Being able to see at night in the wilderness is an ability that you don’t want to go without. Of course, you should always have an headlamp with you, but batteries run out, gear breaks, or you could lose it. This could put you in a situation where you can only perform necessary tasks during daylight hours. Especially during the winter months, this could have you at a dangerous disadvantage when you are already facing harsh temperatures. Being able to make a wilderness candle will help you function without a headlamp or conserve dying batteries.
- First, you will need to gather the primary ingredient, the fuel for the candle, pine resin. Pine resin is highly flammable and will burn for long periods even in relatively small pieces.
- Next, gather sticks about the thickness of your fingers and about 12 to 18 inches long.
- Using a knife, carefully split the sticks into 3 parts for 4 to 6 inches. This 3 prong design will hold the resin in place much more securely than if it were only split down the middle in 2 pieces.
- If your pine resin in large enough pieces it can be put directly into the split sticks, if it is only in small crumbles then you will have to heat it on a stone near your fire until the small pieces can be rolled together with twigs into larger pieces that can fit securely into the split sticks. Add twigs beneath the resin so that as it melts it has something to cling to so that it doesn’t drip down while still burning.
- Make as many as you have the material for.
Being able to see in the dark will not only increase your hours of functional operation but it will lift your moral in a survival situation. This is just one more example of a tool that can be manufactured from wilderness material that will decrease your dependency upon gear and increase your survivability.
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