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Posted by Alicia on December 16, 2007 at 5:34:12 pm EST
In reply to building a campfire - sometimes it's just not right posted by bheiser1 on September 11, 2007 at 7:08:52 pm EDT

Genghis, I have no problem believing that an individual like yourself can responsibly build a campfire (in an established fire ring, minimizing impact, etc…) and have far less impact overall on the backcountry due to your total choices than many other backpackers and hikers, including those who don’t build campfires.

I don’t build campfires, although on rare occasions I’ll enjoy one at a campground. Personally, because there are so many options in backcountry stoves, I just don’t see the point in building a fire—although obviously people derive other benefits from them beyond cooking food. But, like the original poster referred to, I don’t like to come across their remains in the backcountry in inappropriate spots. I just don’t think it’s fair to others to come across my impact later (whether its trash, a poor campsite, or a fire ring). I’m not suggesting that your fires are like those irresponsible ones at all, just that the issue of leaving a visible impact is part of what bothers me.

And I definitely don’t think I’m morally superior for not building a fire. I think looking at your total impact on and off the trail (which is something you seem to have done) is way more important than feeling like you’re in “the right” due to one choice alone. And things like trash, dirty TP, and bad campsites bother me way more than a small, clean, established fire ring.

Because this is a public forum and read by many people with varying levels of backcountry experience and knowledge, I think it’s important to encourage the best possible practices by the backcountry community as a whole. So if someone ultimately decides to build a fire, hopefully they’ll also consider how to minimize their campfire impacts (LNT’s word on this subject is at http://lnt.org/programs/principles_5.php).

Anyway, fires are obviously a very personal choice. Hopefully we can all try to make responsible choices about our impact on the backcountry wherever we fall on this issue and others. None of us (including me) has no impact out there.

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• Re: building a campfire - sometimes it's just not right - calamity 03:16:47 12/17/2007

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