How Important Is a Campfire to You?

Evolute said:
Pit, when I camp, it's because it's part of my job. Of course, I chose my job because I like the outdoors.

For those of you who aren't aware, I photograph nature for a living. You can see a bit of what I do, here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturography/show/

As for what I do which needs so much time:

Most of the time when I'm camping, I have to be out working on photographing from before the first glimmers of daylight until after the last glimmers of daylight. In the Summer, when the days are long and the nights are short, this can leave precious few hours for everything else. Especially when you factor in that most of these morning shoots require driving and / or hiking into the desired location in time, and most of these evening shoots require hiking and / or driving from location. I usually camp in a different place most every night, so I also have to find where I'll camp, and set up camp, after dark, and break camp and leave, before light. I also have to make dinner, etc. And I also sometimes have to do a lot of maintenance with my camera gear, such as: replacing used camera batteries and flash batteries, recharging batteries, deleting unworthwhile photos, backing up memory cards, cleaning the camera sensor, cleaning lenses, and so forth. There's also a lot of studying maps, studying guidebooks and natural history books, and various preparation.
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Thanks for the reply buddy, I always get great enjoyment from looking at your awesome pics !:thumbup:
 
I always make a fire as its very important to me. Its just a big part of camping i guess.

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evolute yer just lazy! ;p

i dont always need a fire....but it is nice to stare off into, of have a sip of grandpas ol cough medicine.
 
Some days, I am so tired from traveling that a fire would be a nuisance or even a danger
to me. I just want to eat and go to sleep.

Other times, like car camping with others, in the winter, in the mountains, it would be
weird not to have a fire. At 0 degrees F, most people can easily stay warm without a fire,
with modern clothing or old-school clothing, but it is still more fun with a fire.

I do not like fires in dry conditions, even if legal. Wood stove with spark suppression: maybe.

You can enjoy the night sky, without a fire. In Canadian summers, the sky can be different
colors for longer, at night: very long twilight.
 
Love it as well as watching other guy's fire shots.

Recently I'm more in Irori fire (so to say indoor camp fire) though.
 
A campfire is a vital component of the experience for me. It has practical applications by providing warmth and light, a heat source to cook, and the smoke helps keep biting insects away. My love of the campfire has nothing to do with the practical. I love sharing the fire with family and friends as the kids roast marshmallows and the sounds of the darkness surround us. I enjoy lying in the tent and seeing the reflection of the flames dance around the walls. My favorite part of a trip is early in the morning when the others are still asleep and I have my first cup of coffee by the fire. We all have occasions when everything in the universe seems to be in place and sitting by the fire early in the morning is usually such an occasion for me.
 
Evolute...I don't mean this in a mean way, so please don't take this wrong...but you sound like one weird duck.
Camp site without a campfire?? Sitting there staring out into the darkness.....you're freaking me out man....

Camping isn't camping without a campfire.
 
untamed said:
: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.
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A few thousand years? Mankind has been using fire as early as 750,000 years ago according to some researchers in Israel, 164,000 years ago in coastal South Africa, 15-20,000 years ago in North America. The ability of early man to not only make, but manipulate fire was very important in man's success as a species.

As mentioned, it became a communal focus. Wherever mankind spread, they took the gift of fire with them. Second only in importance of being able to manipulate fire and use it in many ways for many purposes was the ability to actually make fire.

I believe the advent of fire helped mankind improve their diets, remain alive in many hostile environments from which they would otherwise have been excluded. I also believe that the primal attraction to fire has become ingrained in human behavior just as has our propensity to make and improve tools and shelter. Fire became socially important in many ways in most cultures and remains so to this day.

I can camp without fire when it is required, but I prefer not to when there is no reason to prohibit a fire. Even when I do all of my cooking on a hiker stove, I build at least a small fire.

I know how to keep from smelling like smoke if that is an issue. I know how to keep my night vision and still have a campfire if that is an issue. I know how to use fire to make and improve tools and make some foods edible which would not be edible otherwise.

The ability to make and preserve fire, and utilize it to it's fullest extent has become a forgotten skill for many modern people. For them, though they still rely on it's use without realizing it, they do not have a personal connection with fire. I do. I have purposely cultivated that connection, one of man's earliest successes at manipulating his environment.
 
Sylvan said:
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.
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Thanks for the great advice. Truth be told, I never thought about that. I don't think I've been guilty of that, but it would be just like me to haul a bunch of wood with me for a fire.

One of the great things about this site is the number of different perspectives that are brought to bear on the most simple conversations.
 
Very interesting question E. I understand your way of doing things, but I really don't care for a night without a campfire. I have gone without willingly and very unwillingly and and it was psycholgically scarring.:rolleyes:

In all seriousness though, I love campfires for most of the reasons already posted. Codgers post hits home a bunch. One thing I will add is that working the campfire helps the kids learn many safety, work and sensory skills that are extremely numbed in more populated environs. It also keeps them from bugging me too much for something to do if they can feed the flames;)

I like smoke baths too.:p:D
 
rayban said:
Evolute...I don't mean this in a mean way, so please don't take this wrong...but you sound like one weird duck.
Camp site without a campfire?? Sitting there staring out into the darkness.....you're freaking me out man....

Camping isn't camping without a campfire.
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It only looks dark out there in comparison to the light of your fire. On a starlit night the world looks like a different place. Of course on a moonlit night it's all amazingly bright. Try getting away from your fire for a few hours and you'll find your eyes adjust. One of the things I really enjoy about camping is the lack of light pollution at night. One of the best times to see wildlife is at dusk through early night. Also at dawn, but then I like to up putting coffee on ...the fire.
 
I like fire.

Like others have said, it's a connection thing. It connects us with each other (my ancestors would gather around the hearth in their longhouses, and share stories, court love, and int he cold, sleep around the hearth. All the way up to the era of the electric stove, the hearth, or wood stove was the heart of the home.

For primitive man, fire also kept predators away, the smoke keeps insects off, kills many forms of dermatological fungus, etc. Not to mention it's a heavenly smell. It's also primitive deodorant -- not just for your dog, but get some smoke infused into your clothing and you don't reek to high heaven. BTW, I've found that while smoke will chase off animals at first, after a while, they get used to it, and don't run. May be just that I live in a very rural area, where people use woodstoves a lot.

We also have to understand that fire is the alchemist's tool. Fire changes things. None of our technology could exist without fire. Humans are tool makers, and making anything better than stone blades requires fire. Even wooden tools do best if fire hardened.

I find campfires to be an absolute necessity when you have several people together. It's still the focus of the camp.

Alone, it depends on my mood. I love a good fire, but I also like to prowl around at night. When I'm alone in the woods, I'm the predator. A good starry and/or moonlit night can be a wonder to see as well. So it really depends on my mood.
 
I've spent plenty of time in the woods w/o a campfire. It was called the infantry. Now I really appreciate a campfire. I enjoy every part of the process, from gathering tinder to dutch oven cooking, from adding the big fuel to watching the embers cool.
 
It seems i'm coming full-circle. When i was a strapping young lad, campfires were obvious. I mean, it was a simple aspect of setting up camp - wherever you were. This trend continued for many years and even into my military service (though fires were rarely used as they were *defintely* a tip-off to any opfor).

However, as i got more into mountains/mountaineering and long, fast hiking, fires became more work(?) than i had energy for. Also, the 'leave-no-trace' ideology had a big impact on me - it was sympathetic to my long, tired days on the trail/climb.

Now, as a Dad, i'm rekindling my firemaking skill set to teach my kids and for the simple enjoyment of them. I'm looking to buy a "Kelly Kettle" to add another avenue to make/use fire for when i'm spending time in the outdoors praying, reading my bible and/or just chilling out.
 
Unless there is an fire restriction I like fire all the time, and any of the time.

Fire to me can mean an outside traditional fire or I can have an fire in my Go-Lite Shangra La 4 or 12 man Kifaru tipi, of course contained in a woodstove.

Either way I really like an fire, and when it's cold out my tipi and Arctic stove simply heat up the atomphere.
 
Why have one? That's easy.

Keeps

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or

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away...

But seriously, have not tried without.

To me just a part of the experience.

It bring up the primitive "comfort" feeling, and is very relaxing.

Yes, I do enjoy treks away from it to get the sensory exposures of the dark/quiet/smells/sounds, but thoroughly enjoy the crackling fire.

Not to add food prep/water/heat etc.
 
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It's only when it is really cold that you need a fire - but most of us light one because we like them. Actually even camping in cold weather I tend to wear the right gear so that I don't NEED a fire - I don't think that I have ever been in a situation where fire was essential (even in frost or snow). But that doesn't mean it isn't important to have one.

When I'm with a group the fire is something to sit around while chatting. When I'm on my own I like to practice fire prep and fire making as useful survival skills.
 
This thread has a lot of talk about something called a "fire". What's that?
 
jgon said:
This thread has a lot of talk about something called a "fire". What's that?
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A rapid oxidation of cellulose matter which converts said matter into radiant heat, vapors and ash byproduct. Oh, and carbon.
 
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