[at-l] Flaming the leftovers on Christmas night

[Bob Cummings <ellen@clinic.net> (Bob Cummings)]

"...(can think of only one other time I had a fire at a campsite)"

 How sad. I've yet to be at a campsite, where if one walks a quarter of a mile,
 one can't find an abundance of downed wood. Burning it only speeds up the
 natural decay process. I burn three or four cords of wood a year to heat my
 home. The few scraps I used in 2,000 miles of thru hiking struck me as
 infintesimal by contrast.

 The myth that campfires are bad is based on the fact that most hikers who build
 campfires won't walk more than 200 feet to gather their wood. They devastate
 the shelter areas -- burning every scrap of burnable fuel, destroying the
 natural environment in the process. Spend 10 minutes getting beyond the easy
 campfire range and an abundance of wood can usually be found.

 When I felt the urge for a campfire coming on I would pick up a dead limb a
half mile away and drag it in. A week of hikers would typically graze off that
limb. I considered the effort as just another contribution to the trail
community.

 Weary