I cook with pine, ponderosa and Jeffrey. It is easy to get and very consistent. DOs are much more forgiving than people realize. Just don't add too much heat. You cannot "heat up the ground" to cook with. Sorry.
People can do whatever they want. Some people bring gloves, trivets, charcoal chimneys, bags of charcoal, bellows, charcoal starter, oven tables, and plenty of other stuff. I like to travel so I just bring a shovel and a pot lifter. That's it. I can cook anywhere anytime. My favorite time to cook is on pack trips and river trips. Aluminum ovens save weight.