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kanoes
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quote missmolly: "I don't usually bother and there's the danger too. If my saw slips, my trip would end."
a fish hook in an eye would end a trip too...so then i take it you dont dont fish anymore? dangerous! :)
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TomT
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C'mon Kanoes, eveyone knows a welder's mask is all you need for that.
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boonie
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quote TomT: "C'mon Kanoes, eveyone knows a welder's mask is all you need for that.
"
And it keeps those pesky branches from poking you in the eye, too.
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missmolly
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quote kanoes: "quote missmolly: "I don't usually bother and there's the danger too. If my saw slips, my trip would end."
a fish hook in an eye would end a trip too...so then i take it you dont dont fish anymore? dangerous! :)"
Fish hook little.
Saw blade big.
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yellowcanoe
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100 or so solo trips over 15 years. Two fires. Fire building and saw and axe use are good skills to practice. The two fires were necessary and lifesaving.
Get the firebuilding skill and practice it at home before you try it in the bush. Yes saws and axes can be dangerous and the bush is not the place to try using them for the first time.
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shawhh
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i rarely have a campfire when travelling solo. just too much work for too little benefit. sitting on a rock at the lake edge watching the stars is just as good for me.
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ZaraSp00k
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quote mooseplums: "Man has sat by a fire for warmth, comfort, and conversation since the beginning of time...can't see the sense it changing now."
who are you talking to on a solo?
most people have changed to natural gas
just saying
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waterdog
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Since I don't take a stove, I make a small, quick fire about every 3 days so I can have a hot meal. But during fire bans, I'm fine with no fires and no hot meals. I don't go to the BW/Q for fine dining. And like others have said, there are other places to enjoy a nice fire.
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mooseplums
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quote Brent: " 
On a solo you can do whatever the hell you want! :)
Fire or no fire... do what you want."
Agree....
Man has sat by a fire for warmth, comfort, and conversation since the beginning of time...can't see the sense it changing now.
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HikingStick
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quote ZaraSp00k: "Looks like many seldom make fires for the same reasons, here is one more: decades ago while camping on a pristine lake I built a fire, in the morning I noticed the lake had much ash on it. Kinda felt bad, here was a crystal clear lake that I had fouled for no reason other than the habit of making a fire. Also I have also noticed, if there is one thing that ruins a campsite first, it is the gathering of firewoood and the resultant fire. Here is a pic of Glenn Lake the morning after 6 guys showed up and had built a roaring fire that lasted to the wee hours of the morning, note the scum streak on the water. It is ash from their fire.  "
It looks like it was late in the season. I often see that kind of "scum" as a result of decaying aquatic plants, particularly after shoreward winds.
I'm not saying there may not have been ash in the water, but that it's not a given that the "scum" was a direct result of the fire.
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AndySG
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quote jwartman59: "the scum in the photo looks like pollen. its from the trees. just a wild guess."
I'm pretty sure wood ashes sink, even though it may take a few minutes sometimes. I'm a fire guy, and have never seen ash floating in the lake as a result of a fire. Could be wrong, but just saying what I've experienced.
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tony
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About 50% of the time I have a fire at night only. I cook on a stove so the fire is just for atmosphere while I drink my wine.
tony
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ZaraSp00k
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When I camp solo, I very rarely make a fire. People talk about no trace camping, well how can you not leave a trace if you make a fire? Secondly, it ruins my night vision, my eyes slowly adjust to the growing dark, and then you can see pretty good in the dark. Also don't smell like the inside of a chimney, not to mention I go for fresh air, and the fire ruins that. I could go on, but the point isn't to convince you. I'm just wondering anyone else feels the same way.
If you can't live without a fire, go start your own thread.
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WhiteWolf
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as a huge fan of campfires,, I have to admit on my recent solo I didn't miss the searching/cutting/chopping at all. And the lack smoke smell on clothes was a welcome change.
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oldgentleman
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I like a fire. As I've said before, I spend a lot of time alone in the woods here in Michigan. Gathering wood, building the fire and tending it is a pleasure. If I want to look at the stars I can walk away from the fire and my eyes adjust.
In the Boundary Waters or other wilderness areas I cook on my stove and build the fire after supper.
I never burn any trash or garbage in my fire. Not at the cabin, not in the wilderness.
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ZaraSp00k
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quote jwartman59: "if a day has been particularly grim i may make a fire, otherwise I find that they distract from the experience. the fire kind of turns into a low tech TV, you find yourself just sitting there, staring."
exactly, if you were with someone, you'd probably have a nice conversation around the fire, alone, ....pointless unless it is to make a meal, warmth
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w_w_w_31
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Solo - not many fires at all. Like a few have mentioned, it is a lot of work to solo, and I am normally quite tired by sunset, and looking to get some sleep. The thought of hauling wood to mess with the fire just doesn't sound all that appealing. I would rather just embrace the wilderness for what it is.
Thanks for this thread.
dave
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ZaraSp00k
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quote mooseplums: "quote AndySG: "quote jwartman59: "the scum in the photo looks like pollen. its from the trees. just a wild guess."
I'm pretty sure wood ashes sink, even though it may take a few minutes sometimes. I'm a fire guy, and have never seen ash floating in the lake as a result of a fire. Could be wrong, but just saying what I've experienced."
I noticed a green scum much like the stuff in the above photo, on Thursday when I was entering. It was in an area where there hadn't been a fire. I looked a lot like the tree pollen we see in June. I'm not sure what it is, but I don't think it's ash. Algae bloom? Decaying plants?"
if you look again at the picture you will notice that the "scum" reflects whatever color is in the background, it appears green in part of the photo because of the tree background, and appears light blue where it reflects the sky. In fact the "scum" was gray, a light powder, looked like ash to me.
And again, it likely was not pollen as the dominant species up there is aspen, black spruce, and jack pine, all of which occurs much earlier in the year.
and this is not the only time I have observed this, have noticed this for over 20 years, a crystal clear lake with no particles on the surface, clear calm weather, then a campfire, next day, ash (scum, pollen, whatever you prefer) on the surface the next day.
as for ash sinking, you can do the experiment, take some ash from the fire, place on calm water, you will see it doesn't sink, but wave action will eventually get rid of it from the surface. Ash remains in the atmosphere for days and even weeks, and you're trying to tell me it sinks in water?
I guess I should not have mentioned the ash, if people want to discuss it further perhaps I'll, or you can, start another thread where people can ponder to their hearts content.
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missmolly
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I don't usually bother and there's the danger too. If my saw slips, my trip would end.
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BeaV
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Even on solo trips into the BWCA I almost always have 2 fires per day, morning and evening. To me a fire kind of makes camp just more comforting, I guess. Sorry, maybe I should've started a new thread:)
An exception to this was on my longest solo to date- 3.5 months on the Koyukuk River, Alaska. I found that after I had built my log cabin (about a month and a half into the trip), the comfort of the cabin replaced that of an open fire.
BeaV
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jb in the wild
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quote HikingStick: "quote ZaraSp00k: "Looks like many seldom make fires for the same reasons, here is one more: decades ago while camping on a pristine lake I built a fire, in the morning I noticed the lake had much ash on it. Kinda felt bad, here was a crystal clear lake that I had fouled for no reason other than the habit of making a fire. Also I have also noticed, if there is one thing that ruins a campsite first, it is the gathering of firewoood and the resultant fire. Here is a pic of Glenn Lake the morning after 6 guys showed up and had built a roaring fire that lasted to the wee hours of the morning, note the scum streak on the water. It is ash from their fire. "
It looks like it was late in the season. I often see that kind of "scum" as a result of decaying aquatic plants, particularly after shoreward winds.
I'm not saying there may not have been ash in the water, but that it's not a given that the "scum" was a direct result of the fire.
"
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mooseplums
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Not saying I was talking to anyone on a solo...just saying that campfires are nothing new.
As I stated before, fires to me aren't a big deal, but I do have one occasionally. My fire, when I choose to have one, is kept very small, and very brief. I also enjoy them, and I guess it's my right to have one, or not. I guess I really don't have to defend that.
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ZaraSp00k
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quote HikingStick: .
It looks like it was late in the season. I often see that kind of "scum" as a result of decaying aquatic plants, particularly after shoreward winds.
I'm not saying there may not have been ash in the water, but that it's not a given that the "scum" was a direct result of the fire.
"
decaying aquatic plants? what plants? we are talking about oligotrophic lakes, lakes with almost no plants. There was no evidence of this scum the day before the campers came. I have seen this before, and have witnessed it as a result of my own fires.
And no,it's not pollen, Black spruce, Jack pine, birch, the dominant species shed pollen much earlier in the year.
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HikingStick
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quote ZaraSp00k: "quote HikingStick: .
It looks like it was late in the season. I often see that kind of "scum" as a result of decaying aquatic plants, particularly after shoreward winds.
I'm not saying there may not have been ash in the water, but that it's not a given that the "scum" was a direct result of the fire.
"
decaying aquatic plants? what plants? we are talking about oligotrophic lakes, lakes with almost no plants. There was no evidence of this scum the day before the campers came. I have seen this before, and have witnessed it as a result of my own fires.
And no,it's not pollen, Black spruce, Jack pine, birch, the dominant species shed pollen much earlier in the year."
I don't claim to be an expert. I just know what I saw on various lakes when I was up there last month. The ones with lots of vegetation had loads of scum, but the others (with less vegetation) had less. Again, not saying it couldn't be ash, but I've just never noticed a correllation in more than 25 years.
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jwartman59
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the scum in the photo looks like pollen. its from the trees. just a wild guess.
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mooseplums
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I usually don't care either way if I have a fire, but on my recent solo, I found the fire to be soothing, especially since it was dark by 6:30, and I didn't want to sit in the dark or go to bed.
The first night i had a nice warm fire, and some blue grass on the radio. I normally don't care for bluegrass, but I found it very appropriate. And no it wasn't Dueling Banjos! :)
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ZaraSp00k
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Looks like many seldom make fires for the same reasons, here is one more: decades ago while camping on a pristine lake I built a fire, in the morning I noticed the lake had much ash on it. Kinda felt bad, here was a crystal clear lake that I had fouled for no reason other than the habit of making a fire. Also I have also noticed, if there is one thing that ruins a campsite first, it is the gathering of firewoood and the resultant fire. Here is a pic of Glenn Lake the morning after 6 guys showed up and had built a roaring fire that lasted to the wee hours of the morning, note the scum streak on the water. It is ash from their fire.
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kanoes
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had 2 fires on the hunter loop. for the most part i was too damn tired. i was in the tent by 8pm almost every night. i would have had three but is was windy and downwind was all dry pine needles...i did the right thing passing on a fire that night.
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nojobro
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On my little solo I had a fire one night but not the next. The night with the fire was the night that I missed having other people there. Sitting around the fire is when I would like to have someone to talk with. But I did get all the best marshmallow spots. ;-)
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HikingStick
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quote missmolly: "I don't usually bother and there's the danger too. If my saw slips, my trip would end."
What? No chainmail gloves or chainmail skirt?
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mooseplums
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quote AndySG: "quote jwartman59: "the scum in the photo looks like pollen. its from the trees. just a wild guess."
I'm pretty sure wood ashes sink, even though it may take a few minutes sometimes. I'm a fire guy, and have never seen ash floating in the lake as a result of a fire. Could be wrong, but just saying what I've experienced."
I noticed a green scum much like the stuff in the above photo, on Thursday when I was entering. It was in an area where there hadn't been a fire. I looked a lot like the tree pollen we see in June. I'm not sure what it is, but I don't think it's ash. Algae bloom? Decaying plants?
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nctry
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Lot's of times I don't make a fire when solo also. There is so much to do anyway and I'm usually pretty tired. But when I do, I get my wood a head of time and I really enjoy the fire. I've seen people start a fire and spend the whole time splitting wood or gathering and spending little time at the fire. So yes I enjoy a fire, but I try to make it an enjoyable experiance. Rarely do I cook over the fire anymore.
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SunCatcher
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On 7 day solo this year 2 nights no fire.
It was so darn dry, and was actually on the forest edge...I sure the heck so no point in burning down the WCPP. (already was on fire, anyway) It was that darn dry it was scary!!!
I camped on small islands of rock and points where embers could go directly into water...I had a fire.
I like fires, but not a deal breaker.
SunCatcher
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papasmurf
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Two solo trips and two fires. I can have a fire at home in the backyard anytime I want. Watching a BW sunset comes very rarely. After sunset, I love to sit and watch the land and water slowly change colors. It's amazing there are so many shades of dark blue, grey and black.
Also, when the wind has died down, you begin to really hear things. The loons. Fish jumping. Twigs snapping in the woods. When alone up there, it seems all my senses are magnified.
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boonie
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I occasionally have a fire when solo, but not normally. I like to keep my night vision, too, so I try to have all chores done before dark and avoid using my headlamp when possible. Then I can sit and look at the night sky, etc. When I do have a fire, I keep it small and short. I don't carry an axe or hatchet so it's just small stuff anyway. It does get dark early in late Sept, though, and sometimes I enjoy the ambience and just practicing fire building skills. I also don't like to smell like smoke for a week.
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Sierra1
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When I was up a couple of weeks ago on a solo trip I didn't build a fire until the last night. Even then it was a small one that only lasted a half hour. There are more important things to do then spend time looking for firewood. I can take it or leave it when it comes to building a fire.
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Zulu
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I built two fires in twenty nights over the three solos so far this year. I am usually in bed before it gets dark until mid September so I don't make one. Next week I may have a few fires if allowed because of early darkness. During cooler weather I also like to gather, cut and split wood to keep me warm then and during the fire.
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billconner
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I cook only on gas. I usually make a small fire in the morning to burn tp (Quetico)and waste food packaging.
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solotrek
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If firewood is readily available, I will usually make a fire. If it's not, I don't. Just got back from an 8 day 7 night solo. I had three fires.
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Brent
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On a solo you can do whatever the hell you want! :)
Fire or no fire... do what you want.
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mr.barley
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I can take or leave fires on trips. I'd rather go to bed early and get up and do some fishing.
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Ho Ho
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We rarely make fires on our two-man trips - usually only the first couple evenings to cook steaks and sausages, then we extinguish them. I doubt I would make one on a solo unless it were really cold. With temps in the 20s the last couple nights, a fire would have been nice - but there is (finally) a fire ban on now.
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chesapeakes
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quote papasmurf: "Two solo trips and two fires. I can have a fire at home in the backyard anytime I want. Watching a BW sunset comes very rarely. After sunset, I love to sit and watch the land and water slowly change colors. It's amazing there are so many shades of dark blue, grey and black.
Also, when the wind has died down, you begin to really hear things. The loons. Fish jumping. Twigs snapping in the woods. When alone up there, it seems all my senses are magnified.
"
I agree with papasmurf. I just returned from my first solo and one of the best things was sitting there alone just listening to the wild outdoors. I can't believe how much you miss when you are with a group. Don't want to spend the time tending the fire.
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TomT
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I just did 9 nights in quetico and had two fires. Both were to cook fish. I put filets in foil on a grate on top of the coals. I also used the fires to burn some of my garbage.
It's funny, but I had 7 sites and all had wood left over from previous campers. I was tempted to have a fire just for the heck of it but strangely didn't want to waste the wood.
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Merganser
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I am a huge fan of an evening fire. Even when its warm I like a small fire for atmosphere.
Still, I frequently skip the fire on a solo trip. I travel longer days solo and move every day (wind permitting). Sometimes by the time I make camp and eat there's not a whole lot of day left. If its been dry and I can find small stuff to break and burn great. But unless its cold or its been a short travel day I'm not gonna be cutting/splitting wood to have a fire.
Cigar and Bourbon? Always :)
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Red Solo
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quote Merganser: "I am a huge fan of an evening fire. Even when its warm I like a small fire for atmosphere.
Still, I frequently skip the fire on a solo trip. I travel longer days solo and move every day (wind permitting). Sometimes by the time I make camp and eat there's not a whole lot of day left. If its been dry and I can find small stuff to break and burn great. But unless its cold or its been a short travel day I'm not gonna be cutting/splitting wood to have a fire.
Cigar and Bourbon? Always :)"
We must be kindred spirits. Well, almost. I'm a fire guy. I end up collecting, sawing, chopping more than I need which is always nice for the next users of the site that I vacate. I love the evening fire and I'm disappointed if conditions don't allow for it. One year I was to meet up with Butthead and others for a solo mash-up and there was a fire ban. I entered at Moose River North and went to Agnes. It had snowed lightly that morning and I caught a chill on my way in. I couldn't shake that chill and without a fire I shivered throughout that day and the next. I was so miserable that I ended up heading out and never did meet up with the other soloists.
Now, where the real kindred spirit part comes in is with the cigars and bourbon. Ahhhh...
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SevenofNine
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I've skipped a fire a night or two depends how good the star viewing will be that night. However, I like a fire if it's cold out. I camp in the shoulder seasons so a fire is not simply something to look at.
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jwartman59
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if a day has been particularly grim i may make a fire, otherwise I find that they distract from the experience. the fire kind of turns into a low tech TV, you find yourself just sitting there, staring.
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wetcanoedog
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i also cook on a stove but on some nights,maybe two or three on a two week solo a fire just seems right.when i started out in the early 80's i was making a fire every night,it was "security blanket" blaze more than anything else.
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