[pct-l] Permanent Campfire Ban on the PCT

[Dale Combs]

It was the end of Monday July 31 on the PCT, Section K, near Phipps Creek in Desolation Wilderness
north of the trail that takes you over Phipps Pass to Lake Tahoe. This was past Middle Velma Lake, past the point where weekend campers go, in a non-descript part of the forest with a bald tent spot 20 feet off trail, and not the type of destination that a weekender would seek. While hiking in the days before I met several TRT hikers and long distance PCT hikers.

I was looking for water and ready to
call it a day but the only water I could find was standing water in the creek when I came to this
smouldering fire. You can see four rocks in a square with a big rock in the middle. If you have
5 symbolic rocks then I guess you would call that an existing fire ring and justification for a fire.

The forest fire I found was burning 2 feet deep into the forest duff. The fire in the picture 
doesn't look scary but the circle was expanding. I went back to the stagnant creek
and got a couple quarts and was able to extinguish about six inches of the fire ring. I had to
make maybe 20 to 30 return trips to the stagnant water about 25 yards away. I was very tired
from hiking and it took over an hour for me to feel like I had done my best and could leave.
If something happened to Desolation Wilderness, the most incredible wilderness near where
people live, think about the consequences.

I consider this to be the 4th year in a row that I have seen a disregard for fire restrictions by long distance hikers.

On 8/15/09 I hiked with an off-duty ranger and he commented on illegal fire rings we saw north of the Peter Grubb hut area only
PCT hikers would travel. 

At Aloha Lake on 7/30/2012 when the ranger checked my permit status we had a conversation about my permit having a correct entry date but an
incorrect exit date due to my miscalculation. The ranger said, "Even when PCT hikers break the rules they're not the real problem." I take this as evidence of a great amount of goodwill and respect that PCT hikers enjoy. I also think that unless a PCT hiker is doing something obvious and blatantly wrong that they're not going to be in trouble with a ranger.

Based on a 2/20/12 conversation with a ranger formerly working in Yosemite, the things they really don't like are Domestic Violence in campground, DWI's and people with aggressive threatening postures. 

I think there is a problem with fire-safety on the PCT but it is not because us hikers are bad people.

I think that fire safety regulations are local, specific and change as the season changes. How many wilderness areas and parks does the PCT pass thru?
Status quo is to inform each weekender camper of the specific rules in place at that time. And it changes with the seasons and each year is not the same. I don't think the current system gives a PCT hiker a good idea
of where and when they can and can't, should and shouldn't have fires. As a community we do a much better job of tracking water sources, snow conditions, mosquitoes and ice axe/micro spike necessity.

So how do we come up with a one size fits all solution? Given that each year is not the same, each month is not the same, each area is not the same. 

There are about 30 sections. Maybe a section by section approach is best. Maybe the guidebook(s) could show where and what months of the year
you can typically expect to safely have a fire section by section. Maybe we could reach the point where people have the ability to plan around specific areas, maybe people could mail ahead their alcohol stove and save precious grams. I think we need fire information that reaches people while they are in the planning stage. Once people get set in their backpacker ways......good luck changing them.

If conditions are drastic in some area, at some point in the year, then perhaps revised info could be posted at the end/beginning of each section.

Comfy