Can we talk about how a ranger at Bear Brook set me straight on campfires

Gray Thompson · 2026-10-22T23:00:05.150847+00:00

For 8 seasons I built my fire the same way: big logs stacked teepee style right off the bat, lighter fluid if I was in a hurry. Figured more wood meant more fire. Last month at Bear Brook State Park a ranger walked over to my site around dusk and said, flat out, "You're smothering it. That's why you're fighting it for 20 minutes." He squatted down and showed me to start with a small pile of pencil-thin twigs no thicker than a pencil, then work up to finger size, then wrist size. He had a fire going in maybe 4 minutes with half the wood I would have used. I tried it at home in my fire pit twice to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Both times, flames in under 5 minutes, no lighter fluid, and the wood lasted way longer into the night. Felt pretty dumb about all those years of wrestling with wet logs. The one thing I still struggle with is getting the twig pile dry when it's been raining for 2 days straight. What do you all do for dry kindling in wet weather?

🐿️Pinecone Attack

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Can we talk about how a ranger at Bear Brook set me straight on campfires | Camping And Outdoors - Pinecone Attack