posted on Dec, 13 2018 @ 05:33 AM
A very good place to find firewood if you are near a creek, stream, river, lake or beach (even wetlands and swamps!) it to look for drift wood that
has beached itself and even wood that is in water can be found to be useful if you can split it open. This even works in the desert where they have
flash floods, find a low-spot where water would flow and then look for signs of high water and where plant material would get hung up if there was
flowing water. This will be a great place to find lots of dry material in the desert.
The best thing to do is look for the "high water line" which is where lots of debris is left from flooding or tides. If it has been some time since
the flood then there is a high probability that there is a lot of dry "clumps" of debris full of all kinds of good stuff for fires and the debris
usually collects in large amounts in various spots where it gets hung up and collects more of the small stuff. Over time this drys out and when it
rains, it is usually not enough to saturate the entire "clump" or collection of debris, so if you dig down into it, you'll find lots of dry stuff you
can use.
There are often large branches that can be used, often too long to be very usable (though you burn them in the middle and feed them into the fire). If
you can find two trees close to each other (a "V" tree or a tree with a large rock next to it), you can use this to break the branch by putting it in
between and then using the branch as a lever to break it - just push it (while in-between the two trees) against the other tree in a twisting manner
until it snaps - the length of the branch really increases the force you apply to the branch - the lever effect.
Lots of this drift wood will have a barren, sun dried look, stripped of bark and it is often smooth. This is what you want to look for. The lighter
the color the more dry it should be. A nice light grey/brown to a whitish color is a good sign of being dry. It can be dry on the outside but wet
inside if it had been soaking for a LONG time, so you need to check this - you can often tell by weight. It will dry from the outside in, in a
natural enviornment.
You need to be careful when digging through these clumps of driftwood and debris. These are good places for small animals to make nests and sometimes
snakes will find a home there, especially if close to water. If you have concerns of this, use a longer branch to poke at them to break them up. Once
you agitate them enough and break them apart somewhat most animals will make their escape, so you should be fine approaching them. I've only ever
found an animal in them once and it was a rabbit, but I have seen snakes near them, not poisonous in my area though.
Be careful if near a body of water, snakes like to sun themselves on the top of fallen trees, rocks, etc, wherever they can spread out, be elevated
(if possible), and in full sun. Keep your eyes open and you should be good.