Tips and Tricks

STUBBORN NON-BURNING FIRE - There are only three ingredients needed for a good fire. They are: heat, oxygen and fuel. If any of these are lacking, your fire won’t burn properly. It has been my experience that the lack of oxygen will cause 99% of your woes when your fire won’t burn. Make sure that you have a suitable air-flow into your fire pit. If the pit is too deep, try trenching on opposing sides of the pit to the same level as the base of the fire (creating a flow-through ventilation). I have found that this usually gets the flames burning as needed.

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Hitting The Trail » Introduction

Welcome to "Hitting the Trail", the part of my website that’s dedicated to the adventurous among us.

In today’s society most of us spend way too much time in front of the TV, video game and yes, computer. I’m one of the lucky ones, just old enough to have grown up in a time when it was the rule, not the exception to get outside and explore.

My journey into the wilderness experience began as a Boy Scout in Hodgenville, Kentucky. I was a proud member of Troop 425, which contributed greatly to my desire to get into the backcountry. Thanks to the dedication of leaders like Scoutmaster Bobby Morrison, Assistant Scoutmasters Kenny Marcum, "Tadpole", Johnny Keith and too many others to mention, I developed a lifelong love for the outdoors. I eventually achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, becoming the first in my troop’s history, an honor which I still take great pride in to this day.

My goal with this part of the website is to try and impart some of the "tricks of the trade" that I’ve learned over the last 40 years or so. My greatest hope is that you will walk away with not only some useful information, but the desire to "hit the trail" and find avenues for your own adventures.

Whether relaxing by the Ramsey Cascade waterfall in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, listening to the wind whistling across the Mojave Desert, watching the surf break on the beach at the Pacific Ocean, fighting for every breath as I climb the Uinta & Wasatch Mountains in Utah or sitting in wonderment by the emerald waters of Bear Lake in Idaho, I find all places wonderful and unique to those who will seek them out. I hope you too find the time and motivation to explore the Great Outdoors.

Remember. . .every journey begins with a single step.

Last updated: 11.20.2007