Remember Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s when she said, “We belong to nobody, and nobody belongs to us.” Such is the case of the Wandering Fire Pit at Disney’s Fort Wilderness. True to its cowboy spirit, the Wandering Fire Pit is a nomad, giving and receiving warmth before it’s on its way. It’s fiery temper is aroused only by misguided attempts to control it or suffocate it.

(Note that there are multiple Wandering Firepits at a given time, and the number can easily grow).

Of course, the Greek god of fire and metal is none other than Hephaestus. According to legend, Hephaestus was a kind god, but whose wrath was volcanic when betrayed. Likewise, it seems that only a foolish mortal would attempt to wrestle control of anything that is meant to wander, lest he or she be ensnared in her own moral deficiencies and exposed to the quiet but certain wrath of the good forest people.

I think there is a little bit of Wandering Fire Pit in all of us.

I certainly saw it in my teenage son when his adorable girlfriend began to increasingly police his whereabouts and conversations. We’ve all been there. And of course, that relationship is no more.

Sigh.

Why We Have Them

The Wandering Firepit concept, with varying names, emerged many years ago, and is just as old as its much better-looking cousins, the Left-Behind Beach Chairs. Both of these are necessary primarily for the trip at hand, but are too cumbersome and dirty and messy to take back home. Thus, they are left behind, free to pursue a brand new, but also fleeting relationship. Wandering Firepits at Disney World were borne of necessity due to Fort Wilderness’s rules that only allows for campsite fires to be in a fire pit that has a covered metal top. Such firepits currently cost $76 at Walmart. In spite of this relatively steep price tag (similar to the cost of a Magic Kingdom hamburger dog lunch for four), the ROI tends to favor leaving them behind.

Thus, many Firepits have been sadly abandoned at the campsite, left all alone in the rain, soon to be collected and discarded by Disney CMs. But thankfully, most have simply been offered to an overjoyed arriving neighbor. Now, with the gross proliferation of social media, it has become easier to make an informal appointment to transfer a Wandering Firepit to someone else at Fort Wilderness. This can be achieved easily through a Fort Wilderness discussion board, a related Facebook group, Twitter, or through an app such as YikYak (now defunct). There was briefly a Wandering Firepit page on Facebook, which does not currently exist (I hope it returns).

how to exchange

So, if you have a fire pit, and would like to make it a Wandering Firepit, consider giving it to your loop neighbor, or posting on the boards at Fort Fiends, the Facebook groups of Fort Wilderness Glampers, Mouse Glamping Society, and I Love Camping at Disney’s Fort Wilderness. Twitter will also likely work. But once you have set it free, don’t look back. Rather, keep those sticky marshmallow memories tucked safely in your heart forever more.

Likewise, if you are looking for a fire pit and are planning a trip to Fort Wilderness, you might start asking around on the various places listed above, maybe 4-10 days in advance. Once you get one, enjoy it with all of your being, but do not let yourself become too attached to those things that are meant to be wild and free.