To those of us who have spent what feels like an overly significant part of our lives attempting to scrub every speck of pot black from our camp cookware – let today be the beginning of a new era! Let this be the end of soot covered “mechanic’s hands” stained from carbon that outlines one’s fingernails, the wrinkles on our knuckles, and anything we’ve touched along the way. Hark, an epiphany!

Here is the Boundary Waters “tip & trick” for the ages: Leave your camp cookware sooty and black while on trail. Pack it in a stuff sack so it doesn’t get other gear sooty while traveling. When you return home, put the pots and pans in your oven. (Note: don’t do this with non-stick or painted pots.) Set the oven to “clean.” Then, open the door when it’s done to see the resurrection of your pots and pans – as sparkling as the day you bought them!