.JPG) "if we dig down far enough" "as long as we make sure it's put out" "
Fires are great -agreed - makes it a bit special - I make fires but please - use a fire box or do it on rock/shingle DO NOT LET THEM DIG A FIRE PIT ON DARTMOOR (well, not if it's dry anyway!) The soil is peat based - i.e a fuel . I have seen fires which have spread underground and popped up after they were 'put out' - over a week later .
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 "if we dig down far enough" "as long as we make sure it's put out" "
Fires are great -agreed - makes it a bit special - I make fires but please - use a fire box or do it on rock/shingle DO NOT LET THEM DIG A FIRE PIT ON DARTMOOR (well, not if it's dry anyway!) The soil is peat based - i.e a fuel . I have seen fires which have spread underground and popped up after they were 'put out' - over a week later .
Yeah I have pointed out that digging down in peat soil is a bad plan. My male friends 'wimped' out of wild camping, as they didn't want to carry a weeks worth of gear + food with them. Now we're car camping, but walking to somewhere to camp. I am the only girl going, so its 3 versus 1! :/
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 Next point - toilet trowels. Please make sure everyone carries and uses a trowel to bury their waste. By the way, apologies for going on about the 'warden'. It was him I was getting at, not you.
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Lol they have absolutely no problem with digging a hole to poop in, they just seem to have issue with me telling them not to have a fire! Who is this warden anyways?
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 Gini, 'the warden' is a dead scary guy going by the name of TFS, a reference to The F... absolutely delightful... Spaniel that he owns. I've never actually met him (probably a good thing), but he is ubiquitous on Dartmoor. ;-)
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Gini, There are a number of reasons why digging a fire pit is a really bad idea. First of..on the moors, cos they are moors, you will be digging into peat based soil - and as stated elsewhere, peat is fuel. The GREAT nightmare for fire services in any peat soil area is s subsurface fire - it can smoulder for months, popping up in odd places and at intervals. But if its wet enough...then your friends will have a justification in saying what a load of rubbish. Secondly, there is the pollution. Depending on the fuel (and I will presume plain ordinary sticks and bits of tree at this point) there will be ash left. Wood ash is quite a good fertiliser - which you may think is a good thing, but for many moor plants it is a bad thing, They just cant tolerate the raised nutrient levels If you use something else - waste wood etc, there is a possibility of various chemicals and heavy metals as well. Thirdly there is the ecology itself. Many moor plants are very slow growing and so really dont like being disturbed - disturbed by being dug over to make a fire pit. Basically, burning a fire in a fire pit or on the surface can be hugely destructive to what is a fragile ecology...so what now? Fire Box is the way foreward. Firebox has a number of advantage - no pit or surface burn, ash is kept confined for disposal elsewhere/later, very little risk of the fire getting out of control and (I think) they are actually warmer. Cheap BBQ on legs will do nicely.
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 There used to be a farmer just up from Hexworthy ,towards Dartmeet who for a small consideration would let you camp by the river on one of his pastures ,and let you burn his dead wood for him .
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That's him. TFS - that's the one. The miserable git.
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Oh see now I don't know if you're all pulling my leg about this warden now or not :/ (will check out the farm though, thanks)
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So a Honey Stove? for a camp fire?  they're tiny - need constant feeding of pencil stub sized twigs to boil a pan of water
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Sorry Mole, I was going slightly off topic. I don't think we should be lighting fires on the moor. As has been said, dangerous and bad for the ecosystem. I wondered a) could the original poster sell the idea to her compadres as an alternative, and b) does any one find the idea of a Honey Stove (fire risk, environmental) objectionable?
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I don't have a Honey Stove yet...but am planning to get one in next few weeks for camping on the moor.
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Dont see the point - honey stove is designed for cooking over, not sitting round getting mellow.... And yes, many of the objections to a fire could just as easily apply to a honey stove - you would have to use it on a heatproof/non flammable base, be very careful about cinders/ashes etc etc etc. But as it is so much physically smaller, dealing with the issues should be easier
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anyone have and details of the mining history of zoar particuly the loading platform ?
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| Edited: 24/10/11 21:17 |
 They wouldn't need to carry a weeks worth of food. All you need to do is plan a circular walk for one or two nights then back to the car to re stock with food and drive to another area and explore that.. I'm sure you all would find that more enjoyable and rewarding. Also if you do get lost in the mist you've got everything you need to stay the night.
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