I’m a bit obsessed with improving fire rings.
Maybe it’s because I camp in some pretty breezy spots (I like the views) and I still like to have a campfire (despite the health risks) and gaze at the stars satellites but one of the first things I notice coming into a camp is the state of the fire ring. Is it a lazy shambles, full of ash, trash, and charred wood like it’s just recovering from an all-night redneck blowout? When I see this kind of useless eyesore it triggers intensely distressing feelings. I’m not saying it’s right; but much like one of my favorite Muppets, I have a compulsion.
A fire ring serves three purposes: it contains the fire and the coals, preventing unwanted spread; it provides the fire protection from the wind, which reduces sparking (see preceding) while providing the right amount of controlled ventilation to maintain a steady, mellow blaze; and it serves to absorb and reflect heat, so you can enjoy some warmth. Most fire rings that I come across are built directly on ground level and consist of rocks haphazardly arranged in a near-circular pattern, and they are either full of debris or overflowing. Many serve as a congregation place for partly melted plastic items such as… well really anything you can imagine. They often also contain cans, pull-tabs, nails, screws, shell casings of various calibers, and other less savory items.
I find it immensely satisfying to clean all that up and rebuild. Here are the steps I take:
- Collect the surrounding trash for later (proper) disposal.
- with a shovel, dig out the center of the proposed ring location about six to twelve inches. Bury the ash, dirt, and charcoal away from camp, where it can fertilize the world. This bit of excavation produces a higher wind break and makes it easy to bury the fire remnants if the fire ring needs to be removed.
- Collect more trash.
- Plan to bring the ring in tighter. This allows you to build higher without collecting more stones. I aim for 18-24 inches diameter.
- Start re-laying stones. Generally the larger stones are better on the bottom, but don’t stress out. By interlocking stones their friction can add surprising strength to the structure. I proceed in a circular fashion, building higher on the windward side.
- Plug any major holes with small stones. Where things seem precarious, add a small stone to create the right amount of tension to hold things together.
- Clean up the dirt around the outside and mound it around the base of the ring.
- Collect more trash.
What ever you do, enjoy your work and pass on the skill. Leaving things a bit cleaner and neater than you found them is a real action that sends an important message to others who will come after you. I’ll end with this idea, attributed to Epictetus:
Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.
