One thing about W&C canoes is, they’ll
burn in a stove, leaving very little residue. Not like those nasty composite boats that leave fiberglass shards to get in your lungs when you haul the ashes.
And Com kayaks do smell
when they burned, my neighbor lost 2 yesterday to his brush burning.
Usually
When I’m with my wife I will sometimes take an alcohol stove. But when I’m by myself I’m stove less. When on the water or backpacking, I prefer this method. And while paddling or walking all day I’d just rather snack. With some snacks every two to three hours I never want a meal.
burn
The vastness of burned out lands stuns. And we are the people who did that.
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. 
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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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