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campfires

Vanderpooch - 11-21-2009 at 10:33 PM

I will be traveling up and down Baja for the first time and will be mostly boondock camping. are campfires common? is is easy to find wood? what do I need to know about having fires while traveling and camping in Baja??

Thanks!

Sharksbaja - 11-21-2009 at 10:56 PM

"are campfires common?"

I saw one once IT WAS HOT! :lol:

Welcome aboard!

Yes very common. In fact you may be in trouble w/o one!

Wood usually no problem.

There are many wildfires in Baja, mostly in the north and sierras. Use extreme caution in dry grassy areas. I think fires are regulated in the Parques.

Beach camping is always the safest obviously but use good sense regardless.

[Edited on 11-22-2009 by Sharksbaja]

Barry A. - 11-21-2009 at 11:29 PM

I almost always have campfires, but I bring my own wood-----it's a desert, and wood is at a premium, and the locals need all that is there for cooking.

On the Pacific side, on the beach, there is usually drift wood however.

Barry

Vanderpooch - 11-22-2009 at 06:38 AM

Is there any problems bringin firewood across the border?
I have had problems bringing out of state wood into State forestst before.

Is making fires right on the sand Kosher?

[Edited on 11-22-2009 by Vanderpooch]

shari - 11-22-2009 at 07:29 AM

welcome to Nomadlandia pooch...you will LOVE baja too.
One thing that sometimes bothers me on an otherwise pristine sandy beach...are the black sooty fire pits that strew charcoal all around and get everything black. I suggest either using an existing fire ring or if you must make a new fire pit...make it deep and then bury it well when you leave...no trace camping would be great amigo.
At our surf breaks here on the mid west coast, you'll need a suit for sure but the water is usually still in the low 70's in january/february...definately swimmable without a suit but ya may want to suit up to be comfortable surfing...at least ya dont need a hood and gloves like in Tofiino BC!!!

Vanderpooch - 11-22-2009 at 08:47 AM

Quote:

no trace camping would be great amigo.

That's always been my style and I thought that that would probably be an issue on the beaches. I was looking at something like this but the cost is high dollar.
Snow Peak Medium Pack & Carry Fireplace

How does one acquire fire wood without taking the locals supply?

surfer jim - 11-22-2009 at 08:51 AM

Not sure about southbound but you can't bring any back to the states....

shari - 11-22-2009 at 09:26 AM

there is firewood around...either driftwood, or you can ask local mexicanos to bring you some nice mesquite and buy it...providing beer money to the locals...surfers often burn the old dried up century agave plants
I Sure wouldnt bother with the high price fire thingy.

Terry28 - 11-22-2009 at 09:43 AM

Surfer Jim....your mistaken dude...I bring back pickup loads of cut firewood all the time. I get a load of oak for about $50. At the border all they ever check for is that it is soil free....and no one is hiding under it....

Here's a good cheap, maybe free, portable fireplace.

Pompano - 11-22-2009 at 10:10 AM

Washer Tub.

You can find these all over the place..just ask in your area or dismantle an old washer yourself. Easy, cheap, and last forever. It's a bit bulky, so make it do double-duty when transporting, fill it with firewood, camp gear,, etc. Improvise.

A huge plus is leaving no mess behind you. have a ball in Baja!

[Edited on 11-22-2009 by Pompano]

washer tub as fireplace.jpg - 7kB

Udo - 11-22-2009 at 10:27 AM

Quote:

I was looking at something like this but the cost is high dollar.
Snow Peak Medium Pack & Carry Fireplace

QUE ES?[/B]

David K - 11-22-2009 at 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Terry28
Surfer Jim....your mistaken dude...I bring back pickup loads of cut firewood all the time. I get a load of oak for about $50. At the border all they ever check for is that it is soil free....and no one is hiding under it....

Oh no he's not... at least in my case: I had a bundle of store bought firewood... wrapped in platic with the lable and handle... from the grocery store. We didn't use it, and obviously being from the U.S., and packaged... I was going to use it next trip.

At Tecate, the gaurd sent us to secondary only because of that packaged wood (no soil)... and they took it and sent us on our way! That was about 4 years ago. There was a small mountain of firewood bundles ours was tossed onto!

Terry, I can hardly believe you bring commercail quantities of firewood into the U.S. from Mexico without special permits or with the blessing of Mexico...?

In some parts of Baja (Bahia de los Angeles) under ejido control... they want you to buy 'ejido' firewood (leña) and not gather your own.

In Baja, if you do gather your own dead wood... be careful of scorpions who love to live in it!

One special Baja fire feature is tossing in some copper ore (many copper mines around Baja) and after several minutes the ore causes color changes in the flames... Paulina calls them MAGIC ROCKS!

It is hard to capture on film, but here is one taken by Bedman at Camp Gecko:

and I tried to capture it, not as good as Bedman!:

HAVE FUN!

[Edited on 11-22-2009 by David K]

Barry A. - 11-22-2009 at 10:50 AM

I have always brought wood back from Baja that I took down in the first place from the USA------nobody has EVER even asked me about it. I have my wood on top of my camper, in a storage box, so maybe they never knew ?!?!?!?

Barry

Bajahowodd - 11-22-2009 at 01:53 PM

Bringing your own wood or buying it from the locals is the best way. You don't deplete the local supply without giving something back. Back in the day, before I decided that hot showers and A/C were important, that's what we did.

woody with a view - 11-22-2009 at 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by soulpatch
As common as anywhere else. If there are dead agave around they burn great.
Have fun.

like the man said. these dried up, dead agave are EVERYWHERE. bring some rope and drag them back to camp with your truck. get out on the sand where the tide will wash the burnt scar away tomorrow. with a splash of charcoal lighter fluid they burn HOT so watch out for spiders/scorpions/snakes trying to get away!!!! :light:

Terry28 - 11-22-2009 at 04:17 PM

David K..I have been buying wood and bringing it back for over 10 years..never a problem...and I always cross at San Ysidiro....oak for $50 +_ is a very good deal for me....and the guys that sell the wood are happy as well...they say it comes from their ranch in the hills outside of Rosarito

wilderone - 11-22-2009 at 11:18 PM

that fire in the photo above is not a campfire. That's just an uncontrolled burn of dead foliage. Do a little better and make a small campfire - enough to cook or keep you warm, without hacking down and destroying anything that is still IN the ground -- only something that is laying about. There are many desert species that go dormant in winter and they look dead, but they are not. And, like turtles and other endangered stuff in Baja California, mesquite has been over harvested which is impacting the prevalence of this plant where it should thrive. Just bring your own, or collect wood on the side of the road, or buy oak if it's available - but don't buy mesquite or ironwood to burn for firewood. And please don't make any new fire rings where there are others already available, and don't throw garbage in it that won't burn, or toss bottles in it and leave them there, etc., etc. I'm sure you understand if you practice "leave no trace." Always a good thing. And if you're some place where there are multiple fire rings, you can do everyone a favor by breaking up the old fire rings and restoring the area like it should look. I know that's probably not the answer you were looking for, but the old Baja took a lot of abuse - it's time now to repair some of the damage when we can. Thank you.

Crusoe - 11-23-2009 at 12:30 AM

Good ON YA Wilderone---Tell it like it is........++C++

bog - 11-23-2009 at 08:08 AM

try a weber smokey joe bbq. they are small and pack well. you cook your food and the coals stay hot so adding a 3 hour match log is perfect. you will get plenty of heat. take out the top grill and add the log. these log burn clean and are also easy to pack. you don't have to destroy the local plants or leave a ugly mess on the beach or any where you camp. leave no trace

Pompano - 11-23-2009 at 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Vanderpooch
....what do I need to know about having fires while traveling and camping in Baja??

Thanks!

You will have no problems with campfires or firewood if you follow all these good suggestions.

However..You DO need to know that CHUPACABRAS live in Baja campfires.

Have fun with them on your trip and write a report when you get time.
.

Martyman - 11-23-2009 at 09:18 AM

After the firewood you need some tequila and a few songs to liven up the occasion

woody with a view - 11-23-2009 at 01:30 PM

c'mon Wilderone! how can you say that is not controlled burn? surrounded by sand at least 30' on 3 sides and the ocean on another. the stuff was DEAD. already fallen over DEAD. we didn't yank it out, you don't have to. next day the tide erased all evidence.

i guess i'm just saying that other than polluting the night sky with smoke there was nothing wrong with the picture...

bajabass - 11-23-2009 at 01:50 PM

The washer tub is a great idea. I have one in the backyard in La Mision. The Smokey Joe is a little small. For 2 or 3 people maybe. Try a VW engine case, :lol:

Barry A. - 11-23-2009 at 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wilderone
that fire in the photo above is not a campfire. That's just an uncontrolled burn of dead foliage. Do a little better and make a small campfire - enough to cook or keep you warm, without hacking down and destroying anything that is still IN the ground -- only something that is laying about. There are many desert species that go dormant in winter and they look dead, but they are not. And, like turtles and other endangered stuff in Baja California, mesquite has been over harvested which is impacting the prevalence of this plant where it should thrive. Just bring your own, or collect wood on the side of the road, or buy oak if it's available - but don't buy mesquite or ironwood to burn for firewood. And please don't make any new fire rings where there are others already available, and don't throw garbage in it that won't burn, or toss bottles in it and leave them there, etc., etc. I'm sure you understand if you practice "leave no trace." Always a good thing. And if you're some place where there are multiple fire rings, you can do everyone a favor by breaking up the old fire rings and restoring the area like it should look. I know that's probably not the answer you were looking for, but the old Baja took a lot of abuse - it's time now to repair some of the damage when we can. Thank you.

-----we (back country Rangers) always called those HUGE fires "witch burners", and always wondered what primitive instincts went into the building of same. :lol:

Tiny fires are a sign of someone who knows what the back country is all about. (I admit that beaches are in a catagory of their own)

----as for "breaking up the old fire rings", that always gave us some heartburn as it resulted in a proliferation of charcoal scattered all over the place and was much harder to clean up. Charcoal lasts FOREVER, relatively speaking. We much preferred that folks just use the old established fire rings which kept the impact to a minimum, and the new fires reduced the old charcoal to ash. Much less of a mess for the next person.

All of the other suggestions are excellent, IMO.

Just some thoughts----------

Barry

dtutko1 - 11-23-2009 at 02:52 PM

I' ve heard native americans call a big fire a "white mans fire". When asking for firewood in spanish it's "lenya"
Don

Taco de Baja - 11-23-2009 at 03:19 PM

When desert camping we always build the fire directly on the ground with no fire ring. By morning most of the charcoal has all turned into grey ash. The next big wind or rain that comes along will blow or wash the ash away and there is no trace that we have even been there; except for any unburned wood on the wood pile.

Skipjack Joe - 11-23-2009 at 04:44 PM

In my experience driftwood burns far 'better' than anything else you can pick up in the desert.

My theory is that wood burns better when the bark and outer layers are removed. The time spent rolling around on the beaches removes all of that and, when dry, will light quickly and produce a good flame. Although it won't burn as long.

Barry A. - 11-23-2009 at 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
In my experience driftwood burns far 'better' than anything else you can pick up in the desert.

My theory is that wood burns better when the bark and outer layers are removed. The time spent rolling around on the beaches removes all of that and, when dry, will light quickly and produce a good flame. Although it won't burn as long.

The only problem with that is that much of it contains creosote (old Navy stuff) and it really smokes and smells. At least that was the problem many many years ago.

Barry

BajaNuts - 11-23-2009 at 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Barry A.

Quote:

The only problem with that is that much of it contains creosote (old Navy stuff) and it really smokes and smells. At least that was the problem many many years ago.

Barry

I must have missed something- when did driftwood start containing creosote? :?:

Barry A. - 11-23-2009 at 11:22 PM

Back in the ancient days when I camped the Pacific beaches, in both Baja and S. Cal., almost all the driftwood on the beaches was full of creosote-----not sure why, but certainly was so. Perhaps that is a thing of the past.

For the past 25 years, or so, I have only camped on the Cortez side, and creosote is seldom a problem there.

Barry

surfer jim - 11-24-2009 at 12:17 AM

I have had the bundled firewood that we tried to bring back taken at secondary even though it came from U.S....

I am sure, like anything else, if they don't see it they won't take it..... :?:

Not sure what to think of a load of firewood....maybe different rules apply since it originated in Mexico and not U.S?

woody with a view - 11-24-2009 at 07:03 AM

i would think there may be some critter in the wood that we might not want on this side before it gets roasted.

once coming thru tecate we were asked if we had any firewood. i said no. when we got home there was a big piece of "driftwood" right on top that i'd forgot about! i guess it all depends on your confidence in your answer. if i was the guard i woulda asked about it!

Soulpatch - no we never burnt trees at Nobes. there was a couple of times at Newbreak with broken boards and high school parties with Fish and the Seaweeds with pallets and generators and amplifiers and drumsets and kegs and chicks, also at Newbreak! never been a NoSurf guy.....

but i digress....

[Edited on 11-24-2009 by woody in ob]

BajaRae - 11-24-2009 at 08:07 AM

I remember the 60's and 70's coming in from surfing freezing our butts off lighting giant fires and throwing a few tires in to keep it going...No. CA
Not so Strict up there...So. CA is really picky....kinda sucks...no dogs no booze...sure makes Baja look good....Sorry I'm showing my wild side...