I will say that starting a fire when wet out, raining, or even when it's just a little damp out can be a real challenge. My buddy and I went camping. We wanted to camp mainly to practice our bushcraft/survival skills. We set up a shelter out of a 9x12 tarp, no problem. The first thing we did when we got there was try to start a fire. We used Swiss Steel, and a magnesium stick. The air was so damp and everything back there was so saturated with moisture, that any flame we would get, even from the magnesium would instantly go out. So throughout the evening, we would go back and try it again, and again, and again. Once in a while, we would get some tinder to go up for just a couple seconds. But the fact that everything was so damp just kept putting everything out. It wasn't until well into the night, that there were enough hot coals and some already burnt punky wood, that the fire just decided to take off. How weird!
So it just goes to show, persistence pays off. The fire would have kept going for days if we wanted it to. It just didn't want to stop burning at this point. It frosted that night, which made it quite cold. But the fire did certainly help. We should have laid closer to it to really keep warm. I had a 0 degree bag, so I was good to go. My buddy only had his coveralls. I felt sorry for him. I ended up breakin out an emergency blanket for him. And it even helped make my bag warmer. So it was quite the night. A lot of fun though. The stars, night sky, crispy cold air and slight fog made that night beautiful and all worth it. Walnuts kept falling out of trees behind us all night. Scared the heck out of me waking up to that every few minutes. But really your fire making skills are arguably the most important important of your bushcraft skills. I think should be the one practiced most and as often as you can. Many other survival experts have agreed about this and I tend to agree with them as well.
