Good post. Any wood that is frosty, damp or wet will need a good base fire to start combustion on bigger wood. Again if you have the ability to have a few pieces of fatwood anywhere from match size to pencil size it will produce a pretty intense inferno that will make the sustaining fire easier to maintain.
I have had a couple instances where I have shot an elk at below zero temperatures and the first thing I have done is get a hellacious fire going. One time I dragged a sizable pitchwood stump into the fire and then I had some intense heat that lasted for a long time.
most areas around here are mixed deciduous and second growth scrub...
I'd love to run across some fatwood, but don't see it comong from cottonwood or maple which comprise the bulk of deadfall hereaboot...
