Reasons to light a fire

[Twodogs]

Now I like a fire with the best of um but I hate carrying a fire tray then most sites you need to supply wood ,,,it all becomes a bit of a pain ..
Im with Rik on this one and I do concider myself a low tech camper but most of the time in the UK fires are more of a fashion statement , I have a fire therefore Im a bushcrafter what a load ,,,
Twodogs

 

[GordonM]

Here is my experience with fire and camping / outdoor recreation in the US. In the 70s, as a young Scout, we were taught to cook with fire and to socialize with fire (the highlight of many a Scout outing). Backpacking stoves were pretty much a novelty at this point. I recall sharing the use of my buddy's Svea 123 stove on a few backpacking trips. We were emulating the mountain climbers of the day, in our minds (and starting the gotta have the latest and greatest kit mentality ). Then somewhere in the mid 80s the low impact / leave no trace camping ethic came into fashion. Which, like anything used in a common sense approach, is a good thing. US Scouting started to make campfires a "big taboo" and discouraged there use, initially. The new manuals were printed with camping / backpacking stoves pictured for cooking and "stove use" policies were put into play. Now, what follows is just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. Scouting had somewhat of a delima. At summer camps all across the US, the "social" side of campfire conflicted with the low impact / leave no trace ethic. History and traditions die hard. Folks were showing up to camps expecting the "campfire program", usually near the end of a fun filled week of summer camp. The campfire program being the highlight of the camp week, for many, where unit awards were given, skits performed and songs sung. The campfire was closed with an inspirational closing, meant to leave the parting Scouts with a challenge to strive to fulfill their oath as Scouts. There was a bit of a clash between tradition and low impact. So a move to somewhere in the middle was taken. Usually, in high use, backcountry outings a strict form of leave no trace ethic is used. No fires, prepare meals using stoves and the packing out of even one's own feces is encouraged (yes, I have done this many a time), among other things . For the established camps, still low impact is the goal, but fires are permitted for some cooking badge work and the campfire program is still very much alive. I tend to do some of both in my personal outings. I can have a fire or I can cook on a stove. I do both sometimes, using the stove for the last meal of the outing to make cleanup a bit quicker. I will admit, this forum has got me cooking a little more with a fire. I reckon that would be a check in the social column. Whatever you do, and whatever methods you choose, enjoy it! The impact is real, however, I try not to get too wrapped up in it.

Gordy

 

[Wayland]

I've noticed that the more nights people spend outdoors (especially solo) the smaller, more practical are the fires they light. Someone who camps out once in a blue moon tends to enjoy the novelty value of the fire and builds a big one. Someone who does it often sees the fire as a means to an end, ie cooking food, brewing a hot drink and keeping warm in the time between dusk and bed.

Spot on, I tend to make a very small fire to cook on if I'm not making an even smaller one in my Hobo stove. When it has burned down I leave it until I have to light another small fire to cook my next meal.

Less fuel to collect, less ash to disperse, less impact.

Even at meets I tend to get by on a hand full of kindling or a bag of charcoal. It's the communal fires that take half a ton of wood and burn for hours on end.

 

[silentpaddler]

The best reason to light a fire: www.burningman.com

 

[Totumpole]

I can get hypnotised by fire, I love it and have been fascinated by it since childhood (much to my parents dismay!).
With regards to the hobo stove Im with wayland (who inspired me into making mine). When Im out and stopping for lunch/brew break I find that the hobo stove ticks most of the boxes: the joy of lighting a fire by whichever means you do (an excuse to try out different tinders Ive stuffed in my pockets on my travels), something to watch whilst the brew is on and provides some degree of warmth when cold. Even better is it takes only a handfull of sticks, much less work than even a small fire, doesnt scar the ground if you raise it on some stones/tent pegs, has burnt out and cooled enough to pack up by the time Ive finished lunch/brew and I dont have to carry an extra litre of water to ensure the embers are out when a water source is not available close by.
Surely the ultimate compromise!

 

[Harvestman]

Just back from a day in the woods near me. Relaxing, dozing, foraging, and whittling. Then at the end I lit a small fire, just to see if I could get the shaving from the whittling to catch. They did, I added a few twigs to establish the fire, then let it go out. Skill test and knowledge increased, nothing more.

Respect to all opinions on here though. There's more than one way to enjoy the outdoors. Glad to see I've started an interesting discussion.

 

[MartinK9]

I have no problem carrying in a firebox, with wood and/or charcoal to have a fire.

 

[Manacles]

I am with the many on this thread that have said that fire taps into our ancestral DNA. I read a theory recently in a book on coal by Barbara Freeze that 21st century man's obsession with the TV is that it is a replacement for the hearth in a home, the hearth being the central focus of homes since prehistory. I liked that as an idea.

Asides of that I like to return from a camp smelling of woodsmoke, it confirms to me that I have been actually "doing something" better than watching my life tick away............

 

[bushcraftbob]

A small fire in summer is great for keeping midges and mozzies at bay, and if you arrange it in a "star" pattern does not burn huge amounts of timber.

 

[peskypiker]

i like fire it does wot you want it to do ie cook,boil, heat and you can get lost watching the flames dance

 

[Balanophage]

Interesting thread. I've done standard camping a lot more than bushcraft camping, which means (to me) cooking using a burner and gas bottle rather than over a proper fire. We were testing out a new stove this weekend past, and it brought this whole issue to mind - I was amazed at the amount of wood two people can use just to get a contained fire to the state where it can be used for cooking. It really did bring home how an area could be stripped of dead standing very quickly.

 

[DutchWalker]

I went to Scotland these past two years and I used a Trangia cooker with meths to make dinner. Nevertheless we often made a little campfire (not every night but quite often), it made the midges go away if you put a little bit of green wood/leaves on it. But the main reason for lighting a fire have already been summed up:

-Light and heat
-Cooking
-Keeps animals (large and tiny !) away
-Good for morale (and it gives me a holiday feeling )
-Cheaper than buying fuel
-More ecofriendly than most, if not all, fuels

 

[gandelff99]

i agree that the size of the group dictates the size of the fire, if i go hanging on my own,the fire is small,waste paper basket size at max,the wood i collect in 5/10 minutes is more than sufficent to get me through a good few hours ,i utilise a homemade heat reflector made from baking foil and i use a heat shield/wooden back stop to reflect heat back to me, i have seen over the last few months imy forage for wood to burn has gone from say the immediate 25mtr perimetr of my spot(yep we all have them closely gaurded spots) but i am having to scavenge a little further a field of late due to repeated fires,all dead fall mind and i do feel that we are helping maintain a kind of cleaning up in burning this deadfall, natrually there is loads more that goes unoticed rotting away and returning back to mother nature but i see the point in more groups at this site would clearly deplete stocks quickly,however i feel i am the only one thats been here in a few years so i have a good supply to utilise,
that aside when i go hanging with the girlfriend the fire size jumps in size(must be natrual progression),my missus tends to be the one who does the gathering,setting up and lighting and mainting the fire nowadays and the sense of achievement she gets from doing all that is spectacular especially when you consider that she is your average pen pusher at a 9 to 5 job,yet in a few short months she has been bitten by the outdoor bug,if only i can stop her prodding the fire coals with her prodding stick...thats my job aaahhh.

i carry a swedish arm,y volcano stove in my car pack and often pull up alongside a laybay somewhere quiet and collect some dry stuff for burning,pine cones are great,just enough for a brew, its strange at first to be brewing up in this manner and people do look at you like your wierd but on more than a few occasions people have come up to me and staarted chatting about the stove,the fuel thats burnt,how good an idea it was ,something that can be used at the services on the motorway even, the flames are more or less kept to the confines of the stove and can easily be doused, but it brings back the social aspect of flame/fire socialising,even at this small aspect.
me i am in favour of fire ,not every time but most of the time i'm on my own it lends a certain calmness to the camp area,focuses you on non work related things and just has a real calming effect,i tend to do my cooking from the billies boiling water from the coals,simple foods like corned beef hash and baked beans,minimum fuss stuff so the coals are great for that rolling boil.
natrually no one has mentioned the booze angle either, if i go with the missus we alweays take a couple of beers and a bottle of wine, and by firelight we can get slightly drunk and relax and talk cr4ap for hours which we wouldnt normally do at home.
natrually natures fire extinguisher comes into play often if you have a bladderr the size of a golf ball hahaha thats me btw.
one last thing i will say is that your site has to be right for a fire, i wouldnt have one if i knew anyone could see me or the camp i have period,too many idiots getting leathered so attracting of attention has to be considered, this itself once again comes down to size of fire and wood types and wind direction, seems daft going to all the trouble of finding a concealed hide/camp area for you to enjoy only to have it lit up like a christmas tree or act like a signall flare as the woods smoky as hell.

thumbs up for the wood fire from me and her indoors though