How many travel with out a stove?

Often
I’m always looking for ways to simplify the entire trip experience. Leaving the stove behind is one of the ways. A stove is a hindrance at breakfast time, when you want to be paddling in the quiet morning hours. And cooking creates a lot of fuss and mess at suppertime, when you’re tired and just want to sit and enjoy the sunset, and prepare for the next day’s paddle.

A long long time ago…
A long time ago in my youth, before my friends and I could afford a backpack stove, we cooked exclusively by campfire. We camped rain or shine and ate many late meals by punky smoldering fires fueled by wet wood.



Then the wealthiest among us acquired a Coleman single burner liquid gas stove. THAT changed our level of comfort immensly. We only used it for emergencies and that allowed us to only carry a minimal amount of fuel. When it rained or when we arrived at camp late in the darkness of night or simply too exhausted, we would use that gas stove. It was a Godsent.



Today, I cook mostly by liquid gas stove. I appreciate the minimal imprint on my camp. If we desire to stare into a flame, I use a candle.

Pa, dogs are ready…


http://www.americanforests.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Freeway-Complex-Fire.jpg

Nope, lots of places it is not possible
or responsible to have a campfire, and even in parks where I do plan to have a fire in the provided fire ring, a stove is reassuring insurance against unexpected burn bans, lack of firewood, and wet firewood that just won’t light. Lots of great little lightweight stove choices out there, I am fond of my MSR Pocket Rocket, but I also have a little esbit stove, hard to find anything lighter and more compact than that.

Almost always use a stove
Our stove when it is stowed is only about four inches in diameter and an inch thick. The largest part is the cylinder of butane

Fires are for the young people, newbies, and those that only paddle half a day.

After paddling all day, all we want is a nice hot meal, and in the morning just some hot oat meal and a cup of coffee.



Jack L

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the fire
off a candle is so romantic ! Nothing like a roaring candle top off an evening camping in the deep pine forest.

Oh goodness I cannot let this go -
“Fires are for the young people, newbies, and those that only paddle half a day.”



Hogwash.



With all due respect. :slight_smile:

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Agree with Jack
Although I love to sit around a fire, and have many times on group trips or when car camping, I’ve never made a fire when canoe tripping alone, which is what I mainly do.



Jack qualified his comment in the context of “paddling all day.” That’s what I like to do, and I want to spend as little time as possible setting up camp, doing camp chores, hanging around a camp, and breaking down a camp. That includes things like scrounging for wood and tinder, processing wood, tending a fire and putting it out. Some people love to do those things and revel in bushcraft. That’s of no interest to me.



I’ve used nothing but a Jetboil stove and a spork as my “kitchen” for more than 10 years. My preference is maximum time on water, minimum time on land, and avoid as much kitchen and housekeeping work as possible.



Another qualification is that I only trip in warm climes and weather any more, times when fire isn’t needed for warmth.

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Even if a fire is not an everyday need
and for me it isn’t, it pays to keep up your firebuilding skills.



To say you will never need a fire is just plain silly.



Been in some warm climes where it was damp and chilly. Hypothermia can happen in Florida too.

For me a fire is

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as much or more an emotional need than it is a cooking or warming need. But, a fire can also save your life in some situations and the only way to ensure you have the necessary skills to build a fire in difficult conditions is to actually do it on a regular basis.

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How long
was your trip? Little week-long trips would be fine, if you are in an area where fire wood is plentiful and burning it does not impact the biology of the area. On longer trips, having a backup (something you know will heat your water/food even during the rain) is not only nice but possibly life saving.

Some of our differences

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reveal our basic styles of tripping. Some enjoy making a lot of miles every day and want the convenience of a stove at the end of a long hard day of paddling. Others, me for example, enjoy a different style with more time in camp each day and layovers from time to time for hiking and baking etc. These differences can lead to group dynamic problems on trips if people with opposite tripping styles are traveling together. For me paddling is a big part of tripping but by no means the most important part. For me its all about spending some time every year getting back to basics and being self reliant. Also its about time with close friends and taking stock of my life. Enjoying birds and other wildlife is a big part of it too. But the notion that fires are for newbies, young people and day trippers is simply not true - with all due respect. Instead, it reflects perhaps a different style of tripping that even old people and very experienced travelers on long multi week/multi month trips enjoy. I do agree though that having a stove tucked away is probably a good thing even for those who are oriented toward fires. Keep in mind, there was a day, not all that long ago really, when camp stoves did not exist and folks traveled in the wilds building fires and survived just fine. Of course there were also some that starved to death!

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stove
No campfires.I save weight by using a Solo Stove.It burns twigs,pine needles or pine cones.When wood is dry,I use downed birch bark for kinlin.When wet conditions exist,I use a fire starter.Thus I don’t need to carry fuel canisters!Cook,eat,go to bed early and get up early to catch Adirondack brook trout!

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Forgot to say that on a 3 day run of
Slickrock Canyon of the Dolores in Colorado, I took no stove whatsoever. I wanted to maximize scenery time and avoid cooking and cleaning. I carried a quantity of granola and trail mix, plus a small amount of jerky.

no can opener ?
filled the new butane soldering iron yesterday for sealing the cart’s plastic wheels.



Did you read SK’s Killyu account of circumnavigating Vancouver with ‘hunter-gatherer’ food supply ?

I’m a survival skills buff
and I have learned and practiced many different survival skills, including bow drill, finding water sources in unlikely places, and even improvising wound dressings from natural materials, but I always go on the trip with adequate gear to fall back on. Going on a trip unprepared is not adventurous, it’s just stupid.

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I’m really enjoying this thread,

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never felt so much like an "old timer" until this thread came out.

There are a lot of ways to camp- you can go minimalist- a bivy sack, tarp and cold food, somewhere in the middle like a tent and a stove, and you can camp with gas grills, dutch and reflector ovens and plug in coffee pots and even with an oven in a Winnebago. Its all your choice- not sure there are right and wrong answers.

Knowing how to build a fire is an essential skill in my book. Now truly, I can't really say I've ever met anyone who didn't light and build a fire without some help: be it matches, a lighter, a bow kit, magnifying glass, a set of flint and steel, battery and steel wool.

To be able to light a fire using only what is in one's surroundings would be impressive to me. Nothing brought with you, just what you found on site. So just as I carry a pocket knife I also carry some matches or a lighter with me.

Building a fire takes time and energy but it also can be very rewarding. Its more important than a first aid kit to me. It is a skill, a knowledge, although not difficult in most situations I have struggled at times. So if its wet, you should carry dry tinder, a candle to melt, and an ax and saw can be quite useful- although they can dangerous as well. Otherwise, carry a stove as a back up.

There's nothing wrong with using a stove and as many have noted its a godsend on a cold day when your tired and hungry and want something right away. For the most part stoves are convenient, yet sometimes stoves themselves can be a pain in a**: cold weather can make them hard to light, fuel canisters run out when dinner is half cooked, white gas has leaked in my pack and left a nasty aftertaste to all of my food, and using unleaded gas in my xgk required constant daily cleaning.

Some places fires are appropriate and other places they are not. Yet I have a sense of sadness for those who never experienced the warmth and glow of a campfire. Staring into the flames and embers and finally trotting off to bed as the fire dies out and the coolness of night creeps in.

Sometimes its not just about the miles you cover, the terrain you mark off the map, but connecting to your more primal being where fire wasn't just a choice to be made but was a necessity for survival. I can relate all to well with Jack London's "To Build a Fire" and the urgency of the moment. I think every outdoorsman should know how to build a fire as a basic survival skill.

Catching a fish, cooking it over the fire, that's how I roll. I never have tried sushi, but I've caught too many fish with parasites to make me think its safe to eat, so I say bring on the fire, along with its warmth, radiance, and gathering powers. Cold instant oatmeal and bivy sacks are for the young. Now I prefer a comfortable camp chair, store bought fire wood, and a marshmallow or two. Next thing ya know, I'll be sleepin' in a camper van and using my plug in coffee pot, oops I already do that. Oh, its a slippery slope from walking upright, then mastering fire, to using camp stoves, to RVs. Next thing ya know, folks will be paddling with two blades instead of one! Then we will all look back and wonder if its okay to use a single blade, to revisit our past, our heritage, and dare I say it, "canoe". It will be less efficient, slower, but perhaps like fire, for some of us it holds a different meaning, and enjoyment.

None of this paddling stuff makes sense in a "modern age". So fire is no different. Make up your own outdoor code and follow it. My outdoor journey began as my father taught me how to build a fire and it will end someday with the flames of cremation.

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30 years ago, you could
build a fire with downed wood.

Today, with as many people as there are camping and such, often there is no more wood to gather and the Forest Service protects what is left.

Plus the danger of starting a forest fire, the fragility of the desert, etc.



I used to carry three things with me i nthe Air Force, a book, a pocket hammock and an esbit stove. You may wish to consider that route as the real Esbit and fuel are lightweight. Avoid the knock-offs.



I was able to keep three days of of fuel and matches IN the folded stove.

My food was not steaming, but it was warm to hot.

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The Brits will light up a stove even for
a snack, and they have a fascinating array of stoves that work efficiently with locally gathered twigs and branches.

Reflector oven and dutch…
Is the way I prefer. I enjoy cooking on the fire. I too enjoy the act of camping. For me tripping is the entire process…paddling to camping. The smell of a fire, the warmth, and associated challenges.

I usually have a gas stove in the pack, but more for emergency situations. I know/practice survival skills too, but don’t rely on them daily (see bow-drill blisters).

Obviously I would plan my camping method based on the location. Lack of wood, fire-hazards, ecosystem, or weather.

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