>>1865438This anon here, I just went ahead with a trial run anyway.
Just cowboy camped in a spit of state forest on the side of a mountain. Picked a relatively open spot on the side of a small cliff/crag. Invisible from below, probably easily visible from chopper due to little overhead cover. Campsite was pretty cramped (my fault, picked a bad spot for comfort) but the location worked pretty well as there was minimal windbreak, so the wind seemed to disperse the smoke pretty excellently. I tried to spot the fire from my camp from ~100 meters away and was pleasantly surprised to find that even from even elevation/above my site I would have not been able to find my site were I not already pretty familiar with the surroundings.
Definitely a successful trial run. If I'm gonna be camping like this in the future it seems like as long as you choose a spot with a nice breeze and keep the fire a suitable size for 1 person then smoke giving you away will not be an issue. Problem is finding a spot like that that's hidden from view though.
Also I didn't even need a tent or anything. It didn't rain, but I brought extra clothes expecting a cool night, and while it did dip somewhat (down to ~10C which is chilly for where I am) simple proximity to my fire and slowly feeding it old dead branches from the grown kept a delightfully warm bed of coals with minimal light (outside of when the branch is initially burning) and almost no smoke. I was warm enough that I used most of my clothes as cushions on the crag. If this experience is anything to go by even on a rainy night all I'll ever need is a sheltered fire and I'll be golden, so no need to prep a tent or anything of the sort, just chuck some stones for a firepit, grab some dead branches and tinder and I have myself a place for the night.
So stealth camping with a fire is totally feasible, you just have to be smart about location and fuel (no wet shit or leaves, anything that'll produce significant smoke).
