PSA: Stupid, Moronic Firebuilding Bushcrafter Fail

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pinnah

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Jul 28, 2011
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I really dig campfires. Let's establish that right at the front of this.

But please... Don't be a stupid, ignorant fool about building fires and cutting down foliage.

I took a nice backpacking trip to Mt. Garfield in NH last week. The summit is around 4500 and it's surrounded by boreal/krumholtz. This is a super fragile ecosystem with very, very thin soil and where the birch and black spruce are forced into dwarf status by the constant wind exposure.

How would your average ignorant bushcrafter know this? Because in an effort to minimize damage, the USFS/AMC has posted small informational signs along the trail as you enter the alpine zone urging people to use extra caution.

So what does an aspiring young bushcrafter do when in the alpine krumholtz? Why they whip out their folding saw and they frickin' cut down life black spruce like this.

Stupid knife use by Pinnah, on Flickr

This was one of about a dozen cuts that that I found not more than 10 paces from the alpine zone sign. Seriously? What kind of stupid, ignorant fool does this?

And why would the fool do this? Simple. They wanted to build a fire. Right there on the open duff.

Stupid Fire Ring by Pinnah, on Flickr

Notice a couple of things about this fire fail.

First, it didn't burn well because the moron was using newly cut living wood. Get a clue moron. Stick to dead fall.

Second, the idiot made zero attempt to clean up his mess. Crappy fire ring. Embers weren't distributed. Trash left in the coals. TRASH!

Third, the putz made his fire in an alpine zone breaking a well known and highly publicized regulation. The regulation is there for a reason moron. This soil and these trees just can't absorb the impact of a fire.

If you're starting out in bushcraft, please get a clue. Keep your fire making in places where the land can handle it. In New England, stick to lower elevation hard woods and stick to harvesting the plentiful dead fall, which burns better. Clean up after yourself and read about leave no trace camping. Better yet, consider getting a portable wood stove so you can have your fire without causing undue damage.

I love fires. But this is just beyond the pale.
 
Shotgun, yes.

I cleaned up the sight distributing the coals and charred rocks deeper into the underbrush and placed all of the unburned, freshly cut limbs over the sight to discourage future use. (The spot is clearly a commonly used bivy sight, which, while illegal by the book, are sometimes used by winter climbers in the Whites. I don't mind that as I would rather stumble across one single compacted bivy spot than find 12 different spots all that show some amount of use.)

The second day, we were on the summit with the AMC caretaker from the nearby shelter and I showed him the spot and what I did to clean it up. So at least he can monitor the site this summer. But to be honest, he'll have his hands full with lost hikers and shoveling feces in the composter at his site.

So sad to see hikers fouling up fragile high use areas like this. It's sort of like having a dog or cat that's in the habit of peeing on the couch in the TV room. I've really no tolerance for it.
 
Every so often I find rubbish, disturbed moss/lichen and traces of fires on my property from these ignoramuses who do without thinking. One it is private property and two the lichen they are disturbing takes hundreds of years or thousands of years to grow back. :(
 
This occurs everywhere it seems. One of the many reasons I like my Emberlit. There is enough unburned matter from that guy's firepit to cook three meals on my little twig stove and to enjoy a small evening fire before retiring for the evening. And my cleanup consists of burying a small handfull of ash or scattering it to the winds. Not to mention that those rocks will forevermore be fire blackened. All the more reason why I don't carry a saw, hatchet, axe or huge chopper knife. In fact, I often take dry hickory wood with me.
 
Codger_64 said:
This occurs everywhere it seems. One of the many reasons I like my Emberlit. There is enough unburned matter from that guy's firepit to cook three meals on my little twig stove and to enjoy a small evening fire before retiring for the evening. And my cleanup consists of burying a small handfull of ash or scattering it to the winds. Not to mention that those rocks will forevermore be fire blackened. All the more reason why I don't carry a saw, hatchet, axe or huge chopper knife. In fact, I often take dry hickory wood with me.
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I've been giving serious thought to this idea. I don't make fires outside of established pits but it makes sense weight wise to carry a stove and small knife rather than a big knife. It would also free me up for having a hot drink or a warm lunch when I'm away from a campsite. But dang, I sure do like large knives. I'd probably still end up carrying a big bowie in order to split some twigs for the stove. :D
 
pinnah said:
Shotgun, yes.

I cleaned up the sight distributing the coals and charred rocks deeper into the underbrush and placed all of the unburned, freshly cut limbs over the sight to discourage future use. (The spot is clearly a commonly used bivy sight, which, while illegal by the book, are sometimes used by winter climbers in the Whites. I don't mind that as I would rather stumble across one single compacted bivy spot than find 12 different spots all that show some amount of use.)

The second day, we were on the summit with the AMC caretaker from the nearby shelter and I showed him the spot and what I did to clean it up. So at least he can monitor the site this summer. But to be honest, he'll have his hands full with lost hikers and shoveling feces in the composter at his site.

So sad to see hikers fouling up fragile high use areas like this. It's sort of like having a dog or cat that's in the habit of peeing on the couch in the TV room. I've really no tolerance for it.
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I hear ya. Do you know how many "survival shelters" I've seen off the side of trails. I don't mean 10-20 yards off the trail, I mean 2 feet off the trail. They're pitiful excuses for shelters too. I'd rather sleep under a tree than any of the shelters I have ever seen.
 
This sort of thing burns me up too. I am glad to see some people here are stewards to our great outdoors. Sometimes it seems like people think ruining it for the next generations isn't enough-they need to step it up so things disappear during this generation.
 
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How do we know this was done by a bushcrafter and not some drunken kid or anyone else for that matter? I actually don't mind the occasional fire ring or ash pile as rocks and ash are part of the natural world, granted if over done it isn't nice to look at. Also a no go in places which ground fires are illegal. The trash on the other hand is a bummer. I pack other people's trash out if possible.
 
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Probably aspiring young bushcrafter was the most polite term pinnah could come up with. I don't think people understand sustainable behavior. When one person does something, its not that big of a deal. But we all need to act like 1000 or 10,000 others will do the same thing in the same spot. Lighting a poorly thought out fire there is upsetting. the potential for a ground fire is there, and why cut so much wood? it seems needlessly destructive. Behavior like that ruins trails. Hopefully whoever did it learns to behave themselves in the future.
 
Farnsrocket said:
What a douche!
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Or inexperienced and untaught. I like the idea of looking around a campsite I am leaving and seeing no sign that I was there. Usually after picking up other people's trash as well. Not everyone has the knowledge or mentoring to develop good LNT habits. And a few have a sense of entitlement from their everyday life that they carry with them to the woods and streams. Teach those whom you can. And do your part to pick up after the others.
 
Thats bad to see .

I have pictures of my family when I was a kid in the 1970s , doing equally dumb things to the environment .. and now the area we camped in is a suburban development area ... overgrown by the town

My dad was fresh from the city , learning with his family . Everyone starts somewhere , I thank him for his efforts .
 
This is very irritating because not only does it destroy in more ways-than-one but it is one more nail in the coffin of potentially more restrictions on public land which impacts us all. People set up targets and then shoot on turn outs and in public rock pits only to leave a mess of broken glass, casings, and wet targets nailed to live trees. And like it this incident they cut down live trees, build a rock fire pit and then leave the mess...it is either due to pure ignorance (they don't know any better), drunkenness/drugs, or stupidity. Stupidity means they knew better and did it anyway.

Damage is damage is damage...what get's me is why those who are more enlightened have to construct new fire pits lined with rocks. All that does is permanently scar the rocks leaving behind an eye sore that someone was here. For century's our forefathers scratched the duff back and secured it for later reclamation, then built their fire with NO rocks and when done evened out the charcoal so it can return to nature and recovered the duff on top once it was safe to do so. It looks like no one was ever there! Why do we have to put rocks around our fires and leave them for a permanent eye-sore? Where in the code of bushcrafting does it say we have to use rocks around a fire only to become later a pit for people to crap in, dump trash in, and to break glass in or to leave half burnt logs in?

Now for those who say rocks mitigate sparks or stop the fire from spreading tells me they've never had a fire without rocks before...fires are all about taking personal responsibility and rock rings do not substitute for proper fire control and management.

Also dead and injured trees are dead and injured trees...we get upset when the ignorant, drunk, or stupid cut down live trees for non-essential/emergency shelters or fires...but some among us turn around and stick blades/axes/hatchets into live trees for "vanity photo ops" only to have those trees later drip sap, have an open sore for insects, disease, and potentially death or stunted growth. I'm not perfect and certainly not throwing stones...just saying we all have a job to do to preserve what little freedom and liberty we have in/on our public lands. Let's start setting the example rather than being the example.
 
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One person learns, becomes enlightened, practices good behavior, and teaches others. Then repeat.
 
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