Let Me Stand Next To Your Fire [Archive]

OrionTheRanger

01-31-2007, 18:15

Lone Wolf

01-31-2007, 18:17

hell yeah. love camp fires.

Fly By Mike

01-31-2007, 18:25

specially in winter

hopefulhiker

01-31-2007, 18:32

Yes comfort fires are discouraged along the AT. I was lectured about this by more than one ridge runner.

I did enjoy the fires that people built and actually helped build and maintain them.. But the truth is the areas around campsites and shelters have become decimated because of people clearing wood.

I'd say I only enjoyed about 20 or so fires during my almost seven months on the trail..

If you like fires check into the Zip stove.

littlelaurel59

01-31-2007, 18:32

Depends on the mood. Sometimes I like to hypnotize myself by watching the flames. Sometimes I like to sit in the dark, and watch (and listen) to the night come alive.

Usually I'm lazy. If there is plenty of dead wood around, or if there are some young scouts to gather it- Great! If I have to work too hard, it's not worth it.

mweinstone

01-31-2007, 18:42

we will make fires till the rules say we cant and then we will stop and not complain. cause any limits on wood are our fault for years of mismanagement combined with kids on crack taking over the world.

dloome

01-31-2007, 18:47

The AT gets such an huge volume of hiker traffic and many areas just get trashed as a result. I think it would be best to do anything in your power to reduce the human impact on the trail. So no fires for me.

Nice to look at, warm, sure. But you can easily do without.

The Doctor

01-31-2007, 18:47

If there is a fire ban it's usually for good reason. With that said, if there isn't a ban I say "Burn One" as long as it's with already dead and fallen sticks/twigs.

Peaks

01-31-2007, 18:52

One of the principals of leave-no-trace is to minimize campfire impacts. So, the best way to do that is to avoid campfires entirely. That's done in some places. However, I think that there is a time and place for them. So, when the mood is right, and the place is right, by all means, enjoy a campfire. Campfires have a long tradition as being a part of the wilderness experience.

rafe

01-31-2007, 18:58

It's a sad thing.... this LNT stuff. If there's an existing fire ring, go ahead and make a fire in it. But it's no longer cool to build a new fire ring at any old campsite. A lot of shelters still have fire rings and fire "pits" but many don't. I do enjoy a nice campfire, but I understand that fire rings have some negative consequences.

Red Hat

01-31-2007, 19:11

We had a campfire at the shelters with fire rings most every night in March, as I recall. By April, there were fewer and fewer campfires. One night I do remember a great fire and roasting marshmellows thanks to Marshmellow. Lets see... it was Noworries, Blueeye, August, Captain Chaos, myself, Marshmellow, Lyrical, and I hope I haven't left anyone out... I think we were just past Hot Springs. I don't think I would have started one if I were the only person there. But when there was a group, it was nice.

chknfngrs

01-31-2007, 19:36

I enjoy a fire. But only if I'm at a cabin or shelter with a pre-existing fire ring. In the rarest of circumstances that I end up in the backcountry on or near a site with a ring, there is a 99% chance I will not assemble a fire b/c I, too, am lazy.

Lone Wolf

01-31-2007, 20:50

This sumer on the trail some 12 year old twerp decided to build this massive bonfire in, and spilling out of the fire ring at a shelter, while his mom just watched. And then they went to bed with the fire blazing. The thing was still burning when I left in the morning.

shelters and everything within a 500 yard radius of them, suck.:) anything goes.

StarLyte

01-31-2007, 20:52

Now the official AP website said that fires are very discouraged, what do you think of this? Do you often make fires? Nothing beats sitting around the camp fire on a calm summer evening...

P.S. Yes the thread title is a reference to the Jimi Hendrix song. :D

Orion you are cute as heck. I wish you were my kid. I like you around.

I have never sat around a campfire on the AT. It just never happened.

Lone Wolf

01-31-2007, 20:57

So you're saying the center of the shelter would have made a better fire ring?
:D

yeah. kinda, sorta,:)

4eyedbuzzard

01-31-2007, 21:02

Fire is a must have. Warm when cold/wet. Can cook more elaborate meals over them. Make some warm water for bathing. Keeps bugs away. Just f****** light 'em. Oh, and pass me a marshmellow please.

If there's a ban, I'll obey it - but I probably will "snivel" a bit.:eek:

GlazeDog

01-31-2007, 21:04

To quote Edward Abbey (I think it was him):

Fire, it's a good friend.

Ed said it well. I couldn't agree more that the companionship of a fire is amazing and sets me on a path of contemplation and introspection. But following rules is good in general for hiker P.R. out in the real world.

GlazeDog

emerald

01-31-2007, 21:17

If there's an existing fire ring, go ahead and make a fire in it. But it's no longer cool to build a new fire ring at any old campsite. A lot of shelters still have fire rings and fire "pits" but many don't. I do enjoy a nice campfire, but I understand that fire rings have some negative consequences.

Just because there's a fire ring present doesn't mean that the person who built it did so at an approved site. Breaking up fire rings where fires are not to be built takes time that maintainers could spend on other work, but to not remove those rings is to only invite more fires where they are not desireable or welcome.

rafe

01-31-2007, 21:34

I have never sat around a campfire on the AT. It just never happened.

Wow. Do you spend much time on the AT? I see where it's getting rarer as the years go by but... never ? Wow. Sad.

saimyoji

01-31-2007, 21:43

A great many of the people who camp along the AT around my area are not hikers. They are usually less concerned with LNT and fire rings. They usually have a fire. If I'm with people I will too, but its too much work to build one alone.

Johnny Swank

02-01-2007, 00:16

I'm usually too slothful to build one. Nothing against them necessarily, but a candle works fine for me just to mellow out to most of the time.

rafe

02-01-2007, 00:43

I was just thinking... for those who love and miss campfires... there's always the Zip stove. ;) Maybe that's why I liked it and put up with it...

rainmaker

02-01-2007, 00:45

[QUOTE=OrionTheRanger;313861]Now the official AP website said that fires are very discouraged, what do you think of this? Do you often make fires? Nothing beats sitting around the camp fire on a calm summer evening...

P.S. Yes the thread title is a reference to the Jimi Hendrix song. :D[/QUOTE

I just want someone to " light my fire", Jim Morrison

rafe

02-01-2007, 00:52

Fire on the Mountain (http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/AGDL/fire.html). I was there when the boys did that tune at the civic center in Portland OR while Mt. St. Helens was spewing ash. We had to wipe mud off our windshields after the show.

bfitz

02-01-2007, 01:22

T2! We share the same fire philosophy! I love fires. I also agree LNT extremism is overdone.

rafe

02-01-2007, 01:31

T2! We share the same fire philosophy! I love fires. I also agree LNT extremism is overdone.

What philosophy? Fires are wonderful. Fire makes us human. Fires create friends and conversation. It's been a while since I was at such an event. Had exactly one campfire on my last section. Alone. Would have been nicer with company.

bfitz

02-01-2007, 01:40

You should have come to the ruck! We had a big one, and quite a few hardy souls up till the wee hours enjoying it.

GlazeDog

02-01-2007, 02:00

highway

02-01-2007, 05:16

Now the official AP website said that fires are very discouraged, what do you think of this? Do you often make fires? Nothing beats sitting around the camp fire on a calm summer evening...

P.S. Yes the thread title is a reference to the Jimi Hendrix song. :D

Nope...J.R.R. Tolkien:

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renenwed shall be blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king.” J.R.R. Tolkien

Marta

02-01-2007, 07:11

There are a few shelters and campsites where the firewood has been stripped from the surrounding area...but, honestly, all it takes is one windstorm and there's a fresh supply of dead wood laying around.

drdewrag

02-01-2007, 07:24

Never alone - don't have a problem with it when there's company. Until there is a ban, I'll continue...

rafe

02-01-2007, 09:50

You should have come to the ruck! We had a big one, and quite a few hardy souls up till the wee hours enjoying it.

Some day. Don't know where you folks get all the free time. It would have been at least 8 hrs each way in the Boobaru. (****-aroo?) I'm not so keen on those mega-drives like I used to be way back when.

Bob McCaw

02-01-2007, 10:44

I have no problem with fires where there is ample dead wood available, but this seems like the exception rather than the rule on the AT.

I have to wonder if more regulations aren't inevitable. People don't always use common sense -- I met a guy last year who carried a saw and used it to cut live branches.

Peaks

02-01-2007, 10:59

It's a sad thing.... this LNT stuff.

It's all about not trashing the outdoors so that the next person can enjoy it. It's a good thing.

TN_Hiker

02-01-2007, 11:22

Fiddleback

02-01-2007, 11:36

So much time consumed collecting fuel for an inefficient way to stay warm, a dirtier way to cook, increased safety risks (burns, escaped fires, cuts suffered preparing kindling), increased water requirements (to put out the fire), tiny little burn holes in expensive camp clothing from popping embers, dirtier hands and body with a fire than without...

Still, a campfire can make for great group camaraderie and allegedly keeps the beasties away (not counting human-habituated critters, of course). On the other hand, I've not camped with a group of more than three since I was in Scouts...there's ample opportunity for talk in the tent.

I discovered stoves (!) when I returned to backpacking in the 80s and haven't started campfires on my own but once or twice since. But I'm not hard against their legal and proper use. As said in so many conversations about politics and other 'inflammatory' issues, "Some of my best friends are campfires users.":D

FB

Gray Blazer

02-01-2007, 11:49

[quote=OrionTheRanger;313861]Now the official AP website said that fires are very discouraged, what do you think of this? Do you often make fires? Nothing beats sitting around the camp fire on a calm summer evening...

P.S. Yes the thread title is a reference to the Jimi Hendrix song. :D[/QUOTE

I just want someone to " light my fire", Jim MorrisonJose Feliciano did a version of Light My Fire. Cool guy. My band got to open up for him at the Great Southern Music Hall in G-ville back in the late 70's.

Grampie

02-01-2007, 15:17

I have many fond memories of sitting around a fire with friends during my thru.
I'm sure that future thru-hikers will have the same experience.:sun

Old Grouse

02-01-2007, 16:22

Feliciano lives one town over from me. A couple of years ago he called the local RC church and offer to play for some services. Whoever took the call told him he'd have to submit a demo tape as they don't let just anyone play. Things like that make me feel old.

trippclark

02-01-2007, 16:35

Discouraging fire is fine, but I hope that banning fire is not next. One of the principles of LNT is to minimize the use and impact of fire.

I have not near the AT experience of many on this list (46 nights / 580 miles spread over the past 6 years) but only one night did I build a fire or even have a desire to do so. When car camping I often have and probably will continue to build a fire most nights, but when backpacking I hardly see the point (unless I need to dry out wet gear or something such as that). When I backpack I try to start out not long after first light and plan to end with just enough daylight left to set up camp, eat and clean up. By that point, I am tired and ready for sleep. I have no interest in building a fire or sitting around one.

Besides, there are too many risks from careless use of fire by people who don't take the necessary precautions.

OrionTheRanger

02-01-2007, 20:01

Orion you are cute as heck. I wish you were my kid. I like you around.

Thanx? I think...

Nope...J.R.R. Tolkien:

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renenwed shall be blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king.” J.R.R. Tolkien

Umm...ok

I just want someone to " light my fire", Jim Morrison

Also good. Come on mabye Light My Fire. Try to set the night on FIRE!

mambo_tango

02-01-2007, 20:42

We (my co-workers and I) used to start HUGE 'campfires' up in AK. 20 foot flames. If you stood within 15 feet of them you'd singe off your eyebrows. They caused some fun water fights too. Yeah... definitely a fan of campfires.

rafe

02-02-2007, 02:30

Terrapin-Too,
Wow!!! That is utterly amazing. The Dead in Portland while St.Helen's was bursting at her seems. I wonder how many dead heads just thought is was stellar acid they scored---I can just see that quintisential hippy stumbling through the parking lot afterwards yelping "I've been dosed, I've been dosed!!" with pure glee. What a vision you gave me.

GlazeDog

p.s. I was miracled into my first Dead Show at the Richfield Collisuem in Ohio. Sweetness.

What a thought... you were... ten years old during that show :). Glad you got a chance to experience the band. That Portland, OR show was great. I saw them at a fairgrounds show the summer before, also in Portland. David Bromberg's band played warmup. They dedicated that show to Lowell George, who had just passed away.