As readers likely already know, I prefer to cook over a fire while I am camping. It is true that stoves especially propane stoves, are easier, but I don’t go into the bush because it’s easier. As far as the environment goes, camping mostly in Minnesota and Ontario I also believe burning wood is the most responsible choice. Fossil fuels and the canisters that contain them are an abomination. Dead wood in the North Woods is abundant and with the elm, oak, spruce, ash, balsam and pine blights and the recent spate of wildfires and blow-downs, there is no shortage of dead wood. In fact, Minnesota has become a paradise for woodpeckers. It takes a while to learn how to build, start, and maintain a fire. It takes even longer to learn how to cook over a fire, but woodfire cooking creates a certain satisfaction and independence that cannot be replicated with a stove. In this tip, I want to dismiss one argument stove users bring forth when debating the merits of stove versus fire cooking: the black soot that coats the outside of the pan and that pollutes anything that the well used pan touches. Hours can be spent with Brillo pads and elbow grease trying to remove this soot, and if done at the campsite, it is a messy and frustrating chore. My advice is not to worry about cleaning off the pans. At least, not while you are on the trail. In order not to worry I do have a system. I have equipped each of my pots and pans with little nylon overcoats that Dan Cooke and Sue Plankis sewed for me. They resemble an old fashion shower cap and stay on the pot with either an elastic or drawstring. Tabs on the “overcoats” make it possible to slide them over the pots without getting fingers blackened. Just never turn the overcoats inside out! My old arctic canoe buddy Dutch reuses plastic shopping bags for the same purpose, but after a few meals I find the plastic bags start to degrade while nylon overcoats can last many, many trips. I shared a final related tip at my Canoecopia presentation last week, and I have included the photos here that created some “wows” at the show. Forget about that old Boy Scout method of preparing the pots by rubbing the outside with soap. What a messy and half-baked idea that is. Instead, when the season is over just put all the blackened pots and pans into your home kitchen oven, set the oven on “self-clean” and 4 hours later your pots and pans will be completely clean and soot free, no scrubbing, no mess, simple.
