How to Hang A Pot To Cook

 The best pot hook I've used is not one I invented, but an idea I pilfered from a Canadian post card illustration.

You'll need a cross beam well over the fire; this can be a long thin dead standing tree. You'll also need a strip of cord or leather; the latter is best. Find another stick and remove the branches except one stub nearing the lower end. The stick stub must be pointed up; this is the hook your bail top will hang from.

Wrap the leather around the cross beam, and lie a loose knot, at the end, around the stick hook shaft. The knot should be loose enough that you can slide the hang stick up and down depending on the distance you want the pot to hang at a given moment, but tight enough that the leather will grip the stick shaft when a weight is added to the hook. The cross beam should also be set so it wont roll and your thong unravel.