[pct-l] Permanent Campfire Ban on PCT?

Brick Robbins brick at brickrobbins.com
Sat Sep 15 18:26:43 CDT 2012


Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Today, my wife and I live in the hills above Agua Dulce - not far from the PCT. The winds come from that direction. Highway 14 separates Agua Dulce from the mountains and the PCT from where a fire might come. That, and my past experiences, is why I'm more concerned than most. <

With 2600 miles of PCT, there are a lot of varied environments. Some
areas are very wildfire prone, and extreme caution is warranted

Other areas are usually quite safe from wildfires.

In the same way, some eco systems are quite sensitive to having the
downed wood burned, others have an abundance, and less dead-fall would
probably be a good thing.

Any stove makes fire, and fire can be dangerous. I once watched an
o-ring blow out in a compressed gas stove and become a flaming rocket,
setting the local area ablaze. I've used a soda can stove thousands of
miles and never had a problem.

Most of the PCT lacks sufficient use to keep the tread clear, so using
over used areas like the Rae Lakes loop as an example really isn't
valid. AND thru hikers make up an tiny,tiny percentage of trail users.

The idea of a blanket fire ban for the whole PCT, or opposition to one
particular type of stove, IMHO, just doesn't make any sense

HYOH, YMMV.



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