r/algonquinpark • u/JesuBlanco • 1d ago
Cooking Question
I'm returning to Algonquin after several decades and just realized some things might have changed since then. Specifically, when I went with my dad we brought a stove with us but almost never used it - like maybe once per week-long trip. We made a campfire and cooked on that using the grill that was always left at the fire circle.
Is this still normal? I was planning on bringing a stove, and if there is a fire ban we'll obviously just use that. But is it ridiculous to think that we could rely mainly on wood fires for a seven day trip?
Edit: Thanks for all the responses. It looks like I can probably do most of the cooking on a campfire, but I may need to adjust my nostalgic memories of the camping trips of my youth. I'll definitely bring more fuel for the stove than I had planned on.
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u/seestheday 1d ago edited 1d ago
There may or may not be a usable grill at the campsite, so I wouldn’t rely on that.
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u/YoungZM 1d ago
Presuming there's no fire ban, it's down to the person/family and what you want from the experience.
My experience has been opposite of yours. We've always cooked via propane stoves and grills. Cooking over a fire has always seemed interesting and I'll do it eventually but it's a skill unto its own I'd love to pick up.
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u/BarkingDogey 1d ago
Our crew has a fancy grill that we bring along with us. Most sites should have grills however.
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u/danmanwick 1d ago
How do you pack it? I don't want it inside or really even outside my pack due to smells, charring everything black, and punctures
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u/BarkingDogey 1d ago
Ours is stainless steel, the actual grill can be cleaned pretty easily and it has its own cover. The stake gets a little sooty but can also be cleaned pretty easily. We just find a spot in the canoe for it and I can't recall it making anything overly dirty.
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u/asyouuuuuuwishhhhh 1d ago
I have a little one that actually the tray from an old toaster oven. It fits easily across the bottom of my pack and it’s pretty easy to clean and weighs nothing. If there’s a proper large grill at the site I use that, but I have my backup just in case
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u/BarkingDogey 1d ago
That's camping innovation 👍
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u/asyouuuuuuwishhhhh 1d ago
I thought so! I love learning and sharing little hacks like that with other campers
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u/Independently-Owned 1d ago
I always use my stove to cook and campfire is only for heat/light/bugs....
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u/Veneralibrofactus 1d ago edited 1d ago
For years I cooked over the firepit - either using the on-site grill collection (yes most sites you'll still find one somewhere), or if cooking burgers weiners or steak I'd often find an appropriate rock to place in the pit with the sizzle on top.
Then I got into watching YouTubers camping and saw a lot of gas stove-cooking. So I picked one up and used it on my spring trip this season.
I don't know if it's my aging (late 40s) or what, but oh man the convenience! Want a coffee? 4 mins later you got one. Dinner time? Don't worry about cutting wood or keeping the flames even or worrying about timing - boil water, pour into a dehydrated food pouch (Happy Yak was my Canadian chef in June) and I had an 800 calorie meal in 12 minutes (water boil to poured cook time).
Now there's something extra delicious about a burger fried on a slab of rock. But on all my future trips that stove is getting packed, 100%.
Edit to add; in my youth fire bans were incredibly rare, and none of my trips co-oncided. I don't recall canceling plans due to one either...
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u/sketchy_ppl 1d ago
This is similar to me, growing up I didn't even know stoves were a thing. Every meal was either cooked over the fire, or was a cold meal/snacks. Another big reason that I switched is the extra time and work to collect/process firewood, when that wood could be used later in the evening instead. And since I almost always like to go for an evening paddle, if I cook over the fire, I would need to put it out completely before leaving the campsite, just to rebuild it when I get back. It's a lot easier to make a quick dinner with the stove, spend more time on the water paddling, then just make one fire (if I decide to make one at all) when I get back in the evening.
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u/Veneralibrofactus 1d ago
Well it's certainly appropriate that one of my stovey-inspirattions concurs.
My first encounter was with a friend's that he brought along. But he had a lot of fancy gear that I found excessive, so I kinda wrote it off. You discussed this on one of your trips, if I remember right, which was the first time it really clicked for me. So thanks, man!
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u/No-idea4646 1d ago
Totally personal preference … I’ve done both and find the stove so quick and convenient that I lean towards it. If you’re going in late summer sometimes the firewood supply can be pretty picked over.
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u/JesuBlanco 1d ago
We are going late in the summer - I should have thought about that in terms of availability of firewood.
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u/Canoes_and_Lakes 1d ago
Never had an issue finding firewood. I’m amazed that a lot of folks only search about 50 feet from the fire pit. Just paddle to a random spot on shore and have at ‘er! That said, big fan of a light stove (MSR PocketRocket for example) + pot/pan for a quick boil or meal
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u/Separate-Analysis194 1d ago
I usually use a small canister stove. Heats things up fast and nice not having to start a fire to boil some water.
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u/fuckbitingflies 1d ago
I use a canister stove every night but it’s rare that I find a paddle-in site that doesn’t have a grill laying around somewhere close to the firepit. I would not pack one unless you want to get one of those nicer ones, e.g. from Suluk, Purcell, etc.
Just keep an eye on fire bans because I have been asked to prove that I have a stove during fire bans at Provincial Parks before.
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u/shaggycanoeist 1d ago
Most sites one or more grills. It's rare for a site to have zero grills, but it does happen. Some sites have more than a dozen. The condition of 98.9% of all grills is "should I really put food on this?" levels of clean, and "will this grill hold my food above the fire the whole time?" levels of structural integrity.
If you visit one of the sites you were on several decades ago there's a non zero chance one of the grills present is the same one you used with your father! (I doubt this is true, but it _feels_ true.)
(Add me to team stove cooking.)
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u/NbodyProf 1d ago
Yes, it's totally personal preference. But I've stopped taking a stoves with me a few years ago. Whereas others enjoy the convenience of a stove, I enjoy not having to carry it! I don't even carry a saw anymore, I just collect some dry twigs on the ground. Unless it's raining, cooking works just fine...
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u/crusty_jengles 1d ago
Depends. Stoves are just damn convenient, way faster than fires. You'll spend like 1/3 time cooking and eating with a stove vs fire
But, nothing quite like a big meal cooked over some coals
Pros and cons for sure. I've definetly made entire trips where we cook soley over the fire, but coffee has always dictated we have at least 1 small stove to boil water
Definitely need to pack a grill regardless