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  • #31
    Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

    Originally posted by Moss View Post
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]4306[/ATTACH]

    Found a good spot on Craigslist for free pallets, this was about 1/4 of the stack they were offering, about 5 minutes from my house, no need for appointments, take as many as you want! Spent 3 hours breaking them down today, plenty to burn in the home fire pit, I break 'em down for great kindling.
    i would be wary using shipping pallets
    if pallets have the following symbol on them, they are international shipping pallets and have been treated
    HT means its been Heat treated
    MB means its been fumigated with Methyl Bromide.


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    • #32
      Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

      I'm pretty spoiled I reckon. I rarely camp at developed campgrounds, and firewood has rarely been hard to find. One spot I camp, I've hauled wood up from a little lower elevation, as there isn't much at about 10,000 ft el, just below treeline. Nobody has touched my firewood pile in the 8 or so years I've been using the spot.

      Camped in Yellowstone a few nights, there wasn't any firewood around. The ranger said you could go out in the woods and collect it. I drove a couple miles up the road, walked a short ways into the woods, and in short order had my rear cargo carrier pretty well full with a bow saw. I left a fair pile when I left.

      Now and then there are fire restrictions when its been too dry. I use a Coleman stove then. A fire sure is nice for hanging around in camp though.

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      • #33
        Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

        Malamute, that is hard-core hauling wood above the treeline at 10,000 feet

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        • #34
          Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

          It wasnt that big of a deal, I can drive to the spot. I just go lower down and load up the rear cargo rack. The camp spot is stunning. It has a view of vast miles of high mountain peaks. The few trees are small, windswept and scrawny, I didn't want to tear them up any just to get some dead wood.

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          • #35
            Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

            "We sometimes use charcoal, but mostly use firewood in campfires" - was my selection.

            Though, not by choice. Even if there are not fire restrictions, I will opt for a charcoal "fire" if the wind is not to my liking and therefore I noted we sometimes use charcoal. But, on a still, or relatively still night - there is no substitute for a nice campfire. Doesn't have to be big...but there is something therapeutic to the soul to sit around a campfire after a long day outdoors hiking, fishing or hunting.
            Nights camping in 2014: 18
            Nights camping in 2015: 24
            Nights camping in 2016: 20

            North Face Tadpole 23 - Mountain Hardwear Casa 6 - Guide Gear 18x18 Teepee

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            • #36
              Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

              mmmmmmm campfire.. nothing beats a good campfire. the smell, the crackle, the roar!!! part of the fun is gathering the wood while walking in the woods..to me, anyway. =) when we camp in at big meadows here in va, theres a burn ban, heck theres a burn ban in most parks nowadays. i think its mostly because they want the $$$ from the sale of the firewood and not so much because of the infestation of the insects. but in a pinch, if needed, we always bring charcoal just in case and we also use it for cooking. no camp stove here!!!

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              • #37
                Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

                I love wood fires. The crackling and popping and the smell just say camping to me.

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                • #38
                  Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

                  I cannot remember a time when there wasn't an abundance of dead wood lying around. Is this really a problem out east?
                  “I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.”
                  – E. B. White

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                  • #39
                    Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

                    Originally posted by James. View Post
                    I cannot remember a time when there wasn't an abundance of dead wood lying around. Is this really a problem out east?
                    In developed campsites, lack of firewood is a problem everywhere. If it is not a problem in your area, be thankful. For a lot of folks living in densely populated areas in the east, parks and National forests were an afterthought. It was a concept that arrived too late after nearly all the land had been privatized. What little space is available now gets a lot of people use pressure

                    For many in the USA, wilderness backpacking and primitive camping usually means driving six or more hours each way. To many who live OUTSIDE the USA, it isn't even a possibility

                    Even In other countries that do allow backpacking, open fires and campfires are unheard of
                    Last edited by Mike; 04-25-2014, 04:11 AM.

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                    • #40
                      Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

                      Not sure I understand how/why you can't carry wood cross country? How is someone going to know you are burning the yuppie overpriced firewood vs some you brought with you? depending on how far you are from camping or car camping? Last time I went camping (Car camping) I brought a bunch of wood from a palette that I cut up and used for quick burning wood and then scavenged for other wood in the surrounding area. I also had a small bag of charcoal that when I was getting serious about doing some dutch oven cooking I dropped the bag of charcoal into the fire and then used a shovel to place the coals where I wanted them. The campground was scavenged very well, so I did eventually break down and buy some of the over priced wood bundles. For me having real wood and burning it is for the social aspect of sitting around a campfire and enjoying a fire and conversation. Charcoal is more about the pure necessity of cooking food. And then on top of that I also had a coleman propane burner that I used for morning coffee and eggs so I didn't have to strike up a fire when we were packing up and leaving that day.

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                      • #41
                        Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

                        Originally posted by Mike View Post
                        In developed campsites, lack of firewood is a problem everywhere. If it is not a problem in your area, be thankful. For a lot of folks living in densely populated areas in the east, parks and National forests were an afterthought. It was a concept that arrived too late after nearly all the land had been privatized. What little space is available now gets a lot of people use pressure

                        For many in the USA, wilderness backpacking and primitive camping usually means driving six or more hours each way. To many who live OUTSIDE the USA, it isn't even a possibility

                        Even In other countries that do allow backpacking, open fires and campfires are unheard of
                        I guess I am spoiled. The closest National Forrest is only a couple hours away and I don't like to do the developed campsites preferring to stay away from people which isn't a problem here in the great state of Arizona.
                        “I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.”
                        – E. B. White

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                        • #42
                          Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

                          The dispersed site I am going to in a couple weeks is in a federal forest. Not only can I cut any wood that is dead or on the ground but the ranger said I could bring a chainsaw if I wanted. We will have a fire burning as long as we are awake. Camping and fires go hand in hand.

                          In MN, designated state campgrounds do not allow cutting of any wood and wood cannot be brought in unless purchased from an approved vendor. The reason is to prevent the spread of the emerald ash borer.

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                          • #43
                            Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

                            In the eastern Sierras, firewood is plentiful and easy to come by. Down south, eucalyptus is readily available for anyone who can swing a chainsaw! Sadly when fire restrictions come up, you're limited to a Coleman stove...no charcoal or fires of any kind.
                            “People have such a love for the truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth.”
                            ―Augustine of Hippo, Fifth Century A.D.

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                            • #44
                              Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

                              Originally posted by James. View Post
                              I cannot remember a time when there wasn't an abundance of dead wood lying around. Is this really a problem out east?
                              I can still scrounge around the edge of the campground I spend my kiddos centric trip at in Ct. Drag out felled branches and small tree limbs to supplement the supermarket wood. Oh and the kids' responsibility when we first get to the site is to gather pine cones. Keeps them busy whilst adults set up the tents.
                              You will note that we still need supermarket wood though. Which reminds me that I need to get on 'Patch' and see if anyone has wood for sale locally. Those gas station and supermarket bundles burn soooooooo fast:( .

                              I'll be camping at 2 different sites in the Adirondacks this summer and hope the wood situation there is better. After all it's 'forever wild" per NYS' Constitution.
                              Last edited by NYCgrrl; 04-26-2014, 01:20 AM.
                              2017:

                              July 3 to July 16- annual kiddo trip
                              Aug 2 to Aug 14- adult trip to recover from kiddos' outing. Bring on the Campari!



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                              • #45
                                Re: Charcoal vs wood campfires

                                Originally posted by tplife View Post
                                In the eastern Sierras, firewood is plentiful and easy to come by. Down south, eucalyptus is readily available for anyone who can swing a chainsaw! Sadly when fire restrictions come up, you're limited to a Coleman stove...no charcoal or fires of any kind.
                                THAT is the bigger problem here. I always look at the fire restrictions before planning a trip.
                                “I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.”
                                – E. B. White

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