But in traveling around especially in thin/dry wilderness areas it is forbidden, with good reason, to gather fuel off the ground.
John:
Huh?
Where is this? Certainly not on the USFS or BLM grounds in Idaho, Montana or Wyoming where we camp. It's even legal in Yellowstone as long as you don't fire up a chainsaw.
Wilderness areas? I live next to the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness which is the largest legal Wilderness in the U.S. and it's a have-at-it for firewood. I patrolled there for over two decades looking for poachers. My wife and I work as volunteers for the Forest Service within the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and it's the same three; Gather it, light it, and warm yourself up.
Do you camp? Tony