So I take my kids backpacking a lot, and want to do another sawtooths trip. Kids just love having campfires though, and the sawtooths requires using a fire blanket or a fire pan. I keep my fires small, to help reduce as much impact as possible.
Sawtooth ranger stations actually rent out fire blankets for free…which is what I did on my last trip. I didn’t have my scale though….but it had to have been a 1lb or 2.
Fire rings are also illegal there, so we took the time to disperse several that we found.
Here is the sawtooth wilderness instructions on fires ->
<div>What is a Fire Blanket?</div>
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<div>Fire blankets are made of a thin and foldable fire resistant material. A convenient size is approximately 2 ½ feet by 2 ½ feet. The blanket should be lined with about 5 inches of mineral soil to protect the blanket and the ground from the heat. Fire blankets are lighter and much more portable than Fire Pans, but are less desirable because the mineral soil must be moved, and sources of such soil are sometimes difficult to locate.</div>
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<div>What is a Fire Pan?</div>
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<div>Fire pans are metal trays with sides high enough to contain wood and ashes (about 3 inches). Metal oil drain pans and backyard barbecue grills make effective and inexpensive fire pans. You can also purchase a lightweight fire pan from some outdoor stores. The pan should be propped up on small rocks or lined with several inches of mineral soil to protect the ground surface underneath from the heat.How do I Use a fire pan/blanket?</div>
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<div>Locate a naturally occurring source of mineral soil, sand, or gravel such as the hole left by a tree’s roots when it blows over, or large stream courses where sand or fine gravel has been deposited in non-vegetated areas along the banks. Use a pot or stuff sack to carry the soil to the fire site.</div>
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<div>On top of the fire blanket or pan, build a circular, flat-topped fire platform, 4-6 inches thick and about 2 feet across, with the mineral soil. The thickness of the soil is critical for insulating the blanket and ground underneath from the heat of the fire. As mentioned before, you can avoid using mineral soil if you have a fire pan and use small rocks to elevate it off the ground.</div>
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<div>When selecting firewood, use only dead and downed wood no larger than the size of your wrist. This size of wood can be broken into appropriate lengths by hand and will burn easily and completely to ash. Also, take the extra time to gather wood from a large area so the immediate vicinity is not left unnaturally bare</div>
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<div>Once the ashes are cold and the trash is removed (look for foil from foil lined packages), the cold ashes can be scattered over vegetated areas away from camp.</div>
<div>Anyway, so I’m looking for options……I was originally thinking like a UL fire pan like an aluminum turkey sheet, but I’m thinking there is no way that thin aluminum would last through a fire.</div>
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<div>I have a titanium floor for a caldera system….which you supposedly can use for the inferno setup…so why not a titanium bowl as a fire pan? It would be elevated off the ground, so maybe it would get too hot since the ground wouldn’t be sinking some of the heat. Not sure if titanium would be a good option for either choice above (fire blanket or fire pan)</div>
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<div>Then I was thinking like a 2′ piece of carbon felt….the fire wouldn’t be directly on the felt, since it would have a few inches of dirt on top of it…though not sure where to acquire a yard of it or so….</div>
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<div>Any ideas here?</div>
