We learned last year after an attempt, that using the ol' waterproof matches, lighters etc, you just work your butt off trying to get much heat to dry out some wood. We determined that a small folding saw is nice for cutting wood, then a small hatchet works well to split the wood to get to the dryer center, then use a road flare. Most of us pack them now, so 15 minute flares are plenty, if you need more heat when one burns out, simply add another one.
On our club ride yesterday we built a fire just for demonstration purposes. We spent maybe 10 minutes getting fuel piled up, then lit the flare and continued to get more fuel. Probably 10 minutes into the flare life we had a fire that was self supporting and the last 5 minutes of the flare really got it cooking. Once the flare went out, we were satisfied that we could build one if the wood was even wetter.
I think we are going to build fires annually to keep people thinking about it and trying different techniques.
(The snow was too hard and not all that deep in our area for beacon training, but I recommend that as well).
VB
