Campfires--yes or no?

[accrete]

for Cari and I, we rarely (once a season??) put up a log-fire. And then only with dry wood at a place that doesn't have the local-wood clause so we can enjoy a fairly smokeless fire. We do however put up a citronella candle under a large kelty noah 16 tarp (set at ~7ft to 9ft up so all is safe). We find the small dancing flame enjoyable, keeps _some_ of the bugs away and we can still see the stars outside the tarp.


There was a recent Roadtreking email article that shared some parks were pondering no-fire-zones that would allow campers in a predominantly up-wind zone to have fire smoke/smell free camping. I'd sign up for one of those upwind sites if possible.


: ) Thom

[Jim Bennett]

I don't think I would be able to play my guitar without a campfire. For the last 35 years, they have gone hand-in-hand.

I gotta say, this thread has been an eye opener. For all my life, a campfire has been a big part of what camping has been to me, and the memories with friends and family, sitting around one, are priceless.



I imagine into the future, as I travel all of North America, I will encounter these no-burn campsites more, and more. It will most often be just the two of us, instead of the larger groups I am used to camping with, so the fire will not be missed as much.

Fortunately, where I do most of my local camping, there will always be fires. We have about 20+ cords of split wood, that should last us a few years.

Here is a typical campfire for us.



Well okay, maybe we were burning off scrap branches in our gravel pit, but it still was fun, and cool to do.

[Bobbie Mayer]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

My take on campfires. A number of years ago, in our backpaking stage, campfires were prohibited in some areas because of a lack of fuel. We quickly learned that a campfire was not a necessity, in it was not even desirable. Here's I learned, A campfire is a light that draws your attention to it. You stare at the campfire all evening. Thus destroying you night vision. Without the campfire there are more stars in the sky, more critters to be seen, and more bears that turn into stumps.

Even today many of the places we camp there are no campfires allowed. Death Valley's Sun Set campground comes to mind.

I loved backpacking without a fire. It meant you could go far longer without stinky clothes. It's easier to cook over a stove, too.

Camping- I don't do a fire if I'm alone. If I'm with a group I enjoy it, but not having one is okay, too, though one of those propane ones might be nice. We've got pretty severe fire restrictions this summer so we'll be lucky if the propane fires are allowed on the next trip. Or charcoal, which bugs me more than no fires.

[Jon in AZ]

Real wood fires for us, too.

Here's a dilemma I have relating to campfires. We buy local wood for burning, but find that it is often impossible to split and hard to start. I have been bringing a small supply of kindling split from juniper heartwood. But I am learning even that could be problematic and illegal.

What alternatives have you found that work well as starters for the "junk" wood that is commonly sold for campfires?

[Bobbie Mayer]

You can make firestarters that will work with just about anything short of a cement brick. Egg carton, fill the holes with shavings or sawdust but shavings are probably environmentally safer, pour wax in, then after it sets break them into individual cups. Great for starting charcoal chimneys, too. But not sure if all you can get is big logs whether you could start a fire with just one or two of these. (Though I've done it with wet wood, back in my Girl Scout days.)

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Bobbie Mayer

I loved backpacking without a fire. It meant you could go far longer without stinky clothes. It's easier to cook over a stove, too.

We usually had a fire when backpacking, and always do when canoeing. I would say about 80% of the time.

I find the lovely campfire smell is like a perfume that masks the body odour from lots of exertion.

Here is a shot from a couple years back. Note the cooking area away from the fire, and the fact we set up the fire below the high water mark of the lake, so any evidence will be washed away.

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

What alternatives have you found that work well as starters for the "junk" wood that is commonly sold for campfires?

For starting difficult fires, I have made fires starters. What I do is to loosely reroll toilet paper, soak it in melted wax, and then as it starts to harden, squish it a bit to flatten it, and then cut it into smaller squares then too. They will burn for about 5 minutes, and usually get even poor kindling burning.

[accrete]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

...What I do is to loosely reroll toilet paper, soak it in melted wax, and then as it starts to harden, squish it a bit to flatten it, and then cut it into smaller squares then too. They will burn for about 5 minutes, and usually get even poor kindling burning.

The wax soaked tpr work great. We have dozens pre-made stored in a moisture proof bag. The one thing we include in our build is placing dryer lint inside of roll before the wax-soak. Simple solution.

Thom

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by accrete

The wax soaked tpr work great. We have dozens pre-made stored in a moisture proof bag. The one thing we include in our build is placing dryer lint inside of roll before the wax-soak. Simple solution.

Thom

I have heard of the dryer lint before too. Some people use sawdust. Others just soak cotton swabs with Vaseline, and keep them in a pill bottle.

The ones that Coghlans makes work fairly well too, i have picked up a pack of them when some home-made solutions (which work a bit better) are not at hand.

[John Linck]

Chuck Woodbury recently discussed campfires in his RV travel newsletter.

It's time for RV parks to establish "No Campfire" zones.

For the last two nights at the KOA in Missoula I have gone to bed with sore, stinging eyes. Smoke from nearby campfires filled the air. The temperature wasn't even cold — in the low 70s — when people began lighting their fires. It was so warm that closing my windows was not an option without using my air conditioner.

People love their campfires, me included. It's always been a big part of the camping experience.

The problem is

Click for more

[Glenn Baglo]

I don't go to the trouble of making my own fire-starter. I just buy one of those wax-impregnated fire logs and chop a chunk off of it.
I've been carrying the same half a log around for several years now ( lack of interest in fires ).

[RogerDat]

Chuck Woodbury needs to go close his windows, kick on the AC, and watch some TV. I know that different folks have different tastes in camping and I'm good with that but camping and complaining about the wood smoke is like going to a Grateful Dead concert and complaining about the pot smoke and hippies. Burning Man and carping about the naked people. Etc. etc.

Camping = campfire unless fire hazard or environment won't support fires. I learned how to build fires and use an axe about a year after learning how to ride a bicycle. I even used them backpacking. Chimney shaped hole smaller than pot, small sticks, boil water, replace sod and water in when done. Matches weigh less than stove.

I cook over a fire, they generally will have very little smoke since I'm not a big fan of getting a face full of smoke while making dinner or smores. Splitting the store bought wood into pieces that will burn really helps. Wood scraps from construction are the best kindling, scrap from oak floors is awesome.

Have used the aforementioned homemade fire starters over the years and would add two more.

Highway flares - boy those things burn hot and can be lit in the rain. Will dry wet wood and set it on fire. Good signal device too. Keep a short 5 minute one in each day pack. Used once when caught in mountains by a freezing rain storm to start fire for warmth and to dry out once we got below tree line.

The heat tabs/blocks for the solid fuel GI type folding stoves. Hexamine I think that is. Foil pack or container and hot enough to cook on. Also in day packs, fire starter or use on own to heat water for tea/soup and weigh a couple of oz.

About that gravel pit brush fire. As we say when the campfire is all going good.... "that there is a fire".

[crowwing]

I have always thought there was a connection between a camp fire and the early history of humans on our planet. I am guessing that early men attracted their females with the help of a dancing fire. (Some cave men may have attracted other cave men, to each his own) I hope fires will always be a part of our camping experience.

[Grant Allen]

I bought one a couple of years ago, was not really into it but my wife insisted so much so she asked me to buy one for her Birthday. We have used it a number of times and even in our backyard. I must admit Its easy to transport it's light, gives off some heat and less expensive than wood, and when we could not have a real fire. Mostly I miss being able to roast marshmallows and hotdogs over the fire.(The kids love that) The propane fire pits recommend you don't do.

[RogerDat]

I would be more likely to purchase a small compact propane grill than a propane campfire. Along the lines of this http://www.amazon.com/Char-Broil-465...7673490&sr=1-5

Used one of these for a few years. Liked it well enough but storage was a bit messy and camper was smaller than before so I did not replace it when it got worn and rusty. If I wanted propane heat I would use a heater rather than a fake campfire.

No campfire is probably better than propane in my book. Unless it is an air powered red ribbon LED lit imitation that shows creative adaptation to the circumstances. That I like.

Forgot I used to have an old gas grill with the guts out and replaced with heavy grate, legs cut down, and stainless steel ash catcher tray added. I used that as a campfire in campgrounds that did not allow campfires but did allow "grills". Top hinge pins were removable, lid came off and my charcoal started out as firewood. Only had one place get their undies in a knot over my rather large grill appliance. I was way ahead of the whole outdoor fire patio things of today. Go Redneck engineering!

[Bob Miller]

Hmmm.... If "Camping = campfire unless fire hazard or environment won't support fires." I'd have to guess that a lot of us, by that requirement aren't campers.


I enjoy the outdoors, being in campgrounds where I can take walks into nature, take trail hikes, even climb in and out of the Grand Canyon etc, but I no longer have a great need to sit outside and breath in smoke, especially from someone else's campfire.


I guess what I am saying is that a campfire is not any kind of "Requirement" to enjoy camping and/or the RV'ing experience.


We are long removed from our Neanderthal relatives that sat outside the RV/cave eating a triceratops rib bone and (apparently) trying to woe the opposite sex with the size of their flame (?)


Camping and RV's are mutually exclusive terms to most "Real" campers anyway. It's your world, enjoy it the way you want, without having to meet anyone's definitions and/or criteria to tell you what you are or are not doing...

[SoloMatt]

I love a good wood campfire but I really love my heininger firepit. It takes less space than bundles of wood, propane is way cheaper than buying firewood, I can use it in most fire restricted areas and I can turn it off when I'm ready for bed.

I love it!!!

[Iowa Dave]

I tried to teach my Boy Scouts to plan ahead for the fire they always wanted at nightfall. Out of 8 or 10 scouts I usually got about 2 to listen.
They would gather tinder on their hike, I am especially fond of abandoned birds nests found in low growing prairie trees in fencerows. Then, when they said they had enough kindling, I'd tell them to go get ten times that much. We built a lot of fires over the years, they all got good at that. I used to tell them it wasn't a fire unless you could see it from outer space. I have used the Campfire in a Can model propane fire setup, not bad. Camped the last two nights this week in a state forest, we had no shortage of gathered wood and had a couple nice fires. When she's hot and muggy in Iowa in the summer there ain't enough woodsmoke in the world to mask the stank on this old Boy Scout, gotta have soap and water.
Dave

[Wayne Collins]

We have one of the "Lil Campfire" propane units. Check it out at Camping World. It does work well to heat under our awning, if we have a side curtain up to deflect the wind. But, we don't have a loose propane tank, so I hook it to one of the dual tanks on the hitch, so we're limited to the length of its hose as to where we can place it. We also have the optional grill that lets us cook, or heat coffee on there. The loose fire brick "logs" in it, get easily knocked out of position, so you have to re-arrange them every time before lighting the fire.

[Darwin Maring]

Purchase a repose kit for using wood pellets.
Repose Fire Logs

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Hmmm.... If "Camping = campfire unless fire hazard or environment won't support fires." I'd have to guess that a lot of us, by that requirement aren't campers.

...........

Camping and RV's are mutually exclusive terms to most "Real" campers anyway. It's your world, enjoy it the way you want, without having to meet anyone's definitions and/or criteria to tell you what you are or are not doing...

For many of us, your equation is most definitely true. A campfire over the years has been one of the most consistent things with camping that I have experienced, from my first ever camping experience, to the last. Other activities vary on different trips, from hiking, paddling, biking, skiing, fishing, and so on. Even accommodations have included tarps, tents, hammocks, cabins, or RVs. The number one consistent factor, aside from always having fun, is the joy of the campfire.

I must emphatically disagree that RV's are mutually exclusive terms to most 'Real" campers. In fact, I used to say almost the opposite, thinking that using an RV was not real camping, though now do include them. Still for me, real camping takes one away from the grid, and away from roads. This is where true relaxation is realized. In a few weeks I am headed on a one week canoe trip where I won't have any communication of any kind with the rest of the world. Even though it would be impossible to tow my RV, I still consider it to be "Real" camping. Heck, I even have to portage my canoe and gear 2.5 km from the parking lot to the lake. I am way more stoked for this, than spending a week in my trailer.

Plus, many complain about the smoke. I have to wonder how the heck you are burning your wood. A hot fire, with small split wood added slowly, will burn nice and clean, with almost no smoke.