Designated Campsites

[NoLimit]

Haven't been on the AT since the early '70's as a youth. Planning on getting out for some section hiking now that I may have some time available. From all I've read it seems everyone plans their daily miles to end at one of the shelters or other designated campsites. I am assuming it would be preferred to stay at one of these area to lessen the impact on the trail, but if weather moves in or I decide to cut the day short, is it permissible to simply stealth camp at any point along the trail?

[Wise Old Owl]

Due to the rules in this forum - unlikely you will get a good answer as what you are asking is permission to ignore the rules in places where there are "trail runners" and some here are not allowed to comment. That being expressed, we have a gravitas here called HYOH.


Hike Your Own Hike.

[Tundracamper]

Not really sure about the "rules," but in the 100+ miles I've hiked (i.e. not much), I have never had a problem locating a convenient campsite - sometimes at a shelter area, sometimes away from a shelter. My preference is for those away from shelters.

The ATHiker app is really good for locating campsites. Sure seems easier to me than having to make one:)

[Sarcasm the elf]

Different parts of the trail have different regulations. In much of the South, you can just pull off wherever is convenient. Where it passes through National parks (and some state parks) you are generally required to camp at the designated sites. Once you head farther North the rules vary more frequently. NJ/NY/CT/MA are mostly designated campsite only.

The best thing to do is to get a good guidebook which will briefly list the rules for each section. I use the Appalachian Trail Conservancy/ ALDHA guidebook which is linked below.

http://appalachian-trail-conservancy.mybigcommerce.com/planning/appalachian-trail-thru-hikers-companion-2017/

[SkeeterPee]

A recent thread covered the concept of stealth camping and some people only associate that term with illegal behavior, but many use the term to include legal dispersed camping. There are many places where dispersed camping is allowed. That seemed to be what your question was about not purposely breaking the law in local/state/federal parks and other places. Here is a link that will help you.

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/home/explore-the-trail/thru-hiking/camping

see dispersed camping and the section below it on AT regulations. In a recent post about this topic someone pointed out the rules were perhaps not quite as strict in one of the states. Actual rules were more detailed and allowed camping in few areas that the AT Regulations section would have think is not allowed. I suspect what is written simplified the rules slight so that if you followed them you would be legal, but would not know there were few other legal places to camp.

[NoLimit]

Thanks for the replies guys. Yes, my term stealth was not to camp illegally, but to simply find a suitable location off the direct path and out of sight for other hikers. I did read in other threads where up north there were some regulations as to where camping was allowed, but at present I'll most likely stick to the southern states. Thanks for the link to the ALDHA guidebook. I'll put it on my list of to read.

[johnnybgood]

I'm guessing by "rules" WOO is referencing to adhering to Leave no Trace principles . Some rules apply in National Parks that you need to abide by but generally speaking finding an acceptable campsite isn't a problem. Usually established campsites are easy to find down south if you're staying regionally. Where had you considered to start your section hike ?

[Slo-go'en]

There are sections of the AT which have camping restrictions. It's easy enough to find out what the restrictions are for the section your going to hike and plan accordingly. The only area which might affect you in the near future would be the GSMNP, which being a NP has it's own unique rules.

As a practical matter, some random spot along the trail is not likely to be a good place to camp. Pretty much any place which is a good place to camp has already been obviously used and these are the places you need to look for. On average, there are probably 2-3 suitable camping spots between shelters along most of the trail, but getting harder to come by north of Virginia and really scarce in NH and ME.

But again for practical reasons, you should make an effort to stay at designated sites, as these will have proper human waste disposal and a usually reliable water source, picnic table and fire pit. All the comforts of home.

[NoLimit]

SkeeterPee - read through the link you provided and the chart enclosed was exactly what I was looking for. Pretty much gave the broad regulations I was seeking. If I ever get to the northern states I'll investigate further the local regulations.

Yes, my intent is to stay at already established designated campsites, and from what I've seen they are quite frequent in the area I'll be hiking so I should be fine. I was simply asking the question for a worse case situation. I never had the opportunity to start at the beginning, so my current plan is begin at Springer doing the approach trail and then continue with the Georgia section to just inside the NC area at Rock Gap at 106.1.

[Odd Man Out]

The impact of dispersed vs designated campsites is complicated so i won't get into that. However I would say it is very common for people to not camp at shelters or designated campsites. I have never stayed in a shelter and usually hike until I run out of energy or time. I'm never sure that will be. But this is in places where dispersed camping is legal.

[Engine]

Shelters = mice, loud snoring, late arrivers, occasional late conversations, greater risk of Norovirus, etc...

Tent sites in the immediate vicinity of the shelter are only slightly better and still suffer from many of the same issues.

Designated tent sites away from shelters are usually our preference, as they still have some of the issues listed above, but at more tolerable levels.

A well chosen stealth site is a real treat once in awhile, but we've only done it a few times.

[Dogwood]

Haven't been on the AT since the early '70's as a youth. Planning on getting out for some section hiking now that I may have some time available. From all I've read it seems everyone plans their daily miles to end at one of the shelters or other designated campsites. I am assuming it would be preferred to stay at one of these area to lessen the impact on the trail, but if weather moves in or I decide to cut the day short, is it permissible to simply stealth camp at any point along the trail?

Yes, you can legally stealth camp on much of the AT while practicing LNT.

IMHO, significantly lessening overall impact on the AT by suggesting camping only at designated established campsites is akin to bailing water on the Titanic since the AT is managed as a come one come all - UNLIMITED USAGE - trail. It's akin to kicking the can down the road attempting to hold onto the unlimited usage approach as long as possible with long term consequences to trail culture, environment, perceptions of trail users, in town good and service providers, strained relationships among AT governing bodies, private land owners, etc. At some point the AT managing bodies have to, no matter how much they may not want to, recognize a finite trail can not support an infinite number of users.

[garlic08]

I'll suggest that dry camping is an excellent way to enjoy dispersed camping along the AT. I found it enjoyable to stop at a shelter for an afternoon or evening meal, socialize a bit, use the privy, fill up on water, then hike on a few miles to an isolated spot in the woods out of sight of the trail. Get away from water, get away from people, bugs, vermin, and condensation, maybe even get an excellent view. Don't make a fire, don't even eat there, just enjoy the quiet and leave it without a trace. It's worth carrying an extra bottle of water.

[ScareBear]

I/we just usually look for something that provides proximity to water but distance from people, if possible. Plenty of places to camp on the AT in GA, NC, TN(excluding GSMNP) without having to bushwhack to an area you've never been in before to find a place to make camp...like other posters have pointed out, most of the good stuff is already there/discovered.

However, it pays to explore! My son and I found a completely hidden campsite for two tents because we missed a turn to a creek on a blue blaze! Others had as well, but we eventually saw a faint but clear trail that continued. We followed it about 1/8th mile to the hidden campsite! We back-tracked, found the missed turn to the creek, camel'd up and then back to the blue blaze. Had we not already set camp at the Gap, we would have set camp way back in there...don't ignore blue blazes when it's time to camp, I've found some awesome tent sites off those...

[Grampie]

During my thru I fredquently tented almost anywhere. Just get 30 to40yards off the trail and set up. Follow LNT and I doubt you will ever be bothered.