While many people these days prefer the convenience and easy clean up of gas fired camping stoves, others prefer the naturalistic joy of creating a big, crackling fire from scratch and roasting your food over the open flames. And why not? Campfires are inexorably linked to camping in the imagination. It's a lot more fun to sit by a bonfire to warm the bottoms of your feet than it is to slouch over a little camping stove while you cook up something tasty.
Building a fire is of course rather more labor intensive. If you're going to be building a fire, make sure to stop your hike earlier than you might otherwise, as you will need the sunlight to find the sticks that you'll need to build up your fire. Generally, all you need are small to medium sized sticks to build your fire. Don't use live wood, as that won't burn easily and will just lead to unpleasant smokiness. Wet wood is also not preferable, as it will smell bad and potentially smother your fire.
Kindling is more common under trees and especially bushes. Gather several bundles, and don't underestimate just how much fuel you might go through in a single night. Gather as much as you can fit near your camp site. If you have any left over afterward - which you probably will not - just scatter them lightly around the camp site, without letting them stick too close together to prevent any forest fires from catching later on.
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