Drones

[Justin Mckinney]

Last week , some friends and I did 6 nights in Humphreys basin. We headed in via Pine creek pac station. We were hanging out at the first lake , upper pine lake, watching a peregrine falcon fish. A little while later, a guy , his girlfriend and dog came up and were hanging out a bit off to the side. They were day hikers. all of a sudden, there’s the sound of a whirling drone , buzzing all over the place. We could see from a distance he was controlling a drone. First, this is super obnoxious  and complete disrespect for anyone else there. Second , it disrupts wildlife ( peregrine falcon) and third, isn’t it illegal to do that in the John Muir Wilderness ?

[Matthew / BPL]

Agreed on all three counts. I’d probably confront the owner in that situation and film it on my phone so that I could hand it over to authorities. I hope this doesn’t become a commonplace occurrence.

[Matthew / BPL]

This is part of why we should be careful about geotagging beautiful places.

[Justin Mckinney]

My friend wanted to confront him, and yes, I think taking his picture extra … would have been a good idea.

 

[Bob Shuff]

This is the answer.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-05/the-military-is-using-falcons-to-build-a-drone-killer

Maybe we can have a Sierra Club falcon squadron?  Yeah, maybe not. I guess the animal rights wing of the club might not support us.

😉

[Paul Wagner]

I had the same experience in Zion this summer.  But I confronted the guys, told them that drones were illegal, and explained why;  They scare the wildlife, and the noise is obnoxious to other visitors.  At that point they apologized and brought in the drone….and didn’t fly it again while I was there.

I told a ranger about it later, and she thanked me, for what that’s worth.

 

Just as a note, all engines are illegal in wilderness areas.  When we work on trails in a designate wilderness we are not allowed to use chain saws, for example.

[Ken Thompson]

https://www.fs.fed.us/science-technology/fire/unmanned-aircraft-systems/responsible-use

[Lester Moore]

Similar experience below Marmot Pass in the Olympics this summer. A young, excited backpacker and his buddies said they couldn’t wait to get a drone out after they found a nice campsite. So I mentioned a few good established sites in the area and told him that drones are illegal and that he could get a stiff fine from a ranger. He had no idea, thanked me and we parted ways. Don’t know if they used the drone or not (I camped a mile or so further on), but early the next morning I walked by their camp – it was right in the middle of a large grassy meadow near the trail.

Last summer in the same area, we and others camped nearby were treated to the annoying sound of a drone flying around the summit of Buckhorn Mountain for about an hour before sunset. With all the people in some backpacking areas, some just don’t bother to learn the rules – whether it’s drones, campfires during a burn ban, poo and TP on the ground, or poor campsite selection.

[Iago Vazquez]

Drones and portable speakers blasting whatever music…

[Arthur]

New Kickstarter potential!  Instead of bear spray, drone spray.  Two versions, one for the operator and one to bring down the drone.

[Ken Thompson]

Slingshot.

[Jerry Adams]

I agree drones shouldn’t be in wilderness, but they sure do make cool videos.  There must be nice non wilderness with few people..

Maybe make a helium balloon drone that’s quiet – still not legal for wilderness but less annoying.

[Tipi Walter]

Responsible use of unmanned flights??  How about responsible use of Manned flights?  No engines in wilderness??  That’s a crock because here in the Southeast where I go backpacking every wilderness area is bombarded by jet engines (airliners) flying nonstop from 6 am to 2am.  Air traffic over wilderness areas in the Southeast is so bad now that I have to wear earplugs to camp and sleep.  It’s a curse.

Drones are just more of the same garbage we face every day—just more human crap invading what’s left of what’s decent.

[Franco Darioli]

Jet engines and drones..

both less than ideal but I think that drones fly a bit lower, closer to birds and humans and possibly less useful  than airplanes.

[W I S N E R !]

The operator presents a much easier target than the drone.  Just saying.

[Ken Thompson]

Be careful when mounting to assert dominance.

[AK Granola]

I worry about privacy and drones. What if I’m doing my daily mandate out in some remote wilderness when a nearby camper decides it is time to fly the drone? This is not an unfounded fear. Years ago I was camped in Denali, high up in a pass, two days hike in, and was answering nature’s call, when suddenly a helicopter created the ridge directly above me, flying low, buzzed right over my head. Some rich tourist somewhere has a photo of my back end… seriously though, how freakin annoying. Thank goodness they missed the wolf that trotted through camp a short while later.

[Brad P]

I don’t own a drone and probably never will (nowhere close by to legally fly one). I only like when places hire pros to do drone videos.  The views can be amazing and you only need to do it once, having a very, very minor and brief impact.

Two years ago, some moron had a drone at our Boy Scout camp.  The idiot was flying it around the zip line.

[Shane C]

I dont own a drone and never will.

But I’m on the other side here, if someone sees a great drone video and gets excited about exploring the wilderness I’m all for it.

More people outside and in these areas means more people willing to conserve it. And I’ve seen some awesome shots from backpackers with drones. If its breaking the rules, I’m against that. If your in an area where its allowed…. hyoh, its their experience as much as it is yours. If flying a drone gives them outdoor pleasure that’s great. If its bothering you walk a mile up the trail and mind your own…

1. Live and let live, isn’t that what the outdoor culture is all about?

[AK Granola]

Drones do take cool photos. A birdseye view is amazing. But, motorized, mechanized things whirring above the tree in which sits a bird I want to view is a conflict, competing interests. It’s not really hyoh then, is it? Because the drone guy is preventing me from one of the goals and great enjoyments of my hike. Others want to hear the sounds of a wild place. Even loud voices can be annoying if they never stop, although I don’t begrudge people enjoying talking to each other. At least they will continue down the trail. Who gets to hike their hike when hikers’ activities are in opposition? Thank goodness for regulations. I vote to keep em strong!

I’m pretty decent at skeet shooting, but shotguns don’t make for light backpacking.

 

[Shane C]

I’m deffinately not trolling here but why do your “competing interests” outweigh the drone persons? In an area where it is legal to use shouldnt that person have the right to use it? Look, I get it, I was on a solo 2 months back and a band of boy scouts came in late, lost after some navigation failures and started setting up at 1am when I was trying to sleep, I packed up and went over the ridge to kill the noise. I have no right to tell them how I want MY experience to be, I’m happy they were out there learning about backpacking with a bunch of 40 lb. Packs. I guess I take HYOH to mean just that. If someone smoking weed or drinking or flying a drone bothers me I just move on

[Matthew / BPL]

LNT principles include respecting wildlife and being considerate to other people. I think drones are problematic on both counts.

https://lnt.org/learn/7-principles

[Shane C]

The link doesnt work just fyi, says page not found. However, I do really believe in the LNT rules and teach them to my daughters when we go backpacking together. Just for giggles, what is more in line with a LNT policy? Flying a drone for 10 minutes or having 500 people starting at Springer and all walking the same trail in the same direction.  The same trail that has in the past worn a rut and damaged the soil in big meadow? LNT is the cornerstone but you cannot say that we do not negatively impact the environment while we are hiking through it, especially when we do it in great numbers. So what’s more disturbing to the environment, the drone or the people? Its toung and cheek but sometimes I feel like we get overly richous.

 
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[Matthew / BPL]

I fixed my link.

I agree that some areas are overused and heavily impacted.

[Jerry Adams]

I agree with you Shane, no reason to get overly righteous.

When I see someone using a drone I go over and talk to them.  I think they’re pretty cool.  I haven’t seen any in wilderness which is a good thing.

Once I was camping (in the Wilderness) and put my quilt out, no one around.  After dark some people came along and camped right next to me.  They built a fire maybe 20 feet away.  Their dog came over and barked at me. I just felt like going back to sleep though. That’s what bugs me about wilderness behavior – if someone is enjoying the Wilderness, keep your distance from them when possible.

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