[pct-l] Plea for Fire Safety 2014

[Judson Brown]

1. Regarding food and camping, I have done both systems: dinner then more
miles and dinner in camp. I've done the JMT twice following the latter
method and have yet to have a problem with bears. Others' experiences may
vary. For the miles you need to make on the PCT, however, the former
strategy ifs the one I prefer, more for reasons of miles than for avoiding
wildlife.

2. Regarding fires in camp, I hiked 530 miles last year and saw numerous
instances of thru hikers having fires, some of them nightly, regardless of
weather conditions. And any efforts I made with these individuals to
advocate for no fires were met with indifference at best. I'd like to see a
lot more up front teaching of the no fire ethic, and even a prohibition of
fires being part of the permit. Not sure what the answer is. As the number
of hikers increases, so does the number of inconsiderate young men- sorry,
but that is the demographic- who do whatever the hell they want.
On Jan 17, 2014 12:59 PM, "Jennifer Zimmerman" <jenniferlzim at gmail.com>
wrote:

> This is what worked for us for our hike. I don't think it's for any of the
> reasons you listed. You may judge risk differently.
>
> We did segregate food away from our sleeping area in high-use areas or
> where regulated, especially through the Sierra.  We never had a problem
> with animals.  The only time I've ever had an issue with animals was on the
> Wonderland trail, where we camped in designated backcountry sites and kept
> our food across the camp on the bear poles - which did not prevent our bags
> from being raided.
>
> On Fri, Jan 17, 2014 at 1:22 PM, Doug Swam <doug.swam at outlook.com> wrote:
>
> > Eating where you sleep? What happened to keeping interesting smells in
> > your bear/food bag a ways away from your sleeping area? Is it bravado,
> > skill or lack of knowledge? I'm confused.
> >
> >
> >
> > > Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 11:24:36 -0600
> > > From: jenniferlzim at gmail.com
> > > To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> > > Subject: Re: [pct-l] Plea for Fire Safety 2014
> > >
> >  > I never thought I'd consider going stoveless since I love a hot meal
> > (and
> > > pasta), but after this summer I've definitely come around to the idea.
> >  If
> > > we hadn't put so much work into our meals ahead of time we probably
> would
> > > have made the switch after Tahoe.  On days when we were trying to move
> > > especially fast we'd usually skip cooking lunch anyhow.
> > >
> > > Never once had a fire while backpacking (PCT or otherwise) and never
> once
> > > felt it was a hardship.  All I ever wanted to do was crawl into my bag,
> > eat
> > > my snacks and maybe do a little reading.  I think we were under burn
> > > bans from Campo to Yosemite at least plus large sections north of
> there.
> > > We passed more than one campsite where hikers had obviously built a
> fire
> > > and did not ensure it was doused cold.
> > >
> > > JZ
> > > On Fri, Jan 17, 2014 at 10:42 AM, marmot marmot
> > > <marmotwestvanc at hotmail.com>wrote:
> > >
> > > > I did most of the PCT and all of the CDT without a stove or means to
> > start
> > > > a fire.  Just found out that dried food reconstituted in cold water
> > too.
> > > >  Marmot
> > > >
> > > > Sent from my iPhone
> > > >
> > > > > On Jan 17, 2014, at 8:14 AM, "Ed Jarrett" <edjarrett at msn.com>
> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > Easy to do for someone like me who never has a campfire, travels
> the
> > PCT
> > > > stoveless, and lacks any means of even starting a fire.
> > > > >
> > > > > Ed Jarrett A Clay Jar: http://aclayjar.blogspot.com/  Eeyore Hikes
> > > > http://eeyorehikes.blogspot.com/Twitter:
> > https://twitter.com/EdJarrett53Facebook:
> > > > https://www.facebook.com/ed.jarrett.71
> > > > >
> > > > >> From: chiefcowboy at verizon.net
> > > > >> To: palomino.pct at gmail.com; pct-l at backcountry.net
> > > > >> Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 06:41:16 -0800
> > > > >> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Plea for Fire Safety 2014
> > > > >>
> > > > >> My personal pledge is that I will not have ANY campfires along the
> > PCT
> > > > this
> > > > >> year.  I will also have at least a 3' clearing when I use my
> stove.
> >  Any
> > > > >> others want to join me in that commitment?
> > > > >
> > > > >
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