you say “lets stop here, and sit down, don’t make a sound and watch over there, there is a fox coming.” You point into the distance at a spot on the trail up ahead. You friend looks at you with a quizzical look but does what you say. one minute later, a fox pops out onto the trail, and then back into the forest. Your friend looks at you as if…… Whoa…

How do you explain it, it was obvious to you, but it seems like magic to them…

Developing your awareness is like having an advanced technology. And it will serve you wherever you are in the world. So Awareness is part of the School. It is the one thing, the one skill that will enhance all others. You might think that survival is all about building shelters, and finding water Making fire, and cooking plants to eat. Well it is, but only about 10%. The rest is The difference between subsistence survival, and living is absolute luxury…

The difference is wanting shelter, looking at you surroundings, smelling what’s on the wind, looking at the topology, and the animals in the area, and from all this information knowing in which directing your most Likely to find what you want.
Without awareness you’re stumbling in the dark, and learning by trial and error…

You don’t need to learn by trial & error, find your self someone who can mentor you in these skills & this knowledge, they will take you far along the path…

Take Care, Walk in Awareness

Ancient Wisdom: No.23 – The Forest Alarm Systems…

When you wander into the forest the fox and deer know where you are…

They know because the birds have a lot to say about you being there, and the fox & deer know what they are saying about you. They have heard it all their lives since they were cubs and fawns, & they listen out, especially for the unique signature of a human wandering in their territory…

The wisest of animals never need to set eyes on a human, & yet they always know where they are, because the birds act as their eyes and ears…

The language the birds use is very simple & easily learned, & when you start to understand the ripple of alarm you send out into the forest every time you move, you will start to notice the ripples the deer & fox send out too & which ripple through the forest towards you…

Because the birds talk about everyone not just humans…

They talk about the deer, they talk about the badger, they talk about the fox…

The ground dwelling birds have a great deal to say about the weasel and the cats that hunt them, & everyone has a lot to say about the owls and hawks, who will take any opportunity to make them lunch…

They have a lot to say about the magpies & crows who try to rob their nests in the spring, & other birds who try to steal their favorite feeding spot…

So before you enter a forest or step out into a clearing, stop and wait, listen for the ripples of alarm, and eventually you will get to know the ripple caused by a fox, the ripple of fear caused by a hawk or a weasel…

You will become accustomed to the more subtle ripple of annoyance caused by a deer grazing too close to the blackbird’s favourite feeding area or the domestic dog bumbling through its territory…

But start simple, get to know the robin that lives in your garden or on the little piece of waste ground you pass everyday. Or listen to the wren, they will teach you a great deal about what bird have to say about cats & humans…

It will not be long before you can tell the approach of a cat, or a fox or a human into your patch of the world…

I can get you far along the path of understanding bird alarm systems, but you don’t need me, just sit for 5 to 10 min every now and again where the robins and wrens are & eventually you will pick it up yourself…

Walk in Awareness