My last couple trips have been rainy. This is fine until it is time to get a fire going under the fire grate. The residual ash and coals soak up water like a sponge, and then seem to steal all of the heat from the fire that I am attempting to make on top of them. The fire will barely keep going, and be almost impossible to cook over. When the coals in the pit are good and soaked, they won't dry out, even after the fire has burned for an hour.

What do you do in this situation? In the past I have pulled the coals out of the fire pit, and then pushed them back in when I was done (not sure the proper way to discard them). This seems to work to get a decent fire going but is a big mess.

Like you, I pull the wet stuff out in front of the grate, build a fire, and once it is going strong put any big wet pieces of unburned coals into the fire. If basecamping, after a few days the wet ashes in front of the grate have dried out and they are put back inside to completely burn to Ash. If only camping for one night, the wet ashes in front of grate are put back inside before we leave.

We always ensure our fires are completely out by pouring lots of water on the ashes. Anyone arriving at our campsite after we leave will always find a wet fire pit whether we've had rain or not.

If they're wet and soaked and cold, I would just take them back beyond the latrine and dump them.

Why not lay a bed of logs down parallel to one another and build your fire in top of them. Thus keeping the fire off the wet coals.

Ive done it a few different ways depending on what the situation is. I may just push the wettest stuff to the outer edges of the fire grate exposing a dryer layer underneath. If there is a lot of wet stuff then some of it will have to come out. I've also laid down a base of dry wood and started the fire on top of that. All seem to work well, just have to pick the right method for the situation.

Usually if someone just pours water over the fire it doesn't reach down real deep so its pretty easy to move that wet stuff off to the side. If its been raining for awhile and everything is soaked then I'll pull out the wet stuff and try to make the driest base possible since most of the wood is going to be wet as well.

quote OldFingers57: "Why not lay a bed of logs down parallel to one another and build your fire in top of them. Thus keeping the fire off the wet coals. "

Nessmuk's method, if I'm not mistaken.

quote OldFingers57: "Why not lay a bed of logs down parallel to one another and build your fire in top of them. Thus keeping the fire off the wet coals. "

If you split wood then it would give you a flatter surface to work with, plus add fuel to the fire once it gets going. Depending on how wet though, if you did not want to dump them way back in the woods, then maybe more than one layer of logs to make a barrier.

I would pull them all out or move to the side, get a fire going and push back in.

When I get to a site I just clean out the fire grate ash and put them in a large pot. Then hike out in the woods and dump them well away from camp. Problem solved. Too much ash causes the fire to starve of air. You need air flow on the bottom to feed the fire and a clean flat surface solves this.

I've used the log method with limited success- this depends on having bigger logs than I usually make fire with. Otherwise they burn through pretty quickly.

It seems like there are some recommendations to clear the ashes prior to fire making as well. Those ashes last basically indefinitely in the woods, is there an official position from FS on how to dispose of them properly?

'Those ashes last basically indefinitely in the woods'

Is this true? I always thought wood Ash returned nutrients back to the soil.

My previous reply on this subject was what I do to start a fire in the grate if ashes are wet. If I find a fire pit overloaded with ash, I will always opt to scattering them in the woods away from camp, always ensuring they are completely extinguished.

'Those ashes last basically indefinitely in the woods'

Is this true? I always thought wood Ash returned nutrients back to the soil.

My previous reply on this subject was what I do to start a fire in the grate if ashes are wet. If I find a fire pit overloaded with ash, I will always opt to scattering them in the woods away from camp.

I would treat it like snow when winter camping.. build a base of dry wood/bark then build a fire on top of that

quote OldFingers57: "Why not lay a bed of logs down parallel to one another and build your fire in top of them. Thus keeping the fire off the wet coals. "

Secret to a light it and leave it fire - build it upside down!

quote LuvMyBell: "'Those ashes last basically indefinitely in the woods'


Is this true? I always thought wood Ash returned nutrients back to the soil.


"

My only point of reference is that there is a firepit that hasn't been used in 50 years up at my cabin, and the chunky ashes are still present in the grass. They might well return nutrients to the soil, but the structure still remains.

quote ayudell: "

quote LuvMyBell: "'Those ashes last basically indefinitely in the woods'



Is this true? I always thought wood Ash returned nutrients back to the soil.



"

My only point of reference is that there is a firepit that hasn't been used in 50 years up at my cabin, and the chunky ashes are still present in the grass. They might well return nutrients to the soil, but the structure still remains."

Got it!

I was referring to wood burnt down completely to ashes. Lumps of wood, charcoal, get put back into the fire pit to be burned again.

Ash is good for the soil. Charcoal isn't bad, but it's basically pure carbon and won't be broken-down very quickly. I spread excess ash but try to keep the charcoal since it's good fuel.