Selecting Campsites
How do I select campsites? I'm going to attempt a thru this coming year and I'm interested in how I should properly select campsites.
Different folks have different ideas of the perfect campsite, and you will develop yours. The social aspect of the hike will be a big factor. You might want to camp with new friends and then it becomes a group decision. And different sites are better in different weather conditions. Personally, I try to avoid low-lying areas and areas around bodies of water. I prefer a high, dry ridge for views, fewer bugs, fewer people, fewer habituated animals, less chance of dew, and to me it's worth carrying the extra water. Safety first--always be aware of "widow makers," trees or branches that might fall in high wind.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
Mostly pre existing with log to sit on.
Near roads, stay hidden from road and trail, couple hundred feet.
If its gonna rain, thats when you get picky about selection. Drainage, soft ground cover, no widow makers or dead snags waiting to fall on you.
Near streams (humidity), exposed to wind, under trees for warmth , not in low spots for warmth, all are other attributes tjat might be important sometimes.
Im usually not picky. Walk till dark is 30 min away, find small flat area, pitch and go to sleep.
You'll also find that, like them or not, the areas around shelters or established trail campsites generally have cleared flat spots, access to water, maybe a table, fire ring, privy, a bear pole or box, etc. And in a severe storm, you may find that a floor, wood walls, and a sturdy roof aren't the worse things in the world. Using established spots minimizes impact as well.
"That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett
Good question. I'm sure you'll get lots of responses and opinions.
I favor existing campsites where and when possible, sometimes a designated campsite or just the area near a shelter. I usually enjoy company at camp.
Barring that, you need flat ground, preferably wooded, and not on an exposed ridge. Adhere to LNT principles as much as possible, and the local laws and regulations. Eg., the Smokies, White Mtn. Nat'l. Forest, etc. all have specific rules & regs regarding camping along the trail.
Water often dictates the campsite location, unless you bring your own. Sometimes in the late afternoon I fill my Platy bag and my soda bottle spares so that I can do a "dry camp" if need be.
You will get a lot of good information from the group on this. I will add perhaps the most important selection criteria, know where can you legally camp. In CT and MA for example, camping is only allowed at posted campsite areas and shelters. Be sure you know what the rules are for the lands you are on.
You better watch your back! Suggesting someone spend the night in a SHELTER will have the anti-shelter mafia all over you.Originally Posted by 4eyedbuzzard
You forgot norovirus, hanta virus, mold, mildew, and poo poo.
A lot will depend on your shelter. If you have a small footprint then you can often camp off trail in a non established campsite. if a case like this, campsites are found not made. your goal would be to leave it completely without a trace of you staying. This gets harder with larger tents and some states up north require you to stay only in designated sites. As others have said there is generally camp areas around the shelters.
A log to sit on and if it is safe to put your stove on,surprising how many times you bend down to look at or stir your food. I am not good at choosing sites often give up on a few only to find the first one I looked at was the best.
And also be aware of the rules in Georgia, North Carolina (except GSMNP), Tennessee and Virginia: CAMP WHEREVER YOU WANT. This has worked for me for the last 40 years. Find a spot, crap out. Repeat daily.
I know of at least one mile or so on the trail in VA marked with no-camping signs. I know because I violated it. It was just too perfect to pass up. I left no trace.
This might work in the south, but gets progressively more difficult as you get farther north. However, the "camp wherever you damn want" seems to becoming more common regardless of impact or legality as there are more "its all about me" hikers out there.
Your first choice should always be at the shelter area or other official designated camping areas. In many areas these are your only legal option.
The second choice should be a well established site just off the trail.
Avoid creating a new campsite, especially if it is in sight of the trail. Creating a tent site involves clearing an area to remove the rocks, sticks and tree limbs from the ground. You'll be tramping vegetation and compacting the soil as your stomp around the site. This all creates impact.
Stay 200 feet from water and dispose of your poop properly. Do not build a fire ring or have a campfire. When you leave in the morning, obscure where your tent was by kicking the leaves back over the area or dragging brush over it. Do not camp on top of balds or at overlooks. These might seem like nice places to camp until a storm rolls in the middle of the night.
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I will be compacting 23 square feet out of thousands of acres through which the trail runs. My conscience is pretty clear on that score. There are times when an established campsite isn't an option. Maybe it doesn't fit my itinerary. Or maybe it does, but I get there and find out it's nasty, for one reason or another. I think we're skating around the issue of victimless crimes.
I'm walking SOBO in southern PA. Mid-day stop at the town of South Mountain, then back on the trail. I get to Tumbling Run. I could stay here but it's too early to quit. I get to Antietam shelter. Nah, a bit dumpy, and still too early. I get to Deer Lick Shelter. Now it's almost dusk, but there's broken glass everywhere. Somebody's clothing and gear dumped in a pile on the shelter floor, but no sign of the owner of that gear. Creepy. No way I'm staying anywhere near here. I booked another mile or so south on the trail and found a spot in the woods a couple dozen feet off the trail. It wasn't my first choice but I did what I had to do.
Just wondering, would the anti-shelter hiker mafia be considered organized grime?You better watch your back! Suggesting someone spend the night in a SHELTER will have the anti-shelter mafia all over you.
"That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett
Ugh... terrible, but quick!Just wondering, would the anti-shelter hiker mafia be considered organized grime?
Gotta get this rant out of my system. I never said "camp wherever you damn want"; sounds over-reactive on your part. I did say CAMP WHEREVER YOU WANT. Obviously there are nanny types out there, not necessarily meaning Slo-go'en, and yes even here on a backpacker forum, who I guess would love to surveil our butts and regulate the free-roaming spirit of backpacking out of existence. It's inevitable as we approach 450 million by 2050. Have fun but in a clockwise direction only, as Ed Abbey says.
And for all the poor deer and bear and wild pigs out there who sleep wherever they damn well please, well, it must selfishly be all about them---entitlement mammals. Oh look, there's another spot where a fool animal slept.
I need to reword some things---Your last choice should never be at a shelter. And beware the word "official". But like I said, so far the tent police have not curtailed our ability to camp anywhere off the trail we want from Georgia north into NC and VA; GSMNP notwithstanding. In the areas I backpack there are no Official campsites. And if you get a cross country permit you can camp anywhere you want in the Smokies.
In fact, dispersed camping is what it's all about---go to the Mt Rogers backcountry to see it in action. Thousands of potential campsites, no sore spots, thousands of backpackers passing thru the place yearly, even the box shelter areas are upbeat and nice. The only scars I ever see are the terrible damage horseback riders do with their thousand pound hoofs. But wait, they aren't camping. They turn a regular trail into a plowed muddy trench and leave Turds in creeks. Totally allowed.
And btw, many designated campsites are way closer than 200 feet from water. So, we carve out a new site just to be far away from the creek-bank site already established??
"Avoid . . . a new campsite, esp if it is in sight of the trail." Sight goes a long way. A half mile? A mile? Three miles? And 99% of the backpackers I know never do this---getting out of sight of the trail. Only the hermits and recluses and Eric Rudolph types.
"Do not camp on top of balds"---???. Most of my backpacking trips involve the goal of reaching and camping atop a bald. How many nights have I spent on balds? Hundreds, in all conditions. Just be prepared for the worst and have a good 4 season tent.
I am now sufficiently Screed-depleted.
I am compelled to put in a plug for the beauty of hammock hanging.
How do I select a campsite? Well, here in the Northeast I often see a good campsite about every 10 feet. I pretty much stop wherever I want to stop, which is a pretty nice way to hike. I usually top off with 2 liters of water towards the end of a day, enough to get me through the night. I do not need to camp near a water source, although it is nice. I usually like to camp about 100 yards off trail, out of sight but within earshot of the trail traffic. All I need are two trees about 12-15 feet apart and reasonably clear of brush in-between. Not very hard to find. A good view is a plus.
I make no campfires, in fact once the hammock is set up my feet barely hit the ground. Very low impact. When I leave in the morning you would not even know someone camped there.
I sometimes wonder if that those who insist that all camping should be restricted to 'hardened' campsites are really just afraid to be alone in the woods. I am glad that there are different types of camping opportunities for different folks, I like to seek out dispersed camp sites for myself. Done correctly, and in the right environment, dispersed camping should cause no more harm than shelter camping (especially when ham mocking).
Last edited by imscotty; 10-13-2015 at 17:31.
Campsites are not created. There are plenty of spots in most location that don't require building. Move a couple of small branches and throw down. Unless you host a dance there won't be any tramping and compacting soil. That is the beauty of dispersed camping. When I leave in the morning there is no evidence I was there. I usually even replace the branches.
How well does this work between Glencliff and, say Grafton Notch? I'd expect the dense underbrush to create problems for hammocks as well as for tents. Except of course in designated sites where some of the underbrush has been cleared out.
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