BTHOB! A message of thanks from Student Bonfire

Text provided courtesy of Student Bonfire. View the video above for an in-depth look by board member Dion McInnis and ESPN writer Scott Eden, who immersed himself in Bonfire for a feature story set to be released in ESPN The Magazine next week.

Bonfire 2014 is nearing its final week.

It began when the Redpots put the torches to Bonfire 2013. This September, after a winter, spring, and summer of planning and fundraising, work began at Cut in a stretch of Woods outside Hearne.

The season now culminates in a pasture just north of Bryan.

This year’s woods were outstanding, providing an uncommon quantity of the tallest and straightest trees meant for the first tier of Stack. Heavy brush and undergrowth, once cleared, opened up woods wide and safe. A ravine ran between Corps and Non-Regs for much of the season, keeping each far enough apart to focus solely on the task at hand, but near enough to see the other and work to match their effort (with a fair amount of Good Bull shouted between).

The weather at Cut was mild with no extremes of hot or cold. What rains came served to tamp down the dense, fine, lung-coating dust kicked up by boots and trees hauled off the back of a beautiful zero-dollar leased John Deere tractor, out of the Woods on the way to an expansive Load site.

Then Cut and Load gave way to Stack. Always imposing at the outset, a pasture-wide sheet of logs — nearly 2400 this year — has steadily been emptied, set upright into another Bonfire Stack. The first tiers, where every log touches the ground, are the hardest off campus; the inner-most peak of the Stack at 32’ is comprised of stories-tall trees.

Chiefs, Brownpots and Redpots assemble the first tier and much of the second over the first days. The 'meat' arrives next, with crews from Northside and Southside (and yes, Hart, central-side, too); Corps, Non-Regs, and Off Campus all convene, making the 30-minute-plus round trip every evening to shape the rest of Stack, bringing the season closer to its climactic end on November 26. 

Having proven that they have the stuff, the Bonfire-motivated Aggies’ season transitions to the relentless grind of Push. Shifts work back to back, one from 6 pm to midnight, the next from midnight to 6 am. Numbers steadily increase during Push, with participants squeezing every last moment that they can out of the season.

At this point the Windle Sticks are now covered by third tier, and fourth tier is well under way. Every tier and every three feet, thick 'super-sets' wrap the growing mass of logs, each tied in to at least three other logs at the top and base. Come Burn, such construction may dictate that the old “if Bonfire is still standing after midnight…” rule be modified to stretch nearly to breakfast on game day.

It also means that the Stack is exceedingly safe — Bonfire’s greatest priority for each other and all of Aggieland.

While we will miss this season, we look forward to another Burn, and sharing it with you. And to that end, we thank you. TexAgs, both the business and the community, have shown extraordinary support for Bonfire, bringing students through their most trying times and celebrating their greatest successes. Your stewardship empowers participants, more every year, to enjoy a full and safe Bonfire experience. Your support is moving Burn Night steadily and certainly toward a community on the scale of Bonfires past.

For all of this and more, we can think of no better way to express our deepest appreciation than to Build the Hell Outta Bonfire. Thanks and Gig ‘em, Aggies.

For an even more extensive look from Cut, Load and Stack, check out the collection here.