Work the samovar
Adventure Advice | Outside Online:
If the samovar won’t draw, some old guys know to take an old boot with flexible uppers and fit the top over the samovar chimney and work the boot up and down like a bellows to encourage the fire. They believe, correctly, that you can’t have too much hot tea or coffee when the place you’re in is really cold. Needing their wits about them, they drink alcohol only in moderation, and never on an empty stomach (rules often more honored, as they say, in the breach). They know it’s generally a good idea to bring presents, slather on the sunblock, set the parking brake, swallow three witty remarks unspoken for every one they say, keep a life jacket handy, check for ticks, make sure a squirrel is dead before picking it up, and never let a blister go all the way to the bone, because then it can take months to heal. Old guys recall that left makes loose and right makes tight. They phone home. They understand that if they don’t, and then they return, and they find their spouse out of sorts, and they ask what’s going on, and their spouse says, “All right, if you really want to know—” they won’t really want to know.”
Nice. Carry a knife, too.