Bobcats 2018: Week 3 - Fire!

Today we explored fire and wood skills in greater depth. We started out warming up around the fire working on creating bow-drill friction fire kits. We identified all the parts we needed to make and started working on spindles. After getting out spindles into shape, we found some cedar boughs that naturally had a good "bow" shape. Fire boards, or hearthboards, made from cedar shims and we were ready to put it all together!

Ashlyn had a complete kit by the end of the day. Here she is practicing her technique. She didn't get a coal, but did generate some heat and took the kit home to practice.

We took a break from working on our fire kits to collect some deadwood for the fire. Alyna is working on her technique using a maul to break up some small downed trees into lengths that will fit in our fire pan. We focused on safety and getting used to the weight of the maul.