Anyone who has spent time hunting, hiking, camping, four-wheeling or snowmobiling has probably had occasion to start a campfire, either for warmth or for cooking food. There are many ways to start a fire if you have access to fuel of some sort. If the wood you use is dry, this is a pretty simple procedure. However, there may be times when the weather is not co-operative and the wood is either wet or covered with snow, and there aren’t any birch trees handy for starting a fire with a strip of birch bark. I suppose if you have a vehicle with you, then there is the possibility of using fuel (gasoline) from that to start a fire. That is certainly not my first choice and perhaps this idea will forego the need for such a waste.

What is required for a simple, inexpensive and very convenient fire-starter is to accumulate (gather) bits of spruce and pine gum during your excursions out into the wilds. The “blobs” of gum can be found quite easily at certain times of the year (usually spring and summer) on the surface of these trees if one takes time to notice these. After collecting enough for a ball of gum a couple of inches in diameter, this can be stored in a small zip-loc style bag and carried with you on any outdoor trips. When you need to start a fire, shave off or break off a small piece of gum (no bigger than the tip of your little finger) and use this to start your fire. It will provide enough flame and heat to start a fire even with damp sticks (small), which can be added to as the fire builds.

This “gum-ball” can be used for many years once acquired and will make this part of camping/hiking much simpler and quicker. It does not harm the supplying trees, is convenient, inexpensive, works very well and is easy to carry wherever you travel. Of course, a match or a lighter is key to making starting a fire easy, especially in the damp weather, even with a gum-ball firestarter. Why not use what nature provides to quickly achieve what sometimes seems very difficult.