"Stealth Camping"...What is it?

[Kirby]

I just scoured the AMC website and found no references to it being illegal. If you can provide me a link to their website that proves me wrong, I'll be more than happy to take appropriate action.

I was not talking about the Whites, I was talking about the Baxter State Park reference. A lot of hikers know that you are only allowed to camp in designated campsites, and Wolf was stating support for breaking that policy/law in his statement.

Kirby

[Lone Wolf]

I was not talking about the Whites, I was talking about the Baxter State Park reference. A lot of hikers know that you are only allowed to camp in designated campsites, and Wolf was stating support for breaking that policy/law in his statement.

Kirby

i didn't "camp". i just layed down like an animal. no tent, no fire, no cooking, no light. define "camping".

[Lone Wolf]

Wolf was stating support for breaking that policy/law in his statement.

Kirby

by the way, i ain't telling others what to do. just saying what i do and will continue to do if the opportunity presents itself

[Kirby]

by the way, i ain't telling others what to do. just saying what i do and will continue to do if the opportunity presents itself

Wolf:
By stating on a website such as this one, you are advocating support for it, and giving others the idea it is OK, which it is not. I don't care what you personally do, but advocating the breaking of a policy, publicly, in a venerable fund run of the funds the recieve from charging campers who stay at their actual campsites.

From the website:
"7. CAMPING: Camping is permitted only in authorized campgrounds and campsites May 15 through October 15 and December 1 through March 31. Tents may not be pitched in lean-to sites. Because campgrounds may be distant from the gatehouse, campers should check driving times and plan accordingly. Except as otherwise permitted by the Director, campers must register at the gatehouse no later than 8:30 P.M. The latest check-out time is 11:00 A.M., and the earliest check-in time is 1:00 P.M."

Kirby

[Kirby]

*In a venerable park run by the funds...

[Tipi Walter]

As L. Wolf said last month, "Define camping."

If you sit down at the side of a trail, have you then commenced camping? No, you're probably just resting. Nobody prohibits sitting on a rock and taking off your shoes for an hour.

What if you sit down and fall asleep, in the afternoon. Well, that's just resting and taking a nap.

What if you string up your hammock at noon and use it like a chair. Still just sitting and resting? What if you just lay back and take a nap. Are you camping or resting?

What if you did that at night, 200 yards off the trail? Maybe you're just taking a long break, eh?

I suppose most permit sellers define camping as just being some place that's not an approved campground during non-traffic hours and if you get caught, you have to pay a fine. But, really, how can I have moral objections to just being someplace? Especially if you're being someplace in such a low impact way that it'd take forensic science to show you've been there. Gotta be some place every minute.

As a flame retardant, though, I'll admit that I've never slept in a permit camping area without paying the fee. If people are taking responsibility for keeping an area maintained, why not help support the effort?

A good solution would be to take a lawyer with you when you go backpacking, can't be too safe, and with the proper forms and affadavits, he might be able to draw up a working definition of What Constitutes Camping, acceptable in most courts. When the Tent Police arrive and surround your camp, having a lawyer is also helpful as you can leave all your gear with him, run like a deer, and let him pay the fine, etc.

There are actually some people out there that will report an illegal backpacker to the Tent Police. Some of them might even be lurking here on the open forums . . . hmm . . . Meanwhile, while they collar the puny humble tent camper, a thousand RV motorhomes invade their Park, another thousand airline jets roar overhead, new highways are being built nearby their Park, and yet they hand out fines and worry about the low impact, the very low impact, backpacker.

[Tin Man]

So, don't camp illegally, and DON'T camp illegally on private land!

Especially in Texas where they shoot first and ask questions later.

[Lone Wolf]

Wolf:
By stating on a website such as this one, you are advocating support for it, and giving others the idea it is OK, which it is not. I don't care what you personally do, but advocating the breaking of a policy, publicly, in a venerable fund run of the funds the recieve from charging campers who stay at their actual campsites.

From the website:
"7. CAMPING: Camping is permitted only in authorized campgrounds and campsites May 15 through October 15 and December 1 through March 31. Tents may not be pitched in lean-to sites. Because campgrounds may be distant from the gatehouse, campers should check driving times and plan accordingly. Except as otherwise permitted by the Director, campers must register at the gatehouse no later than 8:30 P.M. The latest check-out time is 11:00 A.M., and the earliest check-in time is 1:00 P.M."

Kirby

define "CAMPING".

[EWS]

Camp where you feel safe, don't leave a mess or tear up crap, and pay if required. T' hell with the rest.

[JAK]

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the glen,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need the warld ken?

[dessertrat]

Maybe but not really. When someone asks about stealth camping sites in the Whites or Smokies they really should be asking where they can camp illegally.

So if you pitch a shelter right as the sun goes down, and get up at first light and pack up, who is going to catch you camping illegally?

[EWS]

A good solution would be to take a lawyer with you when you go backpacking, can't be too safe, and with the proper forms and affadavits, he might be able to draw up a working definition of What Constitutes Camping, acceptable in most courts. When the Tent Police arrive and surround your camp, having a lawyer is also helpful as you can leave all your gear with him, run like a deer, and let him pay the fine, etc.

There are actually some people out there that will report an illegal backpacker to the Tent Police. Some of them might even be lurking here on the open forums . . . hmm . . . Meanwhile, while they collar the puny humble tent camper, a thousand RV motorhomes invade their Park, another thousand airline jets roar overhead, new highways are being built nearby their Park, and yet they hand out fines and worry about the low impact, the very low impact, backpacker.

Exactly.

Too many douches with no common sense running about.

[Lone Wolf]

Wolf:
By stating on a website such as this one, you are advocating support for it, and giving others the idea it is OK, which it is not. I don't care what you personally do, but advocating the breaking of a policy, publicly, in a venerable fund run of the funds the recieve from charging campers who stay at their actual campsites.

whatever that means. you're getting all worked up kirby. 99.9 % of all sheeple hikers go by every rule, law, guideline, policy. that's good i guess

[nitewalker]

i belive in camping where you darn well please. if i decide to stay at a shelter, campsite where a fee is required well its my choice and i always respect the policy and pay[ my least favorite camping]... i prefer to do like wolf mentioned earlier about true cowboy camping where there will be no lite,fire, cooking etc[lnt always followed].. if you plan properly eat a couple hours be4 camp although it may lead to some night hiking which is my specialty. then just pull up a spot just off trail somewhere and kick back..

[Tipi Walter]

So if you pitch a shelter right as the sun goes down, and get up at first light and pack up, who is going to catch you camping illegally?

Generally, if you enter a treeline undetected, never build a fire, have a green tent or something not bright, uh, well, many good nights of camping are possible. When the call of the wild hits, whether you're 15 or 75, get your bedroll and knapsack cuz we're going camping!

And BTW, as an aside: About 150 years ago a group of Cheyenne Indians led by Dull Knife were told they couldn't camp in Colorado because of so much conflict with the encroaching new nonIndian settlers, so they humped down to Oklahoma where they were also told that camping is not permitted. So on a forced winter march back north, many of them died of exposure and starvation. The Tent Police really took their jobs seriously back then.

[Tin Man]

If you don't break a rule once in awhile, what are the rule police gonna do?

If you don't outsmart the rule police once in awhile, what will they do with all their free time?

If you break a rule (except the LNT rule) and no one else is in the woods, did anyone else notice or care?

[sasquatch2014]

If I string my hammock so that it is completly above water am i camping or would in some strange way this be considered boating?

[The Old Fhart]

Dixicritter-"I just scoured the AMC website and found no references to it being illegal. If you can provide me a link to their website that proves me wrong, I'll be more than happy to take appropriate action."

The AMC doesn't own the land in the Whites (other than 1 acre at Madison Springs Hut) so they don't set the rules on camping. The USFS is the largest landowner and their regulations say no camping within 1/4 mile of a hut, no camping above tree line where trees are less than 8 feet tall, the 50 mile section of the Appalachian Trail from the summit of Mt. Moosilauke to the Connecticut River(NH/VT state line) except at shelters, plus many other spots listed in the linked brochure.

The State of NH also owns land around Lonesome Lake Hut, the summit of Mount Washington, and all of Franconia Ridge. There is absolutely no camping within the Franconia Notch State Park Boundary except for Lafayette Campground.

[Summit]

So if you pitch a shelter right as the sun goes down, and get up at first light and pack up, who is going to catch you camping illegally?

Too many people today assume they haven't broken the law unless they get caught. I'm not taking a position on whether any particular law/rule under discussion here is right or wrong, but people taking the law into their own hands and deciding they are above it is ALWAYS WRONG!

[nitewalker]

The State of NH also owns land around Lonesome Lake Hut, the summit of Mount Washington, and all of Franconia Ridge. There is absolutely no camping within the Franconia Notch State Park Boundary except for Lafayette Campground.

i have found many places to camp within those areas. really cool spots im sure noone else has ever seen ........i guess i was stealth camping ..