High Sierra Topix

After dinner when it is cold, I go to bed and listen to music!

I have found it useful to dry clothes by a fire when in very rainy conditions. Not that you get them totally dry, but dry enough. But then you smell like bum!

All fires have some impact, so I hesitate to build a fire when I solo. Seems a little excessive. I seldom build a fire just to sit around it - either I cook fish or dry clothes. My husband likes fires. We build very small fires, mostly to cook fish. No need for bonfires. The weather in the Sierra just is not nasty enough to justify lots fires. I build more fires when I backpack in the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming. But I certainly understand the allure of a nice campfire. For those of us who grew up with campfires, it is a part of the wilderness experience.

rlown wrote:Here's a concept.. This is the wrong time of year to even think of burning given the lack of rain. Just get over the campfire concept. It's not that hard.

Bring your stove.. make sure there's no punk near it, and cook your food that way.

Why is this hard?

Exactly!

fifty percent of forest fires are caused by campfires. a google search will give you pages of examples, including the one in may that threatened the community of mariposa.

AlmostThere wrote:fifty percent of forest fires are caused by campfires. a google search will give you pages of examples, including the one in may that threatened the community of mariposa.

OK, there are lots of stupid people in the world. But how those statistic related to me and my husband who are extremely cautious and experienced with fire and never introduced any problem in decades of intensive backpacking?

Please do not take folks concerns personal Satsuma, we all here love the Sierra, and
some will speak up sometimes strongly in her defense, warranted or not.

Satsuma wrote:

AlmostThere wrote:fifty percent of forest fires are caused by campfires. a google search will give you pages of examples, including the one in may that threatened the community of mariposa.

OK, there are lots of stupid people in the world. But how those statistic related to me and my husband who are extremely cautious and experienced with fire and never introduced any problem in decades of intensive backpacking?

It's related because I am certain that there are hundreds of people out there hiking who think that the rules or the risks or the warnings do not apply to them, ignore them, and through no real fault of their own - stuff happens.

Hundreds of people think the bans on fires don't apply to them. Hundreds of people never imagine they will ever develop hypothermia or altitude sickness. Hundreds of people decide that because they have not gotten lost the last 100 times they went backpacking, they won't get lost this time. Hundreds of people decide that because the last 100 times they did not get hurt, they won't get hurt this time.

Some of those people make the same mistakes or just get unlucky, and have a problem.

It pays to think about the risks and continue to be vigilant, in spite of one's safety record. Because every season people get hurt, lost, accidentally start fires in a moment of inattention or even pay the ultimate price for their simply being in the wrong place at the wrong moment. Sometimes some of my friends - Search and Rescue volunteers, rangers, fire fighters - pay the ultimate price trying to step in and make a difference in those instances.

I'm merely sticking reminders on the internet... take from it what is useful, please keep up the good work in not risking yourself or others.

AlmostThere wrote:
I'm merely sticking reminders on the internet... take from it what is useful, please keep
up the good work in not risking yourself or others.

Which is very useful and informational, but let us direct this towards everyone out
there in another thread and not seemingly piling it on a member(new).
Thank You.

maverick wrote:

AlmostThere wrote:
I'm merely sticking reminders on the internet... take from it what is useful, please keep
up the good work in not risking yourself or others.

Which is very useful and informational, but let us direct this towards everyone out
there in another thread and not seemingly piling it on a member(new).
Thank You.

Someday, someone might give me some slack given liberally to others... won't hold my breath.

This is always the internet, always public, and not always personal. Very rarely personal. I try not to take it as such, a lesson learned when screens were amber and digits transmitted at a mere crawl.

Your message delivery comes off as extremely over dramatic. Although I completely agree with you, people that don't know any better, but think they do will not hear it.

Yes, I agree. Despite the sincerity of your intentions you appeared to be implying that Satsuma was planning to violate the fire bans. I could understand someone taking that personally whether you meant it that way or not.