Shelter etiquette question.....I think I got bamboozled :(
Ill try to condense the story...
Gooch mountain shelter On Monday,6-01-2015,me and a buddy coming from hawk mountain shelter,tired,wet,etc (yes it rained entire time we were there,LOL) and when we got there,only 3 camping spots were left and all spots AND all of the shelter was taken up by a church youth group.....
The church group was there almost 2 days,as they actually took a 0 day at the shelter on Monday and had only a 1.4 mile hike out to gooch gap where church van awaited...
7-15 year olds in woods playing "war",as im at the privy wiping man parts,they are on ridge well within eye shot...
As I come down from privy,aforementioned kids down in front/behind my shelter and my hiking partners tent,again,playing war....
Several hikers,while it was raining,were forced on down the trail,because shelter was taken by youth croup...
3am a HUGE storm came through and we were OK,but to be honest,it would have been nice to wait that out in the biggest shelter on the Georgia section of the AT instead of hunkered under a tarp....
I though large groups were to take spots only and not shelter? Leaving shelters for the thrus and section guys...Am I wrong? What is trail etiquette? What,if anything should have been said? Or is this just par for the course?
Thanks...just want to know next time,if something like this happens.
Don't know about etiquette
The Gooch Mountain Shelter is within Chattahoochee National Forest.
The only regulations I could find on limits to stays in shelter is that no person can stay at any one sight for more than three nights during any thirty day period.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...prd3824389.pdf
There does not seem to be any limit on the size of a group, or at least any that I could find.
The GENERAL rule I've always followed on shelters is simple: first come, first served.
Three times I've arrived at shelters that were full due to a college crowd having a weekend "bonding" trip just before the start of the school year.
I wasn't happy at any of these incidents, but I realized I had no cause for complaint. They got there before I did, so I had to simply make do.
In one of these cases, similar to yours (shelter full but heavy rain occurring), I asked them to make room for me, and they were kind (or took pity on me) enough to agree.
I sort of "sang for my supper" by sharing my backpacking experience and expertise to people who had never backpacked in their lives.
> I though[t] large groups were to take spots only and not shelter?
> Leaving shelters for the thrus and section guys ... Am I wrong?
The only rule I could find is a GUIDELINE from the ATC:
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiki...amilies-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."
The extent to which these guidelines supersede the FCFS guideline is a matter of opinion.
You could always ask for mercy in these situations, but I myself wouldn't raise any fuss if I didn't get what I wanted.
I've always felt that part of the adventure of back-country camping is that you DON'T know what you'll get on the trail.
The shelter or hostel might be full, or even closed.
The water source might be completely dry.
The post office might have closed an hour early.
The campsite might be under three inches of water.
In all of these cases, you might have experienced misfortune, but I wouldn't say you were bamboozled.
For myself, I would simply make alternate plans.