Tags
camping, cuyamaca rancho state park, fire, flint, hiking, how to..., instruction, knife, outdoor, snow, start a fire, survival
While camping at Cuyamaca in the snow, I attempt to start a fire with a flint and knife. I think the cold weather was a huge factor!
Girly Camping® 
The more you practice the easier it gets too! I usually hold my knife still almost in the shavings/paper, and pull the flint away from it, instead of trying to push the knife to it. Its’ especially helpful if you’re trying to light some sort of grill as well. Give it a shot. Otherwise, awesome blog, I look forward to more updates. Happy travels!
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Thanks for the tip! That was my first time trying and I was happy I even got a spark out of it! Haha!!
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I find starting a fire quite difficult in the cold – especially with regard to lighting my Trangia Spirits stove. I only find flint and steel useful in warmer weather or where I take the spirit holder and warm it up first by putting it in a pocket or even in the sleeping bag.
On my last trip out, I had one of those ‘Jet Butane Lighters’, allegedly designed for outdoor use, but once it got cold it failed completely – it came back to life when I got home!
In the end the only reliable thing I could find, which luckily I was carrying at the time, is weather proof emergency matches. I’d never used them before, but the failure of the lighter kind of forced my hand!
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Thanks for the tip! I was happy to get a spark but I have no doubt it will work in warmer weather! After we couldn’t get it started with the flint, we used good ol’ toilet paper and a lighter! It worked 🙂
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We always carry the weather proof matches when backpacking – they are the only reliable and consistent source of flame as the temperatures drop and the winds pick up. Oh, and have I mentioned trying to cook dinner during a hail storm at 10,000 feet?
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I have never tried to start a fire with a flint. So I give you big props!
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Thanks!!
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I was rooting for you the whole time!! 😉 That’s not an easy thing to do!
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Haha!!! Thanks! It was the cold weather! I think I’ll have more luck when its not snowing outside!
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I would have been muttering and sighing by then…good effort!
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