Camping challenges add spark and variety to life in the woods

EXPANDING OUTDOOR SKILLS fast and adding variety to your outings is an appealing idea, and here’s one way to do it: Every time you go camping or canoeing, focus on one new advanced skill.

Taking on this kind of challenge will boost your outdoor enjoyment by preventing staleness settling over what should be an adventure. And it could expand your comfort level in the woods.

A word of caution though: Don’t try expansion without a foundation. If you’re new to camping, take short trips by canoe or on foot to ground yourself in fire-building, hanging tarps, handling gear, before tackling these ideas. Don’t head off with a weak grip on how to light fires, handle heavy rain, or fix a blister – these are the basics. And have a Plan B, so if the challenge is too much, or something goes wrong, the trip won’t be ruined.

Don’t light your camp stove or campfire with a lighter or matches. Instead, learn to use fire-steel. Fire-steel is a special, short metal rod that, when scraped against a knife or other piece of steel, will produce sparks with a temperature of 1,650 degrees C. When a spark drops into the camp stove burner, it will instantly ignite. And when it drops into dry kindling, you can coax it into a flame. But it takes practice. And more practice.

You may never need matches or a lighter again. Even if you’ve dumped out of your canoe in a lake, just reach into your soggy pocket and haul out that fire-steel when you’re ashore. Wipe it dry and it’ll send a shower of screaming hot sparks into your tinder bundle.

Several years ago I arrived at my campsite on an isolated late without a spoon. What an opportunity to log some whittling experience! Plan for this challenge by taking dry pieces of cedar (Home Depot sells them) with you. Then sketch out a rough outline of a spoon, sharpen your knife, and carefully carve a spoon. While you’re at it, you could whittle several spoons, forks and even camping chopstick s.

Try this in fall when most of the bugs have left. Tie a cord about one metre above the ground between two trees, and hang your tarp (it should be at least eight by 10 feet) over it. Stake down the corners and sides firmly. The finished product should look like a traditional pup tent. Its low profile will limit wind blowing underneath and billowing your tarp upwards. Finish by laying down a smaller tarp as the tent flour, followed by your regular camping mattress, and sleeping bag. Then … sweet dreams.

Late summer and early fall is ideal for berries and acorns. Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries make an excellent addition to pancakes or French toast. Acorns? Yes, food for the first North Americans for millennia. Extract the nuts from the shells, and soak overnight in several changes of water. (Native people put them – sometimes cut in half – in a stream for water wash over them for a couple of days.) Then chop or crush them and add to pancakes, etc. Don’t be tempted by mushrooms. Too much expertise is required to identify the nonpoisonous varieties. Φ

opg.com/watersafety

so we want you to stay clear and stay safe. OPG is a part of communities across Ontario, turn dangerous quickly and without warning. Water near a dam or hydroelectric station can