Mountain Bushcraft: Punkwood from a Scrub Oak Tree

Last week, I camped in the Uinta National Forest in the Rocky Mountains of Utah for several days. While I was roaming around the forest, I found a rotted branch on a Scrub Oak tree that turned out to be an excellent piece of punkwood. It ignited instantly with a credit card size Fresnal Magnifier Lens and burned fiercely until I put it out. I brought some of it home with me, and  plan to turn it into char-tinder to add to my fire kit. Cheers, Jason

About the author

Jason Schwartz is the founder and senior editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is a former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and has taught bushcraft and wilderness survival techniques to the Boy Scouts of America, interned with the US Forest Service, and studied wilderness survival, forestry and wildland firefighting at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado. Jason has also written for magazines such as The New Pioneer and Backpacker, including writing the "Tinder Finder" portion of Backpacker's "Complete Guide to Fire," which won a 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA). Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)