I figure my ultralight wood burning sytem weighs less than that - it's three rocks. I carry nothing. I find three rocks and build a twig fire and put my pot on top

With fine white ash, why bother to bury it? Just broadcast it, or let the wind do the job. If you bury it, archaeologists of the future will thank you, because your fire residue will preserve indefinitely, like 10,000 years, easily.

It's late, and I am really picking at nits.....

[quote=oldranger] I'm not sure that will pass muster with the LNT die hards

[quote=Hikin Jim]IMNSHO, a lot of times the LNT "die hards" are every bit as illogical as the green "die hards" who want to drive a chevy volt charged by electricity from coal transmitted over hundreds of kilometers of lossy lines. I.E. it's more about appearances than educated fact. LNT (and green) are great things, but to work right in any one given area need to be done with some thought and thinking. IMO, most of the time they suggest "burying" anything it may be a bad idea. (It's not always, depends on where and what)

and I guess that's why I don't look harder at one of these. I really want to.. woodburners are *COOL*... and the thought of no fuel is very attractive.. trouble for me is, anywhere I wouldn't want to use a three rock fire, tends to be the more sensitive or highly trodden areas here. and in those cases, the scrounging of wood would also be a problem if everyone did it. The places where there's plentiful fuel and it's not sensitive (or there's established sites with fire areas already) I can simply three rock it.

Well, may I offer a somewhat contrarian view: Why a Wood Stove?

phat, is the modern thinking up to using three rocks? Why back in the old days, I used two rocks to cook over, pancakes and all. I did this until wood fires were banned where I bped, which forced me to get a stove.
Duane

Yeah, it's the stuff I usually hear. People go from saying its the ultimate ultralight option, then talk about gathering less wood, more efficient, easier to start a fire, and a faster boil.

The lightest thing to carry is nothing (and burn wood, none of which I carry)
The second is esbit.
The third is alky

None of them are the fastest boiling, most fuel efficient, easiest to start, etc. etc. if those properties were what I most cared about, I'd carry something bigger and heavier that started easily and boiled water faster than the fukushima reactor. As it is I can wait for my dinner, light a fire, and if I can gather one handful of dry twigs I can gather three. I care about something that will do the job, with the least weight possible on my back. Anything else is secondary, at least for me.

I was at a lake one time and the water was tannin colored, which to me at the time meant it was bad.

...most of my backpacking is near timberline where no fires are allowed, and in August and September when campfires are generally banned in the Pacific NW

Don't look at it as a wood stove that will burn alcohol/hexamine. Look at it as a top alcohol/hexamine set up that can burn wood.

I've been curious on this one; what is the dirt/carbon factor? And, does the stove corrode after being used awhile (like my charcoal chimney starter at home gets from being red-hot)?

Oh I know. I've been attempting to resist the cool factor for a looooong time on this one

I've been curious on this one; what is the dirt/carbon factor? And, does the stove corrode after being used awhile (like my charcoal chimney starter at home gets from being red-hot)?

... your pot a nice black bottom, next to permanent.