It seemed a great find, and although it was sodden, through and through, I fished it out and hauled it back to my base camp.
Every day going to and from work, I'd consider this round. In a fit of inspiration, I decided to make an Indian Bowl, thus killing two birds, as it were, with one stone.
After allowing this round to dry for two weeks, I began my project. Every night, after work, while sitting outside, I would place a few scraps of paper, two inches of mosquito "coil" (found in the junk drawer bin on location) and a bit of candle wax in the middle of the disk. Then, I'd light it on fire. The smoke wasn't too bad and the silver lining was it kept the hoards of mosquitoes at bay.
By utilizing small scraps of paper, bits of candle wax, and twigs, my mini campfire is sustainable and accomplishing multiple tasks. Getting rid of trash, keeping the bugs at bay, providing needed companionship, giving much needed light.
As a Leave No Trace educator, I found this campfire very rewarding. The land is not scared and the resources are not depleted.
Each morning before leaving for work, I scrape out the ashes, thus creating a bowl. When the season is over, I'll have a great souvenir of my season as Ridgerunner, stationed in the Gulf Hagas, 30 miles north of Monson, in the world renown 100 mile Wilderness of Maine.
Special notes: the metal plate below my campfire has one cup of water in it, thus preventing the base from getting too hot and scorching the platform.
Nearby, I keep a gallon of water, and metal bucket, should I need to extinguish the fire.
Before going to bed, I insure the fire is out, even scraping down to insure there are no glowing embers.
I never walk away from the fire, regardless how small it is. My home, the tent, is just a few feet away.
If there were high winds, I would not even attempt to have a fire, taking the road of caution, always.
Happy trails.
A complete video has been posted to my you tube channel. Other videos I've embedded here, seem to get cropped.
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