23 replies to this topic

[lqhikers]

I agree about fire rings they also make people think because somebody had a fire it is ok.

It seems that people are beginning to realize that outdoors usage and "comfort, fun, social"fire 

are not ok.A few years back i made a post about being against social fires and got roasted by fellow 

members.

I made the post after coming back from a week in and around Kennedy Meadows where we ran across 2 deserted 

camp sites with smoldering fires.

I'm sure any of our members of this form have also come across fires left unattended or abandoned.

At times we have ended up in spots that have limited sites only to find the ground so filthy with remains of fire that i would refuse to let our cat (could be your dog} to enjoy. And i have found pay camp sites just as bad.

My thoughts may be extreme but i would back the idea of zero camp fires in any area that has camp sites.

 

Yes i am old and grouchy.

 

Les,lqhikers

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Les you have my,for what's worth,agreement.

Fires IMO in this day of "climant change"are

a thing of the past

Frank

[dr.tucson]

Ski- I've often thought the people in Arizona have a special commandment about not using an existing fire ring.  Everyone seems to need to build their own, even if there are already three or four in the immediate area.  I suppose they build really special fire rings, praying over each individually placed stone.  I think consistently dismantling them is a good idea.

Pogo said it a long time ago, "we have met the enemy and he is..."

[smlobx]

In my recent trip in Utah we stayed overnight in a couple of dispersed sites.

Perhaps even more distasteful than the trash/garbage was the dog crap.

One of the sites I counted 20+ piles in a 25-30 foot radius of our campsite.  

Disgusting- and in the arid environment I imagine it stays for a long time.

People suck.

Earlier this year we took a trip down to BBNP and reserved a remote site down Old Ore Rd. which is a fairly remote and difficult trail for a TC. When we pulled into the site we noticed that behind it was a rise (small hills) with a saddle in the middle which was a perfect place to set a couple of chairs and enjoy the desert sunset.

So I grabbed a couple of chairs and started walking up the slope. When I crested the rise I saw maybe half a dozen little piles with white (and brown) TP sticking out of them. I was incensed!

I walked back down, got my shovel and proceeded to bury the messes. My wife walked up a bit later with drinks and asked “What was the shovel for?” I told her she didn’t want to know…

[craig333]

If its the kind of campsite where where an hour later someone will be rebuilding the fire ring then I say let it stay. In the kind of spots Ski is referencing then I say yes, dismantle it. 

 

Solo I don't do campfires anymore. Campfires are a social thing and then I think a propane campfire fits the requirement just fine plus you don't get to bed smelling of smoke.

[Vic Harder]

So, we have a Little Red Propane fire pit.  And we love wood smoke fires.  And, I note that we are only to camp in NF/BLM sites if they already have a firering.  So, if we are dismantling fire rings, are we not making it more difficult to identify sites that are ok to use?

[ski3pin]

It is best to use a dispersed site that has been used previously, that does not mean marked with a ugly fire ring. Leave no trace. You can have a wood fire - plan - fire pan, bring your wood, carry everything out and all ash out.

[Ted]

I admit that Mrs. Ted and I have always enjoyed a camp fire and still do. But we have changed our habits over the last few years. Partially by becoming a little more informed and partially due to no choice. The no choice part is because most National Forests in the west simply ban them during the fire season. The informed part has come from knowing many of our fires are human caused and also from our frequent camping trips with the ski3pins.

So now we bring a gas fire pit on trips where we can have a fire. And we do still have wood fires, but only in established campgrounds with fire pits. But since we prefer to boondock, those are few and far between.

[ski3pin]

In regards to all the ignorance, bad behavior, trash and resource damage we've watched with growing concern in the backcountry, here's a term I heard from a friend today, "It's the Stupidity Pandemic."

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

The only problem with that  "pandemic" there's no vaccine.

And it spreads super quickly.

Frank