This post is brought about from a link that was recommended by
lonewolf. At that link & saw a popular image of an "all night burning
fire". Now on a winters night an all night fire may seem like a good idea,
& there are several ways of accomplishing this, but post shtf an all night
fire in my opinion is not a good idea.
Any fire small or large, day or night has the potential to attract
unwanted guests, so an all night fire is going to at least double that risk.
Post shtf, there will be no safe wilderness areas, people will be on the move,
raiders are opportunists & a fire glowing in the night or the smell of
smoke will draw them like ants to honey. Because I am a living historian, my
historical treks have to be as authentic as possible. Now even today there are
risks in camping out, but back in the 18th century those risks were far
greater. So I set myself scenarios. Some nights I have camped with no fire,
this requires knowledge of how to stay alive in winter with little bedding,
because bedding is bulky & adds weight to your pack. It also requires
knowledge regarding what foods to carry, because with no fire, you can not cook
food, so you need to carry some food that can be eaten without having to cook
it.
Other nights I do light a small fire in a fire hole. This is a scrape
in the ground to contain the fire surrounded by rocks back & sides. The
heat reflects off the rocks back into my shelter, & they help hide the fire
from prying eyes. But a small fire does not last long once I have fallen
asleep, & at some time in the night the cold will wake me & I will
stoke the fire from my supplies under cover behind my bed & from a supply
of wood at the end of my shelter. Despite the fact that I am always mindful
& therefore alert to sounds in the forest, this waking up from the cold is
for me a security measure. It is an opportunity to look & listen to the
sounds around me before I make up my mind as to whether or not I should re
light or stoke the fire.
If I had placed a large log on the fire to keep it going all night I
would probably sleep soundly, certainly I would not be waking frequently
because of the chill seeping through my bedding. This would create a security
risk, one because as I have already said, the fire would be noticeably visible
from a distance at night, & secondly because I would not be so alert. Just
something for you to think about next time you are camping out & practicing
your skills.
Keith.
