Dispersed Camping Rant

[gurroz]

Growing up in the 60's my family overlanded in a 1942 Willys. I don't think I saw a campground until I was in my 20's. We were raised to always leave our campsite cleaner than when we arrived. In fact if one of us kids walked by a piece of trash and did not pick it up and my dad saw it, we would have hell to pay. Fast forward to 2020. On a recent trip to Marshall Lake just south of Flagstaff, AZ my wife and I took a walk down the forest road we were camped off of. As they say a picture saves a thousand words:

[gurroz]

If this continues we will loose the privilege of dispersed camping on our public lands!

[Morich]

Yup! Dealing with humans is killing the world as we know it. That is one of the main reasons all camping had to be banned in places as we can not be trusted to take care of things.
Walk up the steps of the capitol in Washington, DC to see what people are really willing to deface!
The same damn fool will insist they have a RIGHT to go there and do that. I'm surprised the sign is not shot all to hell by the "good law abiding " folks!

[Goodspike]

Originally Posted by gurroz

If this continues we will loose the privilege of dispersed camping on our public lands!

Yep, where I grew up the forest roads were all open. For about the past 15-20 years they've all been closed because people were using the forest as a garbage dump.

[Morich]

My wife's family had a farm near national forest land and owned a big red Farmall tractor. Not one of those that looks much like a deer for sure!
But my inlaws finally drug the tractor down closer to the woods so the fools would not shoot at it behind the barn and up by the house!

[deucehotrods]

Slob behavior is everywhere and Arizona suffers grievously when many of these people come north out of Phoenix on the weekends. I remember after one Memorial Day weekend, which is typically the driest time of the year in northern Arizona, our Forest Service Rangers put out over 125 campfires that were still burning or had glowing embers in the Flagstaff area. Leaving garbage is obnoxious but fire is really deadly up here. Seven years ago we lost 19 of our 20 man Prescott Hotshot Wildland Firefighting Crew in a deadly fire near Yarnell, 45 miles from Prescott. It gets so dry and windy here that a trailer safety chain dragging on the pavement, discharging firearms or a cigarette butt can burn thousands of acres of forest, and many homes. Fire is not a matter of if, but when around here.

[gurroz]

I reported one camper to a fire district ranger that was using a charcoal grill to cook and one that was busy gathering wood for a fire. Back in May the rangers would pull up to a camp, extinguish the fire then speak to the campers present. To be clear there is no shortage of signs indicating no fires, no charcoal!