Just got back from 3 week camping/hiking trip in Wyoming's Bighorn mountains. Great area and we camped at some spectacular sites. Campfire every evening burning mainy dead lodgepole pine, but every once in a while would find a bone dry piece that was heavy and smelled "pitchy" like southern yellow pine fatwood when cut and split. It burnt great, hot and long, but what was I burning??? Slow growth stuff or perhaps another species?
Hopefully someone will know the wood that you were burning.Everyone wants to know about wood that burns long and hot.Being out in those wilderness areas what would you do if a Grizzly appeared ?
I’d rather take my chances with a grizzly than the animals that might get you in the concrete jungle!
I can read the concrete jungle better than a Grizzly.When I see these creatures on youtube it makes me wonder how did the native survive with just bows and arrows.
Looks like a memorable time. We've burned EWP limbs in the campfire. Cut them off a rotted trunk and they burned great.
I did find pine knots, the remnants of long gone limbs where they attached to the tree trunk. They burnt great too.
The limbs were very resinous like the wood you described. Burned very good with lots of black smoke and snapping. Good sized old EWP blowover in the woods at the campground. Trunk rotting but the limbs were solid and i hacked them off with a bucksaw. Seems i spend more time making firewood camping than actually camping!
Not a Wyoming guy but... I do live in Ponderosa Pine country and that sounds like what you've described - lots of pitch. Could be Douglas Fir though, it's heavy dense and has a lot of pitch too. I'm happy you had a good time and enjoyed it! I hope this doesn't keep a Wyoming native from answering. Lastly, here's what the Bighorn National Forest web site says: EVERGREEN FOREST extending from just above the foothills to the timber line. Ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir populate the lower slopes with lodgepole pine, subalpine fir and Englemann spruce at the higher elevations. Bighorn National Forest - About the Area
My husband said yes, either of those. What do you think Mag Craft ? Personally never burned anything but lodgepole, sorry.
The Ponderosa I cut & burned had a lot of pitch in it, also had decent weight but didn’t seem to have long burn times. I would imagine it grows much slower out there though so it may be denser & burn longer.
Years ago I mentioned there was no hardwood in Colo or WY. A member at the time S Colo mentioned Conifer as a hardwood. Could that be it, Big Horn is north WY, nicer weather and lower elevation.
I reckon it’s possible but Buffalo is around 4700’ & Sheridan is around 3700’ & here were are just pushing 1200’ so I would think anything would be slower growing with the elevation, tough winters & dry summers.
Sounds like you were burning some pitch Pine. That stuff is heavy and very dense. It also burns like gasoline. Looks beautiful! Glad you had a good time!
I considered that, but.....I have a bad knee, so girlfriend would be faster, hence the sidearm and bear spray.
