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  1. #1
    Registered User plodalong's Avatar
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    Default no campfire rule

    Does the prohibition of campfires in CT include the use of stoves like the Vargo Titanium Hexagon? Have always used gas or alcohol but have been toying with the idea of a wood stove.

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    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Uh apparently yes... sparks etc...
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    AT 2012
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    I did ask some random AMC maintainer about using my FireFly wood burning stove in CT a couple of years ago. He told me to just be careful but go right ahead. I really really liked that answer and haven't asked anyone since!!! I do always carry some esbit, so if I do run into a sterner authority figure or rain I have an alternative. Not a bad idea, in any case.
    Lazarus

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    I don't know about Connecticut, but sites in NY that have a "no fires" rule also forbid alcohol stoves - to be legal, a stove has to have a shutoff valve.
    I always know where I am. I'm right here.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by plodalong View Post
    Does the prohibition of campfires in CT include the use of stoves like the Vargo Titanium Hexagon? Have always used gas or alcohol but have been toying with the idea of a wood stove.
    I asked the ct trail committee chair (or whatever his title is) and received an all clear for using a wood fueled backpacking stove. That doesn't trump any kind of location specific ban, but it would keep the trail runners from bothering you I think.

  6. #6
    Registered User plodalong's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Just Tom View Post
    I asked the ct trail committee chair (or whatever his title is) and received an all clear for using a wood fueled backpacking stove. That doesn't trump any kind of location specific ban, but it would keep the trail runners from bothering you I think.
    Thanks Tom and everybody else for the help. I did track down the Ct Regulations for State Park Rules and Regulations/ DEP sect 23-4-1.q . I am not 100% sure it covers the AT corridor but hope so. It states "Fires may only be kindled in grills, stoves, fireplaces or other designated campfire facilities" I hope this covers it correctly and would include the Vargo Hexagon stove. Will probably stick to my pocket rocket but like to make sure we are complying correctly in case we do out of respect to those who regulate the trail. Thanks for the help.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by plodalong View Post
    Thanks Tom and everybody else for the help. I did track down the Ct Regulations for State Park Rules and Regulations/ DEP sect 23-4-1.q . I am not 100% sure it covers the AT corridor but hope so. It states "Fires may only be kindled in grills, stoves, fireplaces or other designated campfire facilities" I hope this covers it correctly and would include the Vargo Hexagon stove. Will probably stick to my pocket rocket but like to make sure we are complying correctly in case we do out of respect to those who regulate the trail. Thanks for the help.
    State Park regs do not apply to the AT in CT. No open fires are allowed on the CT section of the AT. If you see a fire ring at an AT camping or shelter area in CT, its not legal. Alcohol and wood fueled stoves (small and not to be confused with open campfire grilling) are usually considered OK if there is no danger of igniting other materials if they topple over or spill. This typically means clearing a bit of ground, using a flat rock under the stove and NOT cooking on the wooden platforms of shelters (as some knucklehead apparently did at the Riga Shelter). Some State campgrounds have approved fire rings and grills that use steel containment systems, however these are not available on the AT.

  8. #8

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    It's kinda funny that you can't have fire on the CT section of the A T but at the campsites on the Nipmuck Trail and Bigelow SF shelters there are fire rings. On the Nipmuck Trail the rings are stone and Bigelow they are metal with grills

  9. #9
    Wanna-be hiker trash
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bktourer1 View Post
    It's kinda funny that you can't have fire on the CT section of the A T but at the campsites on the Nipmuck Trail and Bigelow SF shelters there are fire rings. On the Nipmuck Trail the rings are stone and Bigelow they are metal with grills
    My understanding is that the CT fireban is in place for specific reasons. As it was explained to me, the trail passes through or adjacent to private property for much of the section in the state and relations with the property owners is one of the major reasons for the fire prohibition. In addition the ridgeline that starts south of bear mountain and continues into Southern MA is highly prone to brush and duff fires. In the last five years there have been 2 or 3 brush fires in that part of the trail corridor that were started by humans.
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  10. #10
    Registered User liptackj's Avatar
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    Sarcasm is 100% correct on why there is a fire ban along the entire AT in CT. Case in point: http://www.rep-am.com/news/local/951992.txt

    In addition to the legitimate concerns of adjacent landowners, in my 30+ years of trail work in CT, there hasn't been a single fire ring I have removed that didn't also have semi-burned trash in it or stuffed under one of the rocks. Next time you are at an AT campsite in NY or MA that does permit fires, take a look around at the understory and local trees. Compare them to what you see at an AT-CT campsite and I think you will see another reason for the policy.

    Despite the ban, fires at camping areas and along the trail (and occasionally in the middle of the trail) continue to be a major consumer of time and effort of the maintainers and ridgerunners. In 2015, we recorded 54 fires rings being broken up by maintainers alone. The ridgrunners likely removed the same or more. Since October 2014, maintainers alone have already removed 28 firerings.

    Enjoy your hikes.
    Jim Liptack
    CT-AMC Overseer of Trails

  11. #11
    Registered User liptackj's Avatar
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    Ditto: http://www.newstimes.com/local/artic...ut-7307456.php

    Jim Liptack
    CT-AMC Overseer of Trails

  12. #12
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    It's been a heckuva spring for fires on the AT. I gave up on my Zip stove years ago. The last section I ever did with it was the one that took me through Connecticut. But the closest I ever got to setting the woods afire was with a Svea.

  13. #13
    Registered User liptackj's Avatar
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    From the Skiff MT Rd Fire last week.
    IMG_2336.JPGIMG_2337.JPGIMG_2338.JPG

    Jim Liptack
    CT-AMC Overseer of Trails

  14. #14
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    I'll always be a pro fire guy and I have hiked through Mass. and Vermont where fires are permitted and The areas are just as beautiful as where fires are not allowed, also it seems there are more fires in Ct. every year with all the available wood on the ground to burn from the illegal fires.

  15. #15

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    My hiking club went up to Mt. Race yesterday and there was a fire ring at the Race Brook Campsite. is this a No No?

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