camp fires and nylon tarps.

[GREEN THERAPY]

Advice appreciated. Looking for stories on how to have a campfire in the rain without burning holes in a nylon or tyvek tarp to sit under. Have done it once with a small fire ( with no damage to tarp) and am wondering if anyone has insightful advice on the subject. With the sun going down earlier its nice to have a fire to sit by for a bit of the evening before heading to the hammock. Could be its just wishful thinking on my part .... buttttt?????

[Cannibal]

I did that this past weekend. Lots and lots and lots of rain and I decided I wanted a fire. I had seen a small wood burning stove that Zelph made over at WhiteBlaze and put one together late last week.

It makes a fire with a flame maybe 14" high if you really load it up with fuel. It really makes a nice little fire to sit by and roast a hot dog if so desired. I was using my Sportsman 9x9 and did not find any heat damage to the tarp. I did this two night in a row. If I had to guess, I'd say there was about 5' seperation between the flame and the tarp with a pretty steady breeze.

[smithobx]

My advice is to get a good alcohol (no flare ups) stove and carry a few extra ounces of fuel. A wood fire under a tarp is just too risky.

[Rapt]

Any sparks will put holes in your tarp amongst other issues... Then you have a leaky tarp....

[headchange4u]

I have made fires under my tarp but I try and build them under the peak of the tarp so that I have the greatest distance possible between the fire and tarp. I also kept the fire really small.

A small wood burning stove with a mesh screen on top to help stop sparks from escaping might be the best bet.

[slowhike]

it can be done, but it's a risk to consider.
i've not yet chosen to take that risk. i know that even a clean burning fire will occasionally send up a few sparks, & if they still have enough hot substance to them when they reach your tarp, they will likely put a hole (or two) in your tarp.

if i were going to do it, hopefully i would be in a place protected from wind & i could put one side of the tarp up really high (lean-to) & not have the hammock up.
but most likely i wouldn't even take a chance w/ my sleep system & shelter. i rarely build a fire any more while backpacking, even in the winter, although it can be nice to sit around one & talk sometimes. and when we do, the fire is a little ways from the tarps.

if i were to know in advance that i would really want a fire & chances of rain were good, i might take a separate tarp (silnylon or plastic?) & use that as a high lean to for the fire. ...tim

[GREEN THERAPY]

Thanks for the replys. I am considering taking a tyvek tarp ( 9x9 ) or so and keeping it seperate from main hammock and tarp setup by about 20 feet or so. Have a better idea now as to what youz guys are doing and that helps.