If you want to use a stove or have a fire in California you need a permit. It looks like in some areas, alcohol stoves, wood burning stoves, and fires are prohibited even if you have a permit. Here is a link to the permit. You just print it out; it’s already signed.
I don’t need one, because I won’t be bringing my stove. I carried my stove for awhile last year, but couldn’t find any food that was so good that it was worth carrying a stove plus fuel and a pot for, so I sent it all home. Having a stove also eats up a lot of time. I use to lay in my bag until I had drank 3 hot beverages in the mornings; last year I got earlier starts–and early starts are key if I want to get some good mileage in. There were a few times that I missed having a hot beverage.
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Sometimes I carry a stove. Sometimes I don’t. Once I hiked an entire summer without one, but I got really bored with my food choices. I like carrying a stove in winter, as I prefer hot meals then. At the moment, I’m carrying a jetboil stove, which I really like. I’m generally terrible with outdoor stoves, and this is one even I can operate. It doesn’t do much more than boil water quickly, but i’m happy enough with that.
Carolyn H.
Oh yeah, I would definitely carry one in winter. Not just for the hot food and beverages but to make a hot water bottle out of my Nalgene, to sleep with.
My stove is a canister stove, as well. I think they are the lightest, fastest and most safe backpacking stoves you can get.