A diary entry from my camping trip in Algonquin Park:
Tonight at my campsite in Algonquin Park, I started my campfire with no newspaper or match. I wanted to prove to myself I could go all "native" and do it with birch bark and a flint. The first thing I learned, which fascinated me, was how birch bark is multi-layered just like an opnion. The thinnest layers were I'm sure just as fine as human hair. So, I peeled and tore a handful of this fire-starter and made a traditional teepee fire. After 30 seconds of using my flint, there was enough spark to start a fire. If that wasn't interesting enough...
I kept a chunk of this birch bark as a souvenier of my wonderful time here out in the wilderness. Looking for a place to tuck it away, I placed it alongside a stack of DVDs I brought along for night viewing when I'm too tired to hit the sack. The contrast - and irony - hit me. I was just as entertained and educated from a hunk of birch bark as I was from any of those DVDs. About the same size, one represents one of mankind's amazing technological achievements, the other, one of nature's.
