Frequency of campfires?

[rafe]

I'm mostly interested in responses of those who've hiked long distances on the AT. For those nights you spent in the woods, how often did you have a campfire? My sense is that that long distance hikers often don't bother. And also, that campfires in general are happening less and less as the years go by. Lots of shelters don't even have fire pits these days.

[Bronk]

I was on the trail for 4 months hiking from Springer to Waynesboro and I'd be surprised if I had a fire more than a couple times a month. In the beginning it was very cold and wet most of the time...the shelters and camping areas mostly picked clean of wood from frequent use, hard to find dry wood. Plus doing a late February start there isn't much daylight, so you're pretty much getting up at dawn and walking until dark to try to get some miles covered. And when you're out of shape, you're just sore everywhere the first few weeks. It sounds like a lot of excuses, but the reality is that I just didn't feel like fooling with a fire most of the time, and nobody else seemed to want to either. I think I was on the trail a couple of weeks before I saw a campfire. Now when I go on weekend backpacking trips and canoe trips, I have a fire every night...wouldn't even think of not having one most of the time. Thinking back, most of the time when I had a fire on the AT it was because I carried some fresh food out of town and wanted to cook it over the fire. There was a produce stand in Elk Park, NC where I bought a cantaloupe and some ears of corn and a couple of beers from the gas station next door...hiked a few miles in and set up camp by a little creek...put the food and beer in a bag in the creek to cool them down and took a nap...woke up, built a fire and ate the cantaloupe while the ears of corn were roasting...probably one of my best memories of the trail.

[Another Kevin]

I've not hiked long distances on the A-T, as you know. My longest hike has been 138 miles (is that a long distance? I honestly don't know.) on another trail.

I'll happily enjoy someone else's fire if the opportunity presents itself, and even help them replenish the wood supply. But for myself I don't bother. I think I've built a campfire twice in the last five years. One of those times was the time that I'd just fallen in a stream in 35°F weather. I kind of needed that one. Another, it was a raw and misty night, and I just got the urge to build a fire. So that's two campfires that I initiated, in what's almost certainly more than a thousand miles of hiking mostly short jaunts. (Am I a data point to show that even short-distance hikers are also not bothering?)

[The Cleaner]

Some hikers build a fire and then throw all kinds of non burnable trash into it.Some wilderness areas ban fires for this reason.

[burger]

Some hikers build a fire and then throw all kinds of non burnable trash into it.Some wilderness areas ban fires for this reason.

Almost every firepit I saw on my Springer-Gatlinburg section hike had burned plastic or foil trash in it. I'm increasing of the opinion that fires should be banned on busy hiking trails except in emergencies (real emergencies, not "it's 30 degrees and I'm cold"). Not only do fires encourage bad LNT practices, but the areas around busy campsites get completely cleared of downed wood, which leads people to start cutting limbs or small trees. Believe it or not, downed wood is an important resource for animals and plants in the forest.

[saltysack]

Almost every firepit I saw on my Springer-Gatlinburg section hike had burned plastic or foil trash in it. I'm increasing of the opinion that fires should be banned on busy hiking trails except in emergencies (real emergencies, not "it's 30 degrees and I'm cold"). Not only do fires encourage bad LNT practices, but the areas around busy campsites get completely cleared of downed wood, which leads people to start cutting limbs or small trees. Believe it or not, downed wood is an important resource for animals and plants in the forest.

+1.....never missed having a fire on JMT last year...

[saltysack]

(Not having) as its banned!!!


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[MuddyWaters]

Never make a fire on trail for me while hiking. Built many while car camping.

Generally, Im against it. Fires are very scarring, which can last hundreds to thousands of years, and are most often closely related with morons and their bad behaviors. I would just as soon see all fires banned on public land, they serve no purpose whatsoever and result in large fires out west often.

[rafe]

What made me start this thread was a post on facebook. Someone posted a photo of a big fire going in his back yard. The text was in effect, "Whoopee, I'll be doing this on the AT next week." I didn't have the heart to mess with his fantasy.

[peakbagger]

I did a five week section in VA one year starting 4/1, it was record cold for the area, the first week and along the Blue ridge parkway it was quite cold at night, Generally below freezing most of the week with a slow warm up over the next few weeks. We started a campfire most nights. It was before thru hiker season. We usually burned up the big charred stuff that had been left in fire ring and cleaned out the aluminum foil in the AM before heading out. Folks just cant seem to figure out that aluminum foil doesn't burn or melt. We tended to hike off season away from the bubble so usually had shelters to ourselves. If the weather was warm on other sections it was pretty rare to light a fire unless there were other folks around. I would usually browse for wood 5 or 10 minutes down or up the trail for dead wood on the ground. If I couldn't snap it by hand it was too big. I would pile it up with the butt ends sticking out and then wrap nylon strap around the butt ends and wrap the other end of the strap around a stick and drag it back to the campsite. One or two loads and I was set for an evening. The hardwood ridges in Va and a lot of the southern AT don't lack for wood as winter usually knocks down a lot of deadwood left over from past ice storms

What really makes a mess is when folks try to start a fire in wet conditions and it turns into smudge pot. Inevitably there are large chunks of charred wood left in the pit. The other thing I see frequently and object to are folks building fire rings in unofficial campsites. In some areas usually near water sources I would see several small fire rings that obviously had been thrown together. To me a shelter site is concentrating use but if someone doesn't like shelter site, then use LNT principles. A fire ring definitely leaves a trace. Over the year of hiking in the whites I have encountered several bootleg fire rings that had been poorly extinguished and found them mid day burning.

[Just Bill]

I still build one most of the time I'm out, but I generally make them quite small. (like caldera cone size)
Most of the time I will have one on the back of a flat rock, or even on the trail and nobody knows I was there really. It's still probably 50/50 depending on the type of trip I'm on, where I'm throwing down and the resources available.

On the AT specifically- a shelter, company, and a fire are still enough of a novelty to me overall that even if I don't stay it's nice to have one.
It's still odd to me to roll up to a camp and find people I didn't arrange to meet who also chose to spend the night in the woods. Bit hard for the bullsharter in me to pass up a fire and a chat. I'd miss that part.

That said; couldn't agree more with the general sentiment and condition of the fire pits/shelters generally south of damascus. Or worse; then tendency of those who should know better to burn things they should not.

Even in the "bad old days" when we did burn trash as part of "trash compacting" and to eliminate food odor from canned food we still policed out the pit in the morning and carried out the unburnt tin and foil. We left established pits so that new ones didn't need to be established. I'm still a fan of that practice... if you're walking on a trail a person made it's not shocking to my wilderness sensibilities to encounter a fire pit. Kinda goes hand in hand to me and is the ancient sign for "here's a good spot".

Hate to say it- I'd probably support a fire ban in many areas.

Hate to say it- probably wouldn't affect me much personally. Nor many long distance hikers as hiking tends to winout over camping most of the time..

Back country amblers like Another Kevin; you're on your own as always. ;) No need for too confuss things with too many definitions or rules.

Now you see it (maybe)34409

Now you don't (for sure)
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[GoldenBear]

I've never had any desire to start a fire while backpacking. Plain and simple, it's too much trouble for no real benefit. I don't need a camp fire to stay warm, boil my water, raise my spirits, or dry my clothes. The ONLY reason I could imagine I'd start a fire is if my clothes were soaked and I was starting to shiver -- and I've never faced that situation. When I stay at a shelter at which someone who has started a fire, I generally ignore the fact.

I still get bothered by the fact that some shelter-users seem to be unaware that neither metal nor plastic will burn in a fire.

[Tundra]

I went from ME to NJ on the AT this last summer and during the time from Vermont to NJ, and when allowed by law, my small tramily of 4, sometimes 5 or 6 had one every night. We met a wonderful Canadian (MVP) that loved fires. She would collect birch bark along the trail to help start the fires at camp. She was so kind, consistent and wonderful that we would help her no matter how tired we were. She never once asked for help. Her trail name, MVP was partially given because of her strong work ethic and quiet, lead by example mentality. The fire was sometimes better than other times due to the availability of down and dead wood. We all carried stoves but most of us still used the fire to cook every night. I think the fire, the ambiance and connection it fostered helped us grow closer. In fact we'd often looked for spots with a good fire ring or wood supply as a determining factor for a good site. We never built a fire ring and always extinguished our fires completely. Personally, I love campfires. However, while backpacking solo I'll forgo it nearly every time unless needed/wanted for warmth or drying clothes. There was just something about MVP and her love of campfire that was contagious and truly helped our tramily build morale and cohesiveness. Thanks MVP!

[Pedaling Fool]

... My sense is that that long distance hikers often don't bother. And also, that campfires in general are happening less and less as the years go by...
I think you sense is correct, especially WRT LD hikers vs weekenders. However, I'm the exception, the LD hiker that always builds a fire...just love 'em. I always have a saw in my pack.:)

[MyFeetHurt]

When I hiked I made 2 fires the entire trail, and both were very early into the hike. It was the novelty of it - I'd always hiked/camped with friends/family prior to the AT and we'd always gather 'round the fire at the end of the day. Felt like reliving some of that out by my lonesome on the Trail, but the Trail teaches you quickly (at least it did me) that a campfire gets right square in the way of what you want the most at the end of a hiking day on the AT, namely a quick meal and the tent.

[dudeijuststarted]

I'd make fires during summer, when the sun is out long enough that you aren't quite ready to sleep. When its cold, however, I find more comfort in a down bag.

[Busky2]

In the first 2 weeks of my 2014 trip they were more common as weeks went on they became rare unless on the weekends when some locals would be at a shelter. In '78 they, fires, were more common and it was hikers that were fewer.

[RockDoc]

Generally we hike long enough days that we barely get dinner eaten before it gets dark. We reserve fires as an emergency procedure to get dry if we happened to get soaked in low temps.

In my experience it is mainly day hikers and locals with kids and youths that make fires, and these are huge bonfires that go on for hours and burn every scrap of wood in sight. IMO it's a wasteful, dangerous display of juvenile pyromania. The worst thing about it is that you will have trouble finding firewood if you do have a real emergency and need to build a fire perhaps to save your life.

[Sandy of PA]

When stealth camping I never build a fire. At a shelter it depended on the crowd and how much dry wood was available. In 2000 miles of hiking total fires, less than 10.

[adamkrz]

We had a fire every night when possible, The wife and I don"t have zombie phones to stare at and It always attracted other hikers who normally wouldn't bother.

[evyck da fleet]

During the first two weeks, often. But once the weather warmed and everyone around me could hike all day, the only times I came upon a fire was when it was started by section or weekend hikers.

[Another Kevin]

Almost every firepit I saw on my Springer-Gatlinburg section hike had burned plastic or foil trash in it. I'm increasing of the opinion that fires should be banned on busy hiking trails except in emergencies (real emergencies, not "it's 30 degrees and I'm cold"). Not only do fires encourage bad LNT practices, but the areas around busy campsites get completely cleared of downed wood, which leads people to start cutting limbs or small trees. Believe it or not, downed wood is an important resource for animals and plants in the forest.

If you were referring to my earlier post, it was 30ish degrees, I was not only cold but also soaked, and exhausted from crawling out of whitewater at the end of a longish day, and hiking solo. I could most likely have survived in my sleeping bag, which had remained dry inside its compression bag, in the compactor bag that lines my pack, under my pack cover. Nevertheless, I was hyperventilating from cold shock and rapidly going hypothermic, and it seemed like a damned good idea to get a fire going before I was shivering too hard to strike the firesteel. There had been several days of sleet, freezing rain, and rain, and the area I was hiking in was mostly beaver swamp, so the fire danger was approximately nil. In the actual event, the fire was lawful, but I think I could make a pretty good case that it was an emergency.

By the way, by purest good fortune I was at a designated campsite with an established fire ring, but it's one that I'd be surprised if it sees as many as five hikers a week in the busy season. Not every trail is a superhighway like the AT. It is by no means denuded of wood, there was plenty of blowdown for the picking. Plenty of dry stuff on the underside of the wet blowdowns, too. The campsite had once had a lean-to, but The Authorities burnt it when the area was redesignated 'wilderness.' A pretty spot it was, too, with a nice view of one of the waterfalls in the river that I'd forded awkwardly. For scale, those birches and firs are full-grown,
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5602/15353705279_492fc4e91b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/poKKEx)
Wanika Falls (https://flic.kr/p/poKKEx) by Kevin Kenny (https://www.flickr.com/photos/ke9tv/), on Flickr


Back country amblers like Another Kevin; you're on your own as always. ;) No need for too confuss things with too many definitions or rules.

Hey, Bill, long time no see! How the hell are ya? After reading Scotty's trail journal, I like 'saunterer.' He quoted John Muir, observing that 'saunter' referred to a pilgrim's walk 'à la Sainte-Terre' - 'to the holy land.' I know you agree with John Muir, Scotty and me that the land is holy. By the way, he loved your book, mentioned it in the journal.

Referring to your remark about leaving a fire ring for the next guy, that's considered very poor practice where I hike. Best practice according to the authorities here is to lay a small tarp or other ground cover, pile it with mineral soil, and build a small mound fire atop that. Once it's extinguished, disperse the ashes and heated soil as widely as possible and put the tarp away again. The vegetation underneath will usually recover from a few hours of being crushed. The backcountry where I usually saunter still has limited human impact, so we try to hide our site use as much as possible to disperse the impact, rather than concentrating it on a sacrificial site.

I do make it a practice to break fire rings at inappropriate sites (too close to the trail or to a watercourse, in balsam, spruce, or hemlock forest, or in the krummholz or alpine region). Carry the rocks as far as I can in different directions, and try to mix the ash with duff.

[Just Bill]

Hey, Bill, long time no see! How the hell are ya? After reading Scotty's trail journal, I like 'saunterer.' He quoted John Muir, observing that 'saunter' referred to a pilgrim's walk 'à la Sainte-Terre' - 'to the holy land.' I know you agree with John Muir, Scotty and me that the land is holy. By the way, he loved your book, mentioned it in the journal.

Referring to your remark about leaving a fire ring for the next guy, that's considered very poor practice where I hike. Best practice according to the authorities here is to lay a small tarp or other ground cover, pile it with mineral soil, and build a small mound fire atop that. Once it's extinguished, disperse the ashes and heated soil as widely as possible and put the tarp away again. The vegetation underneath will usually recover from a few hours of being crushed. The backcountry where I usually saunter still has limited human impact, so we try to hide our site use as much as possible to disperse the impact, rather than concentrating it on a sacrificial site.

I do make it a practice to break fire rings at inappropriate sites (too close to the trail or to a watercourse, in balsam, spruce, or hemlock forest, or in the krummholz or alpine region). Carry the rocks as far as I can in different directions, and try to mix the ash with duff.

Doing well, just been a busy boy overall. Working a ton, sold my mom's house, just put up my house this week, playing with kiddos when I see them and dreaming and scheming.
Scotty's journal is next on the list. An hope you're healing up well and getting back into action.

Agree with your sentiment... I just tend to leave them where they lie so to speak when I find a ring.

I never make a fresh one and leave it- that would be in poor taste indeed. I rarely use a fire ring at all in most stealth cases; if I can't flip a rock or find a durable/safe surface I take a pass.

If I see an obvious one off/one nighter that somebody made I might break it up, but if it's clearly "in use" I leave it to those who know better than me to bust them up. Maybe more of a local thing but a few folks I've talked to allow a few "unofficial official sites" to keep freshies from popping up. The proverbial tolerated sacrifice I suppose, but when in rome...

If a stealth camp falls in the woods and nobody is around to see or hear it; did it fall at all?:D
That's my personal motto for dispersed camping and leave no trace where the land allows it.
If I can't make it disappear when I'm done, I make sure it doesn't appear in the first place.

Semantics an preaching to the choir though, lol... We're boring the others.:p

[Slo-go'en]

I typically only make a fire if a lot of bugs followed me into camp. A small, smoky fire helps clear them out in reasonably short order. No need to build a bonfire.

[Spirit Walker]

We had fires the first few weeks on the trail, when it was really cold. I never started it, but I was happy when other hikers did. By Virginia I rarely saw a fire. It is too much trouble after a long day of hiking and in established camp areas there is usually very little downed wood without having to hike a ways to look for it.

We ran into one hiker who insisted on a big all day fire in Maine. I was irritated because a maintainer had done a lot of work to cut wood for the shelter, and the hiker used most of it up on an 80 degree day.

After hiking out west and seeing the destruction caused by fires that got out of control, I really lost interest in making one at camp. I've run into a fair number of smoldering fires on the AT and elsewhere, which weren't extinguished properly.

I think we've only built about 4 fires in the past 20 years, each on a cold wet day when it was helpful in warming us up. Usually I'd rather get in the sleeping bag and warm up where it's dry.

[Wise Old Owl]

Almost every firepit I saw on my Springer-Gatlinburg section hike had burned plastic or foil trash in it. I'm increasing of the opinion that fires should be banned on busy hiking trails except in emergencies (real emergencies, not "it's 30 degrees and I'm cold"). Not only do fires encourage bad LNT practices, but the areas around busy campsites get completely cleared of downed wood, which leads people to start cutting limbs or small trees. Believe it or not, downed wood is an important resource for animals and plants in the forest.

To who? a bunch of termites? pill bugs, wood roaches, and carpenter ants.... Sorry - don't get it. - I will light a fire at 30° if I am frozen. A thinking guy - needs to stay alive. Yea clear 7x4 and build a survival fire in that spot.

[mattjv89]

I saw a few fires, probably 10 or less in the first quarter of the trail. After Trail Days hardly saw another one through the middle half. Too hot and too tired to bother on a lot of nights was my thinking and it seemed to be a sentiment shared by most. Then there were quite a few fires in ME, I was fortunate to find a like-minded group into going slow through the last of it so we had a lot of early days into camp coupled with the nights getting cooler. Also most sites in ME had a much more abundant wood supply than further south.

[rafe]

I like a fire now and then, but it's fairly rare these days that I'll make one. If I'm really making miles, I'm most likely too pooped to bother. If conditions are just right, I might. Eg., a little nip to the air, a fire pit, and the time, energy and oomph to gather wood, build, start, and maintain the thing. For me, stealth camp means no fire, aside from my stove.

Different situation from the old days of non-AT hiking, on less-traveled trails where things were looser. Those were camping trips, not long-distance outings. I understand why fires need to be limited, and why they're often just plain disallowed. Not really sustainable or justifiable on a large scale.

[TheCheek]

When I hiked I made 2 fires the entire trail, and both were very early into the hike. It was the novelty of it - I'd always hiked/camped with friends/family prior to the AT and we'd always gather 'round the fire at the end of the day. Felt like reliving some of that out by my lonesome on the Trail, but the Trail teaches you quickly (at least it did me) that a campfire gets right square in the way of what you want the most at the end of a hiking day on the AT, namely a quick meal and the tent.

Ding ding ding! LNT is not even close to the first reason you'll be thinking of when you decide to skip the fires night after night. It's a purely selfish effort vs reward calculation that goes on. Just let me lay down asap.

[plodalong]

"zombie phones"---made me laugh!!! Was drinkin my coffee at the time and now my sinuses are scalded

[Leo L.]

At home I'm pretty famous for having a campfire as many times as possible. Nothing more relaxing than sitting around a fire twisting a bottle in hands and chatting with friends.
When hiking alone I avoid fires as much as possible, in order to preserve the sparse natural resources of the desert, plus I find it more of a hassle to prepare for one and cleanup afterwards, than it being fun.
When hiking with bedouins they make fires at least 3 times a day - for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as every time we meet friends out there - a bedouin seems impossible to relax without a couple of glasses of tea.

[illabelle]

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/images/Eloquent/miscgreen/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by burger http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/images/Eloquent/buttonsgreen/viewpost-right.png (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=2057201#post2057201)
Almost every firepit I saw on my Springer-Gatlinburg section hike had burned plastic or foil trash in it. I'm increasing of the opinion that fires should be banned on busy hiking trails except in emergencies (real emergencies, not "it's 30 degrees and I'm cold"). Not only do fires encourage bad LNT practices, but the areas around busy campsites get completely cleared of downed wood, which leads people to start cutting limbs or small trees. Believe it or not, downed wood is an important resource for animals and plants in the forest.


To who? a bunch of termites? pill bugs, wood roaches, and carpenter ants.... Sorry - don't get it. - I will light a fire at 30° if I am frozen. A thinking guy - needs to stay alive. Yea clear 7x4 and build a survival fire in that spot.

I'm not a wildlife expert by any means, but it seems like those termites, pill bugs, etc are part of a food chain that includes chipmunks, mice, and ... um, maybe even wise old owls. Downed wood provides not only food for termites, but also shelter for small animals.

[Bronk]

I've never had any desire to start a fire while backpacking. Plain and simple, it's too much trouble for no real benefit. I don't need a camp fire to stay warm, boil my water, raise my spirits, or dry my clothes. The ONLY reason I could imagine I'd start a fire is if my clothes were soaked and I was starting to shiver -- and I've never faced that situation. When I stay at a shelter at which someone who has started a fire, I generally ignore the fact.

I still get bothered by the fact that some shelter-users seem to be unaware that neither metal nor plastic will burn in a fire.I now do most of my backpacking in the winter time, which around here generally means 20s or 30s at night and 30s to 50s during the day. Winter days are short, and since I don't want to spend 12 hours or more in my sleeping bag in my tent, I prefer to have a fire to sit around and burn up some of those hours of darkness.

[StichBurly]

I've done 2 thru hikes. NOBO and SOBO. I had a fire almost every night on the trail. It's how I wind down after a long day of hiking and also how I cook. I first started using a wood burning stove. Then I progressed to just using small fires and not carrying a stove. No stove weight.
In the areas of the AT where fires aren't permitted I just go no stove cold food.

[scrabbler]

Never make a fire on trail for me while hiking. Built many while car camping.

Generally, Im against it. Fires are very scarring, which can last hundreds to thousands of years, and are most often closely related with morons and their bad behaviors. I would just as soon see all fires banned on public land, they serve no purpose whatsoever and result in large fires out west often.


Interesting. Then how do you feel about the Forest Service which feels controlled burns of the entire forest is a great idea?

[jimmyjam]

1100 AT miles and I helped some boy scouts with a fire once. Fed the caretakers fire at Upper Goose Pond. Now car camping I always make a fire.

[Grampie]

Most of the camp fires on the AT are built be the casual hikers using the trail. They are the ones only hiking for a few days. After the novelty of having a camp fire wears off most thru-hikers just don't want to bother.

[Tipi Walter]

Camp fires generally congregate the Idiots whereby they have chortling bonfires thru the night fueled by booze and monkey howlings. And fire rings often become garbage receptacles for these self-same Drunks. Here's some proof---

https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpack-2016-Trips-171/17-Days-with-the-Cranberries/i-3PjL4PG/0/M/TRIP%20173%20018-M.jpg
This is a fire pit strewn with redneck garbage on the Benton MacKaye trail in Cold Spring Gap in the Citico wilderness.


https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpack-2015-Trips-161/SNOWBIRD-PRETRIP/i-ttC836N/0/M/TRIP%20167%20170-M.jpg
Here's a redneck North Carolina firepit on Snowbird Creek in the Snowbird wilderness.


https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2013-1/Backpacking-Bryan-DeLay/i-LBGjkTd/0/M/TRIP%20148%20174-M.jpg
Here's another redneck firepit on Slickrock Creek in the Kilmer wilderness.


https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2002-2004/13-Backpacking-Trips-Of-2003/i-Q73B7wf/0/M/Trip%2021%20%202-M.jpg
Another wonderful fire ring in the NC mountains by a creek.


https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2010/Coy-Williams-and-the-25th/i-4tqrZ6c/0/M/TRIP%20114%20095-M.jpg
Welcome to NC---A fire ring on the Stratton Ridge trail.

https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpack-2015-Trips-161/SNOWBIRD-PRETRIP/i-v7hRCPF/0/M/TRIP%20167%20104-M.jpg
Here is a campsite on Snowbird Creek by Middle Falls and blighted by a big fire ring with assorted trash down the left hillside. My habit nowadays is to remove unsightly fire rings by tossing logs and rocks off the trail or out of camp.


https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpack-2015-Trips-161/SNOWBIRD-PRETRIP/i-R7G8dpb/0/M/TRIP%20167%20247-M.jpg
Here's the fire ring after I cleaned it up. It only takes 5 minutes and makes a difference.

[Tipi Walter]

This is not to say I don't make campfires on occasion. When I was on a long Pisgah backpacking trip in July 2014, I built numerous stick fires to dispel the hateful biting noseeums which swarmed every campsite and caused discomfort and itching.

https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpack-2014-Trips-152/22-Days-Pisgah-Holyland/i-tDPspTC/0/M/TRIP%20157%20381-M.jpg
Here is Uncle Fungus on Upper Creek in Pisgah NF using a stick fire to smudge out camp and dispel midges. No, I am NOT cooking up my gonads for dinner.:-?

[rafe]

Good of you to do that cleanup, Tipi. But when I see stuff like that, it just tells me that the spot is too easily reached by yahoos, and probably not a good place to camp. If they were here last week or last night, they could be back tonight. So I move on. My tent's footprint is pretty small so I don't need too much cleared out space. I've camped right on the trail once or twice.