group camping trip planned need games.

[solobiker]

Camping stove, layers, look at the stars and then go to bed. Cooking on fire is dirty, ineffecient, and wrecks your pots

I detest campfires, and here's why
destructive - once you get out of developed campground, people do incredibly destructive things in the name of having a fire. Multiple fire rings, stripping a forest of down fall, leaving their garbage in it. Few people put fire out correctly.

Who here has ever heard the term "white man fire"? Most people don't know how to build a small utilitarian fire. They think bigger is better. You can cook on a small fire better than a big one.

If you are depending on a fire for warmth, you haven't brought the right kind of clothes and gear. Former snow camper here, I've camped in tents down into the zeros.

I agree 100% with you. We have camped/backpacked in all sorts of temps. Once the sun goes down enjoy the sky. It is spectacular. There is no need for a fire. Here in CO durring the summer when camping, especially at elevation the temps can drop to the 20-30s and all we have to do is put an extra layer on and a hat and we are fine.

[derailed]

We like to bring the game "Apples to Apples" when we have more than 4 people coming.

[Tuckervill]

I don't camp in February unless it's warm enough (like today!) to be outside without a coat. I don't camp when it's really cold, because I like to be warm at least PART of every day!

But there have been times when a night got cooler than we planned for (like when it drops from 90 to 45 overnight), where a campfire for staying warm is necessary.

I know all about campfire cooking. I do mostly Dutch oven cooking, so coals are what you need and a big fire is just not needed.

I also live in a part of the country where water is abundant, forest fires are a concern but not a constant threat, and I camp on a gravel bank of a river--unless I happen to be in a campground, in which case I have a lot of stuff in my car and no reason to use the fire ring.

I guess there's not a one size fits all with the campfire. When I was a Campfire USA leader, I was often puzzled by some of the advice in the books we were given. They just didn't apply to where we lived. Written by people out west, I guess.

Karen