How Important Is a Campfire to You?

[HandofCod]

It's the reason I go camping. I get to use my hands for something other than typing, I get to practice bushcraft skills. The benefits are limitless.

 

[bulgron]

When I hike and camp, I really like a fire. It's just pure entertainment. That said, if fire restrictions are in force (and they frequently are around here), I'd still rather hike without a fire than not hike at all.

 

[storl]

I like to burn stuff. That's pretty much it. I would have a fire going right now in my store if my landlord wouldn't take me to court for it.

 

[Evolute]

I like to burn stuff. That's pretty much it. I would have a fire going right now in my store if my landlord wouldn't take me to court for it.

This would make a great signature line.

 

[JCavSD]

I enjoy the look, the feel, the smell, the sound, etc. Certainly, sometimes it's a matter of practicality (cook food or stay warm), but mostly it's just pleasant.

Suppose this is why I've always lived in a house with a fireplace. Not like I couldn't just adjust a dial on the wall and get more heat, but that just doesn't supply the same sense of satisfaction as a fireplace. Plus burning things is fun.

 

[ElSitherino]

I could have plenty of discretionary time, and still find many things I'd rather spend my time on than a fire. The issue is not so much that I couldn't possibly make the time for a fire; the issue is that a fire is lower priority for me than many other possibilities.
...
Thank you, all, for your answers, so far.

Sounds like a good reason to me, though I bet you'd have some great fire pictures if you started one.

 

[stabman]

I feel connected to the thousands of generations of us and think what must be similar thoughts to my ancestors who sat and contemplated life, God and the great unknowns, as I gaze into what undoubtedly was part of the genesis of social human experience.

If I'm camping in a group it's the spark of conversation, the glow of it lights the faces of each of us equally without the intrusion of social status, like the idea of King Arthur's round table. Jugs are passed and stories are told, all done a hundred thousand time before. We are the same creature that first walked upright and bent the elements as tools to our wills and desires by fire. That we are not very different. Camp fires are social, our ancestors are closer. The great achievements of Man are marked by what we have done with fire. From chasing away the darkness, extending the day into night to fix and create without wasting precious daylight we needed for hunting and gathering, to landing on the moon propelled by great balls of fire, on components formed by fire insulated from the return to earth by ceramics made in the heart fire, and all contrived by knowledge given to us by fire. It created us, it will distroy us, it is our greatest too and our greatest folly, it is our inspiration. It is the first thing we learned to control and the first thing to bite us when we don't.

Not only can I not imagine camping with out it, I can't even imagine life with out it.

Amen brother.:thumbup:
Fire good.
I cannot go out into the woods without roasting some meat over a nice fire with glowing coals.
Camping without fire is like a gun without bullets, or a knife without an edge.

 

[sasha]

When i backpack then there is no fire for me. Most of the time when i camp out i love the fire for the same reason that were posted already. But i do like to keep my fire small and sit very close to it. I also tend to walk away from the fire for a while and just hang out in the dark. So last time i went camping in the desert i dicided to not light my fire for a few nights. I just didnt feel like having a fire for some reason. I realy liked those nights sitting in the dark. Its was like waking up all of your sences. Before the fire would take the center of your attention. Its funny but you become less aware to what is going on around you. With no fire you are more aware to every little animal and bug around you. On my next trip to the desert im planning to bring less fire wood with me and enjoy the night more. But then i always liked the night and the dark even as a kid.

Sasha

 

[KuRUpTD]

A campfire is a given unless there are restrictions - it's just something I really enjoy.

 

[Big Mike]

It's a ritual for me... in a world where meaning has been bled out of almost everything (at least here n the city) a sense or ritual combined with a primal elemental force is important to me I find it appeals to a part of me that his hard to access in everyday life.... and there's nothing finer in my mind than sitting by a fire with a full pipe, a warm drink, and a good friend or 2

Right-On Riley. :thumbup: :thumbup:




I'd say that John and I see eye to eye on this,

...Campfires rule the night.






Big Mike

 

[Calebklyne]

the few times i have been camping without a fire i found it to be a bit depressing even when sitting around with a big group. It seems to me that a fire has the power to create a joyful and relaxing atmosphere in the woods

 

[bulgron]

I enjoy the look, the feel, the smell, the sound, etc. Certainly, sometimes it's a matter of practicality (cook food or stay warm), but mostly it's just pleasant.

We're still talking about fires, right?

 

[Jose Wales]

Food taste a lot better on an open fire.

 

[Stray Round]

A fire makes a camp a "home."

I'm middle-aged (whew, that's hard to believe) and was fortunate to growup in a very rural lifestyle. From the age of 12 or 13yrs old I spent 40-50+ nights in the woods around a campfire with several fine gentlemen that are long gone. Today when I have the rare chance to spend a night around a campfire I share it with the memories of those times and I think of the countless men throughout the ages that sat around a fire and gazed into its flames.

I feel really at home when I build a campfire. I use the knowledge that I gained many years ago on how to start a fire, keep it going and gain its warmth, sometimes with the same tools. I've used my grandmother's old heavy coffee pot for the last 35+ years and set it in the coals of the fire and think about my grandmother and grandfather and share a cup with them and many others.

If I want to be alone I can sit in my house with the lights out but when I want to be home I can always sit around a campfire.

 

[TheGame]

I enjoy the look, the feel, the smell, the sound, etc. Certainly, sometimes it's a matter of practicality (cook food or stay warm), but mostly it's just pleasant.
Plus burning things is fun.

That summarizes it for me. A campfire is just very relaxing to me.

 

[powernoodle]

I'm not especially fond of campfires

Well there is your answer. I love a fire. Unless you are in a real survival scenario, or need the heat to cook or stay warm, its all about the enjoyment.

 

[Rotte]

There are many times when I've just used a stove or Jetboil and not bothered with a fire. Or, where fires aren't permitted, a stove may be your only option for hot food and tea. But I generally prefer a campfire. Something about a real fire is more comforting and fun. It's primal.

 

[Erasmus]

I hate our electric stove. I only like gas and wood stoves for cooking on.

When camping, I absolutely want the option of having a woodfire. There have been a few hunting trips where I NEEDED the option.

 

[Sylvan]

I love a campfire too but remember - Do not transport firewood to your camping location. Collect the firewood on site or purchase it locally.

Movement of firewood is a major way that new destructive invasive insects and diseases are spreading though this country. An insect may naturally spread only a mile or two a year but when they are in the back of a pickup, they jump hundreds of miles in a day. Emerald ash borer and Asian long horned beetle are just two of the most notable non-native critters that love to hitch hike inside firewood and are responsible for the death of millions of trees.

 

[untamed]

Its primitive TV.

I feel connected to the thousands of generations of us and think what must be similar thoughts to my ancestors who sat and contemplated life, God and the great unknowns, as I gaze into what undoubtedly was part of the genesis of social human experience.

If I'm camping in a group it's the spark of conversation, the glow of it lights the faces of each of us equally without the intrusion of social status, like the idea of King Arthur's round table. Jugs are passed and stories are told, all done a hundred thousand time before. We are the same creature that first walked upright and bent the elements as tools to our wills and desires by fire. That we are not very different. Camp fires are social, our ancestors are closer. The great achievements of Man are marked by what we have done with fire. From chasing away the darkness, extending the day into night to fix and create without wasting precious daylight we needed for hunting and gathering, to landing on the moon propelled by great balls of fire, on components formed by fire insulated from the return to earth by ceramics made in the heart fire, and all contrived by knowledge given to us by fire. It created us, it will distroy us, it is our greatest too and our greatest folly, it is our inspiration. It is the first thing we learned to control and the first thing to bite us when we don't.

Not only can I not imagine camping with out it, I can't even imagine life with out it.

:thumbup:

I can't camp or be as outdoorsy as much as want to, but during the times I was able too, it WAS a big deal. I suspect for humanity as a whole as well.

If we are to believe the anthropologists and evolutionary biologists about the social phenomena which evolved from this seemingly simple but pleasurable activity, it ultimately made us into who we are as a species today.

Imagine the early proto-"homo sapiens" of pre-history several thousand years ago gathered around the glow, safety and warmth of a fire after a long hard day of hunting and gathering. They would inevitably have been kinsmen or close neighbors which would have fostered closer relations and talks of strategy for the next hunt. The strong males would've probably reminisced loudly with bravado about the day's latest kill. Another would've chimed in as well, adding how much he contributed too. Maybe a little later when everyone got a bit settled, one of the elderly decides to reminisce about his early experiences too, but decides to embelish a lot (unwittingly or not) especially to the young kids who may be present and in rapt attention to all that's being shared. "Grandpa's" embellishments get bigger and bigger until unspeakable figures of heroism, monsters, super-human adventures all mingle together, no doubt with some influence of the night sky's starry night, with whom the old folks say the "great ones" or gods live.

You now have probably or plausibly the beginnings of mythology, literature, religion, philosophy, diplomacy the theoretical sciences and news-dissemination and commentary all stemming from this simple "gathering" of folks in the night around a communal flame.