[at-l] Fw: Thru hiker Survivor Fire

[Jason Ball <jball65@shaw.ca> (Jason Ball)]

 a better basic skill would be something like food management (there
was one kid with a three pound tub of peanut butter in his pack for the
2-3-4
day hike - I didn't ask how many pounds of jelly and bread he was carrying).
Yikes!!!

This reminds me of one trip I took. I met up with a couple of late
teens/early twenty something's. They had Jam (1/4 jar), Peanut Butter (big
full tub), 4-5 tins of soup, 2 - KD still in the boxes, Puritan Stew in the
can, Butter (1 full lb.), a 12 pack of wieners, a full size fry pan and pot
from the kitchen along with an egg flipper, etc and no stove. When I asked
them how they were going to cook supper, the guy stated matter of factly, on
a fire. Well I wished them a good supper and went back to my tent site to
prepare supper. I boiled my water and had a great pasta and alfredo with
some garlic toast (bagels) made on my dragonfly. The Jell-O pudding for
desert was great (I had extra and shared it with them). During my whole
meal, I watched them get out all of this food and pots and pans and then the
fire making started. They must have been gone for 30 minutes collecting wood
(none near the tent sites - been picked clean). Well the poor guy was
lighting match after match and his girlfriend was constantly looking over as
I know my garlic toast could be smelt over there. I  had to go over and
offer my stove to them which he declined. I finally bent down with my cotton
balls mixed with Vaseline (petrol jelly), and lit them a fire. With a fire,
a bruised ego, and a very pissed off girlfriend, you think that poor guy
would have been moody but he and I and even she had a great talk about what
he should be taking when hiking and that he should always be able to start a
fire (even if you have to cheat a little). Never know when you may need one.
Jakealoo