Fires on AT not allowed?

[vsiddhartha]

I'm an avid AT weekender/week-hiker. Have done countless hikes on the AT in the smokies, a few in VA, and a few in NJ, NY. A friend and I are going in north NJ this weekend, plan to stay at Wawayanda tonight and Wildcat tomorrow. My question is with regard to campfires.

I don't want to upset any anti-fire fanatics here, so please don't flame me (no pun intended :)). I typically don’t have campfires, but it’s supposed to be in the single digits with windchill, so it might be nice to have a small fire. Anyways, just to do my homework, I called the Wawayanda State Park Office to make sure there was no burn ban. They assured me there was not, and said I’d be fine as long as the fire’s in a ring. Two minutes later they called me back and said “actually, no fires are permitted on the AT. Sorry.”

I have never heard of this before and doubt its accuracy. Is that true? Is it a NJ thing? Thanks for your help.

[Pedaling Fool]

That statement is incorrect. There are places that ban fire (Conneticut comes to mind), but not the AT as a whole. I don't remember about that part of NJ because it was so hot, maybe it's a seasonal thing. Keep checking into.

[Old Hillwalker]

If you are at a shelter on the AT and there is a good fire ring, fires are allowed. High drought conditions can alter this at times.

By a good fire ring, I mean that it is well used and not somthing that was recently put in by some nimrod(s).

Please use downed wood only.

[jhick]

I almost got a ticket for $500 in NJ right near the Catifsh fire tower. Little did I know a guy would be driving up the trail in a truck to the tower to work his shift. He said he used to walk there every day until he hurt his leg or something, and now can drive up. We were enjoying our breakfast and a nice little morning fire when he pulled up. He was cool, I chatted it up with him and wound up talked about our experiences in the Army and so on..... I guess it helped, he just warned us. A small fire truck did show up and spray the fire with water.

[Pedaling Fool]

I almost got a ticket for $500 in NJ right near the Catifsh fire tower. Little did I know a guy would be driving up the trail in a truck to the tower to work his shift. He said he used to walk there every day until he hurt his leg or something, and now can drive up. We were enjoying our breakfast and a nice little morning fire when he pulled up. He was cool, I chatted it up with him and wound up talked about our experiences in the Army and so on..... I guess it helped, he just warned us. A small fire truck did show up and spray the fire with water.
Are you saying there is a state wide fire ban in NJ or just where you had a fire?

[-SEEKER-]

Don't know about the area you're asking about, but I would like to share an experience I had last year. I was in the Blood Mountain Wilderness Area where it was plainly posted that there were no fires allowed. I stayed at the Woods Hole Shelter area. There was a large group of inner city boys accompanied by 2 adults. One of the adults felt that since someone had previously constructed a fire ring from rocks it was ok to build a fire. He was having problems getting it started so he used his camp stove, which by the way caught fire. He panicked and kicked the stove out of the fire pit area, thus catching the woods on fire. The boys started screaming as the adult laughed and ran around stomping on the burning leaves. Fortunately two of the youngest boys grabbed the gallon jugs of water that they had and the fires were put out. Needless to say I was not a happy camper that night and I think the look I gave the adult was enough to let him know not to try it again, at least not in my presence. Moral of the story is just because there are existing fire rings, pits, etc. does not mean it is legal or advisable.

[jhick]

Are you saying there is a state wide fire ban in NJ or just where you had a fire?

Not too sure.... just saying what the guy told me. I'm not sure if its the entire state. I know in NE PA, there are fire rings everywhere. But not in the parts of NJ I've seen. I'll have to check my guidebook when I get home.

[vsiddhartha]

Thanks for the replies so far and for the concern. Keep them coming. I do want to get to the bottom of this. Also, note that I'm an ex scout, not one to go around cutting down trees or building a bonfire. I am talking about a small, attended fire in a ring.

I found this website from NJDEP (http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/fire/firedanger-restrictions.html), up-to-date as of Jan. 21 saying there are no fire restrictions, but it doesn't pertain specifically to the AT.

[Tin Man]

According to the ATC guidebooks for NJ/NY and CT/MA there is a statewide ban on campfires along the AT in NJ & CT. Also, there are many other sites throughout the length of the trail where campfires are banned.

[jesse]

Last year there were temporary fire bands through out GA in the Chattahoochee National Forest (where most of the AT runs through) because of the drought. I would always call the ranger before heading out.

[Pedaling Fool]

According to the ATC guidebooks for NJ/NY and CT/MA there is a statewide ban on campfires along the AT in NJ & CT. Also, there are many other sites throughout the length of the trail where campfires are banned.
I know about Connecticut, but I don't remember NJ, just too hot I guess, but NY and pretty sure about MA., I remember seeing established fire-rings, not the small illegal ones made by hikers. I'm pretty sure (anyone know) Connecticut is the only state on the AT with a statewide fire ban.

[Tin Man]

I know about Connecticut, but I don't remember NJ, just too hot I guess, but NY and pretty sure about MA., I remember seeing established fire-rings, not the small illegal ones made by hikers. I'm pretty sure (anyone know) Connecticut is the only state on the AT with a statewide fire ban.

I don't have the NJ book in front of me, but I am certain the ban applies there as well. NY and MA have approved fire rings.

[vsiddhartha]

According to the ATC guidebooks for NJ/NY and CT/MA there is a statewide ban on campfires along the AT in NJ & CT. Also, there are many other sites throughout the length of the trail where campfires are banned.
Thanks Tin Man. That sounds like the answer. I have the Data Book, Companion, and NY/NJ guidebook at home (planning my 09 thru-hike) but had not checked them for this yet. Looks like we'll be ok at Wildcat, but not at Wawayanda. Thanks again.

[Tin Man]

No problem. The ATC official guidebook is a reliable source for all official rules and regulations.

[OhioNative]

In GA, you are not supposed to have a campfire in the Blood Mountain wilderness within a certain distance from the AT (can't remember the exact distance). On other stretches it depends on whatever Forest Service restrictions are in place at the time. Not sure about other states.

[hammock engineer]

There are signs everywhere in CT and NJ saying not to have fires and they are not allowed.

Having said that if you are smart about it, I don't think they are a problem.

[Glo-Worm]

This is my understanding of fires in NJ. You are permitted to have an open fire in an "approved" fire ring. There are no fire rings at the shelters in NJ only at the pay per night campsites off the trail (like High Point State Park). So effectively there is a ban on fires in the corridor. Also, I have seen more than one register entry of hikers, even winter hikers, ticketed for ignoring the reg. Just a heads up.

Glo-Worm

[vsiddhartha]

Not wanting to risk a fine, we didn't have a fire at Wawayanda. COLD! Had a good fire at Wildcat. Thanks to whoever left the wood there. Only saw 4 other hikers all weekend.

The walk from NJ/NY state line to Wildcat doesn't look like much on the map profile, but man it is tough climbing over all those rocks! Whenever I couldn't see the next blaze, I just thought to myself, "Which direction looks the hardest?" Sure enough, there it was. :)

[Pedaling Fool]

... Whenever I couldn't see the next blaze, I just thought to myself, "Which direction looks the hardest?" Sure enough, there it was. :)
This is the time-tested and proven technique for staying on the whiteblaze deficient sections of the trail.:D

[Skidsteer]

Don't know about the area you're asking about, but I would like to share an experience I had last year. I was in the Blood Mountain Wilderness Area where it was plainly posted that there were no fires allowed. I stayed at the Woods Hole Shelter area. There was a large group of inner city boys accompanied by 2 adults. One of the adults felt that since someone had previously constructed a fire ring from rocks it was ok to build a fire. He was having problems getting it started so he used his camp stove, which by the way caught fire. He panicked and kicked the stove out of the fire pit area, thus catching the woods on fire. The boys started screaming as the adult laughed and ran around stomping on the burning leaves. Fortunately two of the youngest boys grabbed the gallon jugs of water that they had and the fires were put out. Needless to say I was not a happy camper that night and I think the look I gave the adult was enough to let him know not to try it again, at least not in my presence. Moral of the story is just because there are existing fire rings, pits, etc. does not mean it is legal or advisable.

Woods Hole shelter is juuust barely outside the Blood Mountain Wilderness boundary.

[sasquatch2014]

Thanks Tin Man. That sounds like the answer. I have the Data Book, Companion, and NY/NJ guidebook at home (planning my 09 thru-hike) but had not checked them for this yet. Looks like we'll be ok at Wildcat, but not at Wawayanda. Thanks again.

We were at Wildcat about two weeks ago and had a great blaze that night in the fire ring. that was one of the reasons that for the early January March O'Fools we did NY and not NJ due to the Fire restrictions.