Lehner, P. 1984 28 Oct. 12 - continued t his hell with lightning lighting the sky about us we decided that the only way to survive was to build a fire ; I got up and excersised as best I could in one spot , in hopes of getting my blood circulating faster ; Ken and Binion began searching at great distances for any kind of wood that would burn ; after they had collected a fair pile (all of which was , of course , soaking wet ) , Binion went to the raft and returned with the gas can ; at this point I was extremely glad that I had brought my lighter with me - I still break out in sweat and chill at the thought of what it would have been like if I hadn't had it with me ; with the aid of the gasoline and some paper sacks from the chow bucket we finally got the fire going ; once during the night the rain stopped and we were able to get almost completely dry before the skies opened up again ; almost the entire night was spent hovering over the fire , warming one side while the other side froze , and also keeping the rain from drowning the fire ; it is hard to believe that one could be so cold on a Pacific Island , but I know my days in the frost covered , mud smeared , snowy, fecal duck blinds were far more comfortable and warmer ; it was necessary to make several infrequent trips after wood , and on each trip it was necessary to go further after wood - with my battered , sore legs and ( over )