Wood Stove thru Hike

[SunnyWalker]

Is there anyone on WB who has actually thru hiked the entire AT using a wood burning stove? If so please tell me how it went and your experience. Please tell me which model of stove you used. Thanks.

[cowboy nichols]

I use a Siarra and love it, havn't hiked the whole A T but many other miles on other trails. Also great when the power fails.

[rafe]

I've walked maybe 200-300 miles of AT with a Zip Stove. It gets messy and tedious after a while. But at least you won't worry about stocking up on alcohol or white gas in town. A zip stove takes a fair amount of attention; gathering wood, starting the stove, feeding the stove as you're cooking with it, cooling it down, packing it all up so the rest of your gear doesn't get sooty. If you're a thru-hiker intent on making a lot of miles, you may find you have better things to do at camp. If you're more of a "camper" than a hiker, it makes some sense.

[weary]

Is there anyone on WB who has actually thru hiked the entire AT using a wood burning stove? If so please tell me how it went and your experience. Please tell me which model of stove you used. Thanks.

I used the Sierra Zip Stove exclusively during my six month, three day walk in 1993. I started on Springer and ended on Katahdin, though by ATC standards it was not qujite a thru hike. And I've used it before and since on hundreds of additional backpacking trips.

Mine was one of the early versions that had an inadequate on/off switch. But I would use it again -- and have many times.

I found it a lot simpler than worrying about running out of white gas. Wood for fuel was never a problemI just picked up potentially useful wood as I walked along each day. Breaking off an occasional dry branch. picking up sticks broken by hiker boots.

On rainy days, I usually found enough sticks stored under the shelters, or enough scrap paper to light even wet wood.

Once the stove got going well, it would burn wet wood as well as dry and I just picked up stubs left in fire places.

I think the Zip is an ideal long distance backpacking stove -- especially if you are going to do more than boil water. I was on a fairly tight budget, so I used very few expensive convenience foods. I cooked real rice, real pasta, real pancakes, real oat meal and the like.

Weary

[fiddlehead]

I carried a zip stove for years including my '89-'91 thru-hike and carried it around the world and cooked in Ireland, (burned peat), Scotland, as well as the Himalayas and lots in Thailand and Australia.
Loved the stove until the lighweight butane stoves started coming out. they are much simpler especially if you like morning coffee. Sometimes it just didn't seem to justify the time to fire up the zip for a simple cup of coffee but no problem with the pocket rocket.

Just keep your cooking pot in a plastic bag. The AT isn't the driest trail for finding good wood but there's lots of wet wood. You get good at building (starting) fires in a hurry and I learned to look for hollow trees and using charcoal from an old firepit. I did carry some lightweight firestarter that i bought from the zip stove company (sierra stoves) that they don't sell any more. (at least not the good stuff they used to) But often didn't need it. Lots of threads on here on how to make your own although i don't know how safe it would be to mail some of them.

I made a lot of friends in my travels by having unlimited hot water for whoever wanted it. (when the AT was less crowded) When i had a bungalow on the beach in thailand, back in '93, folks would bring wood, coffee, tea, cakes, cookies, and everything to share with me and all i had to do was keep the battery charged and have one of those 10 litre waterbags that REI used to sell handy to make all they wanted. Good fun and great memories.
I would consider the zip again on the right trail. (not the AT though, too many people complaining about smoke and too much rain and humid air) I would definitely use it on the PCT again and I'd have to think about the CDT (maybe not if i could still ship butane)

I did find that in the Himalayas, it didn't burn so well above 12,000' But neither did our international whisper-lite (dirty fuel probably) We had some problems there once the kerosene stove that the sherpas brought along clogged up on us. (eventually came across an old man hiking the trails who specialized in fixing them and had some really cool tools) anyway, that's another story.

Have fun with the zip if you use it. Great stove.

[SunnyWalker]

Thanks for the reply. I am interested in one part of your comment. Was there really a lot of complaining from others about the smoke? Is this really a valid reason not to use it in your judgment? I mean, it is a free world. I am sure others would be doing stuff I do not like. By the way I am planning on a Southbound hike. Less folk. I sure would like to hear from you again. Also, have you had experience with any other wood stoves? -SunnyWalker

[SunnyWalker]

This is very good reading. Thanks folks. Keep it coming. Looks like some practice time with the stove would be well spent.

[rafe]

One minor issue with a Zip stove is that there are places where, because of its nature, it can't be used. The example I'm thinking of is the porch of Dan Quinn's barn on Rte. 12 in Vermont. Almost any other stove would have been fine... but a Zip stove, not so much. And since it's not a "woods" setting, gathering fuel is tricky also. In general, it's going to be harder to maintain "stealth" with a Zip stove than most other types.

[take-a-knee]

If you are serious about this get a Bushbuddy Ultra, nothing else compares.

[fiddlehead]

Was there really a lot of complaining from others about the smoke? Is this really a valid reason not to use it in your judgment? I mean, it is a free world. I am sure others would be doing stuff I do not like. By the way I am planning on a Southbound hike. Less folk. I sure would like to hear from you again. Also, have you had experience with any other wood stoves? -SunnyWalker

No, i wouldn't let their complaining stop me. I didn't back then and i wouldn't now.
Seems like a lot more complaining on the trail now than back 15 years ago. (at least according to this forum)

I have not used any other wood stoves although when i hiked in '77 (Springer to Del. water gap) my Svea stove blew up (somewhere in VA) and i had to rely on strictly fires for every cooked meal. I guess that's when i got good at starting fires in the rain.

Also for a SOBO'er it sill be much less of a problem also (the complaining)

You know, here in Thailand, my wife cooks about half of our meals on our small charcoal grill. She uses a small piece of inner tube to start her fires. Now THAT might bring more complaints on the AT.

[weary]

No one complained to me about the smoke in 1993. A lot of folks seemed to like my offers of a cup of boiling water for coffee and such. I tried to cook away from the shelters.

But most even ignored the smoke when I used a shelter floor for perching my Zip, while I cooked pancakes for folks inside, something that people relying on cannisters and white gas never seemed to have enough fuel to share.

On an occasional buggy night, some even welcomed a bit of smoke to keep the mosquitoes away.

[Bob S]

Practice with a wood stove is a good idea before you take it out. Wood stoves have a time lag for controlling the heat, they are not like a normal stove you just turn up and down to adjust the flame. You have to add or not add fuel before you actually want the desired results.

Not a hard thing to do, but it’s nice to have some practice with it.

If you are serious about this get a Bushbuddy Ultra, nothing else compares.

I think there are a lot of good stove out there that will fill the need. I happen to like my homemade gasifier, It works great. I never used a Bushbuddy, I’m sure it’s a good stove, but I have really come to like the forced air stove.

[mkmangold]

After years of using the Zip Stove I bought the Woodgas Stove: http://www.woodgas-stove.com/?gclid=...FSK9FQodIltmwQ

Before each trip, I get one of those artificial fireplace logs at Menards, chop it into pieces that can fit in the WoodGas stove, and package into ziploc bags. Not only makes great firestarter, but can serve as the sole source of fuel when it is raining.

[drastic_quench]

I plan on taking my Stratus Trailstove on my thru. I like it for its simplicity and total lack of moving parts.

[SunnyWalker]

Thanks again to everyone. Would still like to read more comments on this. A few comments: I always try to be courteous to other hikers. Would not intentionally bother them with my smoke. I am going to see if the Stratus can work for me. Will try others if not. I want to hike Southbound so I have time to camp also. I do not sacrifice the camping for the hiker. I also see myself as not as frequent into towns as others might. These are just ideas and I have made comments about this and asked questions about this before. The wood stove lends itself to my goals of camping as I hike. -SunnyWalker

[SunnyWalker]

I plan on always (as before) being courteous to other hikers. If the Stratus does not work for me I wil consider a Zip or Bushbuddy. But I like the idea and simplicity of the Stratus. The comments about "lag time" and gathering wood and all are not a bother to me. I sure would like to read more comments so please keep them coming. Please tell me about your thru hike experiences using a wood stove. And thanks fiddlehead, your comments are inspiring as to using a wood stove.

[BOWSINGER]

Joe Valesko of Zpacks did a PCT thru-hike in 2007 using two different wood stoves for all his cooking with “an occasional Esbit tablet as a backup on rainy days”. His first stove weighed .3 oz and his heavy-duty stove weighed 1.1 oz. Both were free and simple to make.

For information and some decent pictures go to www.zpacks.com and then to their cooking gear page. Also there is some more details and pictures on using the wood stoves setups on the “About” page and on the gear list page under the Pacific Crest thru-hike. I picked up an 11ounce can of coffee and as soon as it was empty, I cut it down to make one of his wood stoves.

I have a Zip stove but prefer to use a much cheaper and lighter hobo tin can stove and Joe’s looks like a winner.

[Bob S]

Take a good quality pencil sharpener, you can use it to trim wood sticks (even when wet, you can get to the dry wood in inside) down to make a good sized pile of starting wood in no time. Also a knife to split wood for dry wood that’s wet on the outside but dry inside.


Have a good quality, heavy duty Zip-Lock type of bag to use to pick up and keep wood fuel dry as you walk.

I would also have some good waterproof fire starters to use for days when wood is damp and not as willing to jump into a flame.

For this I use these homemade fire starters (pictured below the stove) they are very easy to make and work great.

[weary]

I've never brought a fire starter to the trail. I can usually find what I need in or under the shelters on the rare occasions that special fire starters are needed.

I do pick up scraps of fallen birch bark I find near the trail, though in 1993 I didn't find any birch trees or their leavings until I reached the northern border of Georgia.

Weary.

[SunnyWalker]

Bowsinger, BobS, and Weary-thanks for the comments. I will experiement with the pencil sharpener. But do not think it would be something I would want to bring and keep track of. But will look at them, different ones and try them out. Fire starter-I'' be carrying some Esbit tabs as a backup in wet weather or whatever. Hey, this is really good. Thanks fellows. Oh, Bowsinger-I don't know if I would make a stove as I already have a real good one, the Stratus. It has no moving parts, cool.