Camping to close for comfort

"Or do you follow the bus seating rule, which says that you take the site farthest from the person who is already set up?"

Never heard of that rule. I do know the urinal rule though.

I'd stay farther away, but I like privacy. If you are near a stream that covers sound, then I am more flexible with closeness. But all things equal, I get as far from others as possible. Especially if they don't invite me to camp near them.

all things being equal, I'll camp away from people. But I have to say that I really don't mind if others camp close to my tent, as long as they're reasonable. I'm not sure how much maintaining the illusion of being out in unvisited wilderness is involved here. Most places are long since discovered and often visited. Having a few people around doesn't really spoil the experience for me. Unless, as I mentioned, they're party hearty types.

Channeling BG: TOO close…

That's why I like my hammock— I can take the meanest campsite and still be comfortable. Stealthish camping up on the side of a steep hill with a killer view is entirely possible.

And yes, I would try to camp farther away.

I move on if others are even remotely close. This isn't always and option but I will go to decent efforts to be alone and out of sight.

I typically I try to camp as far away from people as possible. I carry a 1 L water bottle and a 2L platypus so I can tank up with water and camp a ways away from water sources which helps a lot. Since I usually do a lot of cross country it's usually no issue. I would try to avoid a lake that I knew had people, go to the side away from the trail, or hike a few hundred feet above the lake and try to find a shelf with a view over the lake to camp.

We had set up on a pretty nice site in southern Indiana – in the Charles Deam Wilderness. Well, wilderness is a bit of an overstatement….

At about 2a or so some guys literally walked right into our camp and set up their tents RIGHT NEXT TO OURS. I mean in exactly the same campsite, not 2 feet away from our tents. Freaked out one of the members of our group (who happened to be carrying a gun, we found out the next morning – now THAT could have been a disaster) who screamed "who are you? Get away!"

The next morning we awoke, had our coffee and breakfast and nary a word from the guys in the two tents – despite our doing our best to make a LOT of noise and saying goodbye the next morning.

One of the weirdest camp-in-my-spot events I've ever had.

I have had a smile experience on the MRT Jen.

Yup, we have had a similar experience to Jen's (more than once, sadly).

Last summer, around 11pm, a group of eight 30-something males set up IN our campsite (assigned campsites with fee). When I said, politely, "Uhhhh, you're putting your tent in our campsite", they first denied it, then when I pointed out that there was ONE fire ring, and ONE bearbox per site, they just smirked and said in a nasty tone of voice, "What-EVER!".

So. F***ing. RUDE. Not necessary to behave like that. Instead, they could have said something like, "Oh, it's dark and we didn't see…Do you mind, it's really late and we don't have the energy to move — sorry about that!". But no, it was better to be d*ckheads.

"I carry a 1 L water bottle and a 2L platypus so I can tank up with water and camp a ways away from water sources which helps a lot."

BINGO! Richard Gless has it right.

People camp next to lakes. I get it, I'm guilty here too, but if you really want some solitude walk 100 yards away from the watering hole.

I also suspect that some people don't mind, and actually rather prefer, to be around others at night to help ease their fear of the boogeyman.

> I also suspect that some people … actually rather prefer, to be around others at
> night to help ease their fear of the boogeyman.
Not that they would ever admit it.
Yep, I think there is a lot of this, and it explains a lot of strange behaviour.

Cheers

I like my solitude and I like sleeping in a place that's not damp, buggy and cold, so I take a little water for dinner and camp on a ridge every chance I get. Only once have I shared a campsite with another hiker, of whom I welcomed and was my last night on the PCT, just eight miles from the Canadian border.
Another reason for sleeping on a ridge, you start your hike walking downhill in the morning.

* I really like solitude and quiet, so I try to put distance between me and others.

* If it's a crowded place, I don't mind being closeish to others, assuming they're considerate. One of my worst campsite experiences was from a group of young guys a good half-mile away–noisiest wilderness night I ever spent.

* If spaces are limited I'll ask permission before setting up too close to someone else.

* Some folks think the sites right next to the water are the best sites at lakes. I beg to differ for several reasons–condensation, bugs, fishbowl, traffic, etc.

"I also suspect that some people … actually rather prefer,. . . . To ease their fear of the boogeyman."

I note similar behavior on foggy roads. Drivers who drive slowly when on their own will tail-gate me at a much higher speed.

Last summer, around 11pm, a group of eight 30-something males set up IN our campsite (assigned campsites with fee).

On the flip-side of that kind of issue, there is a funny situation in the two Yosemite backpacker campgrounds, where they don't have capacity for every group using it to get their own campsite. So, the people that get there later have to invade the campsites others have setup in, which the occupying campers may of thought was F-C-F-S and exclusively theirs (even though it is a per camper charge, not per site).

Yosemite should post up some notices explaining to people that it's basically a free for all, and that sharing is the norm. As people get their early and fill the bear boxes three stuffed 85L packs, leaving no room for others to put their food.

"I also suspect that some people don't mind, and actually rather prefer, to be around others at night to help ease their fear of the boogeyman."

"If some pack of idiots keeps me awake with their foolishness, they will learn to fear me more than any imaginary bogeyman," he said while dressing their tent in bacon and dried salmon.

Muhahahaha!

"On the flip-side of that kind of issue, there is a funny situation in the two Yosemite backpacker campgrounds, where they don't have capacity for every group using it to get their own campsite. So, the people that get there later have to invade the campsites others have setup in, which the occupying campers may of thought was F-C-F-S and exclusively theirs (even though it is a per camper charge, not per site).

Yosemite should post up some notices explaining to people that it's basically a free for all, and that sharing is the norm. As people get their early and fill the bear boxes three stuffed 85L packs, leaving no room for others to put their food."

Too true! The first time I hiked out of the Valley I showed up to a crowded BP's campground at sunset and got a lot of sneers from groups as I walked around in the dark looking for a spot to "squeeze" in. Luckily, a couple noticed my situation and called me over to a spot near them. Totally cool people who I ended up seeing again a week later in the backcountry.

In virginia we have a good website called "hikingupward.com that ranks hikes by a number of categories including "solitude".

Also if you camp out of sight, its less likely the social campers can find you to camp next to you.

In andy skurka's camping video he mentions that evaporation tends to make camping near water sources alot colder, more buggy. Camping under tree cover, helps trap radient heat from the earth and keep you warmer. Camping near large bolders may radiate more heat as well.

… Luckily, a couple noticed my situation and called me over to a spot near them. Totally cool people who I ended up seeing again a week later in the backcountry.

Got in there early enough once to setup in large campsite and my buddy and I stayed up until like 1:00am inviting the confused stragglers to "our" camp. In the morning, the group we gathered probably looked to others like we were an REI guided trip. Was really fun, met some very interesting people… learned a couple cool things too.

Haven't had an opportunity to do it again, as I'm usually the one looking for an open place to setup at 1:00am.

If I had any kind of follow through on my stupid ideas, I'd have a metal sign made in the style of the parks signs and mount it next time I was up there.