I suspect I'm just thinking aloud here...
I've been thinking about this for a while, and wondering why lighting a fire seems to be almost automatic amongst bushcrafters and outdoor types like us.
So far as I can see, there are three main reasons for lighting a fire
1. Survival - you need the heat, or possibly the smoke to send a signal. Without the fire you would be in trouble.
2. Cooking (also for sterilisation purposes for wateretc)
3. Socially. It gives you something to sit around - a focus for the group in the evening.
I don't really buy into the 'fire as light' argument, since we all carry torches, and if you need the fire as your only source of light then you are propbably in a survival situation.
It was point three that I was considering. Do we always need a fire, or are we sometime guilty of just buring wood for the sake of it? For most of us, with a decent sleeping bag and shelter system, a fire isn't really essential in order to keep us warm, especially once we have eaten some hot food. I solo camp a lot, and I usually let my woodburning stove go out once the meal is done. I get into my sleeping bag and I've been warm all night, even when camping in snow in the depths of winter.
I see some threads (and have seen some people) where the amount of wood collected and subsequently burned seems to be enormous, for conditions when the temperature is nowhere near low enough for a fire to be a necessity for warmth.
Now, I don't want to start an argument, and no criticism is intended of anyone, but I do wonder whether we sometimes light a fire unnecessarily, and burn more wood than we should.
Thoughts anyone? I would welcome opinions here, as I'm not entirely sure where I stand on this myself. After all, firelighting is very satisfying, and watching a fire burn is fascinating.
I've been thinking about this for a while, and wondering why lighting a fire seems to be almost automatic amongst bushcrafters and outdoor types like us.
So far as I can see, there are three main reasons for lighting a fire
1. Survival - you need the heat, or possibly the smoke to send a signal. Without the fire you would be in trouble.
2. Cooking (also for sterilisation purposes for wateretc)
3. Socially. It gives you something to sit around - a focus for the group in the evening.
I don't really buy into the 'fire as light' argument, since we all carry torches, and if you need the fire as your only source of light then you are propbably in a survival situation.
It was point three that I was considering. Do we always need a fire, or are we sometime guilty of just buring wood for the sake of it? For most of us, with a decent sleeping bag and shelter system, a fire isn't really essential in order to keep us warm, especially once we have eaten some hot food. I solo camp a lot, and I usually let my woodburning stove go out once the meal is done. I get into my sleeping bag and I've been warm all night, even when camping in snow in the depths of winter.
I see some threads (and have seen some people) where the amount of wood collected and subsequently burned seems to be enormous, for conditions when the temperature is nowhere near low enough for a fire to be a necessity for warmth.
Now, I don't want to start an argument, and no criticism is intended of anyone, but I do wonder whether we sometimes light a fire unnecessarily, and burn more wood than we should.
Thoughts anyone? I would welcome opinions here, as I'm not entirely sure where I stand on this myself. After all, firelighting is very satisfying, and watching a fire burn is fascinating.