I am planning a trip into the Cloud Peak wilderness area. The regulations state no fires above 9200 feet except a self contained chemical stove. Does that include the cat food can stove with alcohol fuel or does it have to be a canister stove? I'm new to this. Thanks in advance.

The best answer to this question would come from a call to the ranger station. There does not appear to be uniform regulations across the USNFS on what are approved stoves. Some places say they require UL approved stove with an on/off switch. In this case it does seem to focus on not having a campfire (and the associated ash being added to the ecosystem). Since the regulation does not appear to be forest fire related, I would guess an alchy stove would be ok.... but again, your better off checking with the rangers (though sometimes you can get less than accurate answers from them).

Whatever you do, do be careful. A forest fire was set in the Sierra's by a backpacker tipping over an alchohol stove.

The regulations are diverse not just among jurisdictions but even individual ranger districts within a single national forest! Plus some states and counties have their own thing (such as California's requiring a state fire permit even if you only use a backpacking stove).

The rules will also depend heavily on the fire danger at the time you go. So call the Bighorn National Forest maybe a week before you leave, which will give you time to pick up a different stove and fuel if necesssary. Try to speak to a wilderness ranger rather than the clerk who answers the phone, if you can.

That's an area I always wanted to visit, but somehow I never get farther east (from Oregon) than the Wind Rivers!

I stumbled on this flameless chemical stove recently, the HydroHeat Flameless Heat Cooker . It looks like it was adapted from the old MRE heater technology.

And it weighs a pound. That right there is hang in your tent and cook in a totally safe vestibule, winter perfection. Some tasty freezer bag meal and voila! no fiddling with tiny stoves with freezing hands. That's going on the must at least try list.
Thanks!

It will cost you $1.50 every time you want to cook a meal.
Plus how do you boil water for coffee or tea ?

Not to mention the 2oz extra for each meal (weight of the heat packs). It also doesn't seem that it would work well for melting large quantities of snow for winter backpacking.

come to think of it , you also need extra water to activate the chemical pad , about 4 oz.
Not a problem for most if there is water at destination otherwise it is an extra 4oz.
At the same time it could work well where any sort of fire (including canisters stoves) is prohibited.