We're just back from a weekend of camping -- two days without showers and without flushing toilets. Our diet relied a little too heavily on marshmallows and now everything we own smells like campfire, but we had a wonderful time.
We had four impressive fires and, while campfires themselves aren't the greenest thing ever, we did our best.
All of our wood was salvaged.
Our friends raided a dumpster at a construction site (after asking permission) and brought along a chopped up pallet. We contributed some bamboo roll-up blinds. We saw them in front of a neighbors house. They'd set them out to with the trash, but we thought they'd make perfect kindling.
We were right! Everything burned really well and, aside from one log that the kids at the campsite over insisted on sharing with us, it was all salvaged material that would have ended up in the trash otherwise.
Where do you get your wood before a camping trip?
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
i don't see how this is greener than using sticks and logs gathered up from the ground around your campsite. the stuff you were burning was likely pressure treated, lacquered, or otherwise full of chemicals. burning it releases those chemicals and at the very least is NOT health to cook with...
view closertotheocean's profile
Hmmm, I've been told that it's best to get it from the park or site you are staying at. In Wisconsin, it has to come from within 30 miles of your site because they don't want you to introduce non-local, invasive pests.
view SheHasMoxie.blogspot.com's profile
Careful! Make sure the wood hasn't been treated with anything, otherwise you're breathing in toxic fumes and releasing them into the atmosphere.
view BrendanL's profile
In Ontario there is worry about invasive pests so the provincial parks sell fire wood, about $6.00 /bag (a bag lasts me 1 day with 3 meals). All proceeds go back to the park system. You can get a hefty fine for gathering wood from around your campsite. That wood is part of the forest and should be left to decompose.
view wally's profile