shelter rule?

[Panzer1]

while I was section hiking last week I came upon High Point shelter in NJ with 5 boy scouts inside. Later a thru-hiker came along and said that there was a rule that the boy scouts were not allowed to stay in a shelter. The kids did move out and set up their tents. I told the thru hiker that there was no such rule. Who is right???

Panzer

[Lone Wolf]

you are right. there is no such rule. first come, first served. the thru hiker is a jerk

[Yukon]

you are right. there is no such rule. first come, first served. the thru hiker is a jerk

I was thinking the same thing, definite jerk...

[moytoy]

you are right. there is no such rule. first come, first served. the thru hiker is a jerk

Amen! That is just not right! The TH should have moved into his own tent if he didn't wan't to bunk with the kids.

[Jack Tarlin]

Correctamundo. The thru-hiker was a moosecock. Thru-hikers don't have special rights to shelters in Jersey or anywhere else, and any thru-hiker that deigns cop an attitude like this needs to be corrected immediately, hopefully by his fellow thru-hikers.

[Tin Man]

yeah, thru-hiker is a jerk, but he did the scouts a favor. i try to discourage my scouts from staying in dirty wooden boxes. however, they and the scout master think shelters are cool. so to spare them i try to schedule our hikes so that we camp where there are no shelters.

[toothpick]

Was on a section hike last year in Virginia and each time we came to a shelter where there were Boy Scouts they would move out of the shelter even though we didn't ask them to. All were very courteous towards us. Suppose they didn't care for old guy snoring or something!

[Manwich]

Shouldn't boyscouts be learning how to rough it in the wilderness? A shelter isn't wilderness.

[Jack Tarlin]

By that logic, thru-hikers should be roughing it too, especially by Virginia. If you demand a right to stay in a shelter, you're a bigtime candy-ass, and this applies to anyone, tho especially to "thru-hikers" who should ostensibly know better by then.

[Jack Tarlin]

Re-phrase.

Yeah, they should have this stuff clear by Virginia. But to still be copping attitudes in New Jersey? Pitiful. These guys should be beaten like rented mules.

[Wise Old Owl]

Just goes to show what a TH know's he can get away with. On the other hand the boys should be in tents!


Too Funny,

[TD55]

beaten like rented mules.

You are a mean person. Just because a mule is rented don't give you the right to beat him.

[Tin Man]

Shouldn't boyscouts be learning how to rough it in the wilderness? A shelter isn't wilderness.

a tent is not roughing it... a dirty wooden box is roughing it

[wcgornto]

It is a rule in some places. Some shelters have group tenting areas and have signs within the shelters stating that groups are required to leave the shelters and use the group tenting areas when the shelter is over capacity. I specifically recall Piazza Rock shelter in Maine as being this way. Granted, very few shelters have such stipulations, but some of them do.

[The Old Fhart]

There seems to be some truth in what the thru-hiker said. If you check out the ATC site concerning "Groups On The A.T." this is what they say to groups:

"Groups are welcome on the Trail, but bear in mind that the Trail is narrow and campsites are small. Please follow these guidelines as you plan your outings. ....When staying at Trail shelters where tenting is permitted, pitch tents nearby, leaving the shelter for solo hikers."

Note this isn't a regulation or a law but as a rule groups are advised to plan to camp and not use shelters I almost always tent so this would have been a non-problem for me but others who know the guidelines can bring it up, as the thru-hiker did in this case.

[Tin Man]

There seems to be some truth in what the thru-hiker said. If you check out the ATC site concerning "Groups On The A.T." this is what they say to groups:

"Groups are welcome on the Trail, but bear in mind that the Trail is narrow and campsites are small. Please follow these guidelines as you plan your outings. ....When staying at Trail shelters where tenting is permitted, pitch tents nearby, leaving the shelter for solo hikers."

Note this isn't a regulation or a law but as a rule groups are advised to plan to camp and not use shelters I almost always tent so this would have been a non-problem for me but others who know the guidelines can bring it up, as the thru-hiker did in this case.

cool! now i can let our scoutmaster know precisely why we must tent. but that does not excuse the attitude of the thru-hiker.

[Lyle]

The thru hiker had no right to ask (or tell) the scouts that they had to move. First come, first served.

On the other hand, I have hiked in groups (Scouts and otherwise) before, and there is also an unwritten, common courtesy that groups should NOT plan to monopolize shelters or other trail facilities. This used to be pointed out by ATC I believe, also by several of the parks/forests through which the trail passes.

This latter is probably why the other Scout groups that folks have mentioned moved out when other hikers arrived. Common Courtesy and good manners.

Some of my most fun nights on the trail have been with Scout troops - one in particular that comes to mind was a stormy night at Monster Rock Shelter in VA - Great time scaring the Scouts (in a friendly, fun way).

[emerald]

the thru hiker is a jerk

I don't know about that, but if we have the complete picture he strikes me as self-serving, at least somewhat uninformed and not particularly tactful.

[Lellers]

Actually, there is a BSA rule that scouts are not to share sleeping quarters with unrelated adults. So, according to BSA rules, if 5 scouts are in the shelter the only adult sleeping with them would have to be the parent or legal guardian of all five of the boys.

Since it's possible that an unrelated adult will come along and want to stay in the shelter, I think it's best if scouts don't stay in shelters.

[Tin Man]

Actually, there is a BSA rule that scouts are not to share sleeping quarters with unrelated adults. So, according to BSA rules, if 5 scouts are in the shelter the only adult sleeping with them would have to be the parent or legal guardian of all five of the boys.

Since it's possible that an unrelated adult will come along and want to stay in the shelter, I think it's best if scouts don't stay in shelters.

Yepper. Another reason why I avoid shelter sites when I am hiking with the scouts.

One of the scout camps we visit has shelters. I don't object to the boys sleeping in them there as long as they don't object to me sleeping in my tent or hammock.