Camping Rules and Regulations

abnorm · Jul 23, 2024

I got in trouble with the California Forest Rangers this weekend..........(Threatened with a $5,000 fine).........Seems in April 2024 they changed the rules in MODOC National Forest to allow any camper only 14 days in any one particular campground PER YEAR

I think it was a knee-jerk reaction to STOP the "unpermitted" Rainbow Family Gathering planned for the forest

The Notice/Letter is posted on the Entrance Kiosk (Who reads all that crap ?).............and on the Website under ALERT !

We spent 13 days here last month........I paid for my 17th day when we arrived........we parked next door to the camp host ranger again.....I guess we make an impression ......There's NO-one else here !.........102° Today ..........we leave on Wed Morning

bullfrog ! · Jul 23, 2024

abnorm said:
I got in trouble with the California Forest Rangers this weekend..........(Threatened with a $5,000 fine).........Seems in April 2024 they changed the rules in MODOC National Forest to allow any camper only 14 days in any one particular campground PER YEAR

I think it was a knee-jerk reaction to STOP the "unpermitted" Rainbow Family Gathering planned for the forest

The Notice/Letter is posted on the Entrance Kiosk (Who reads all that crap ?).............and on the Website under ALERT !

We spent 13 days here last month........I paid for my 17th day when we arrived........we parked next door to the camp host ranger again.....I guess we make an impression ......There's NO-one else here !.........102° Today ..........we leave on Wed Morning

Volunteer to work or camp host. I used to volunteer to do campfire activities like painting rocks, making smores or safety talks a couple nights a week in exchange for a free site for the season. Just something to consider if you want to long term stay and not have to leave or pay.

LoupGarou · Jul 23, 2024

Fourteen days in any one particular campground, per year, in manageable. At least it isn't 14-days total, state wide, per calendar year. I afraid that's coming.

maki2 · Jul 23, 2024

Abnorm, they are out to get you…out of California! No more hippie scum. They have been trying since the 1960s to get rid of your type!

bullfrog ! · Jul 23, 2024

^^^Lol!!!

rruff · Jul 24, 2024

abnorm said:
I think it was a knee-jerk reaction to STOP the "unpermitted" Rainbow Family Gathering planned for the forest

Isn't that already over? Wondering how it went...

I know from personal experience that the "authorities" can get really ornery around Rainbow Gatherings. If they think you might be one of the peaceful, fun loving scum that would attend such a thing, then ya... you could be a target... even well after the fact.

abnorm · Jul 24, 2024

Washington State Parks just changed the rules too................

"New camping stay limits go into effect on Aug. 19, 2024. The maximum length of stay shall be no more than 10 nights in one park within a thirty-day period. Total nights stayed not to exceed 90 days per calendar year in all state parks."

abnorm · Jul 24, 2024

rruff said:
Isn't that already over? Wondering how it went...

Over before it started after moving from Modoc to Plumas National Forest............................

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...fornia-forest-service-disruption/74249325007/

maki2 · Jul 24, 2024

abnorm said:
Washington State Parks just changed the rules too................

"New camping stay limits go into effect on Aug. 19, 2024. The maximum length of stay shall be no more than 10 nights in one park within a thirty-day period. Total nights stayed not to exceed 90 days per calendar year in all state parks.

I would certainly hate the 90 day per year rule thing as will all the disabled military veterans who had free camping in those parks and basically lived for free in the state park system by rotating between various state parks. Idid some camping in the WA state Parks in the fall of 2020. The time limit in any one park was then 20 days max at one location and then moving to a different one. I forget what the time period before returning to that park was. With the type of senior pass I had I could have camped for free all during the winter “off season” but there was a daily fee for electrical hookup but iictrical was free to the disabled veterans. Water was shut off to campsites in winter months but it was typically available from a spigot at the restroom/ shore buildings. . Of course many of the state parks were closed during the winter as keeping them open during freezing weather conditions without a lot of paying campers was not cost effective. It would not have been viable for me to spend the winter there due to condensation issues and lack of solar input. Staying in summer would not work either unless I became a camp host. Camp host at the state parks do not have to clean restrooms or do hard labor tasks and do not have to collect fees. But there is no pay or stipend. Sometimes there are also no electrical, water or sewer hookups included depending on the locations amenities. But basically overall it is not a bad way to spend the summer months especially in the waterfront parks. The host I got to know were actually enjoying their jobs and had been doing it every summer.

rruff · Jul 25, 2024

To me this all seems like rules are targeting the wrong people, while ignoring the people who are actually making a mess. The ones turning the forests into trash dumps are a different crowd entirely.

WanderingRose · Jul 25, 2024

I think it has to do somewhat with the mess some make, but mostly with the volume of people hoping to live rent free or at very low cost.

It’s not what our forests were intended for, and affects the experience of those wanting to camp for recreation and leisure.

Crackdowns of various sorts and in varying venues are occurring all over the country.

LargeMarge · Jul 25, 2024

abnorm said:
...[DepartmentOfJustifyingOurExistence] changed the rules in MODOC National Forest to allow any camper only 14 days in any one particular campground PER YEAR...

.
Thank you for posting this.
.
We were in that area in April (Highway 70 (Feather River Canyon) closed by landslides).
We like the Modoc, but that region can be...
.
...dry.
.
Add extreme! life-threatening! insufferable! annoying as all get-out! temperatures over about 78°f/25c, and I might consider heading to the coast.
.
.
An aside:
The lovely and wild Feather River was entitled by Northern European Heritage folk.
According to the myth, our intrepid explorers came around a corner, and suddenly, the entire river was covered with mountains of feathers!
.
Just up from a visit to Old Mexico, our intrepids decided to use some of their newly-acquired bi-lingualism to commemorate the monumentous moment-in-time with a vigorous chorus-in-the-round of:
* "¡Ay! ¡Carumba! ¡That's a whole mess of plumas!"
.
I suspect loco weed was involved.

maki2 · Jul 25, 2024

You know how it goes…the departments of tourism in a state encourage out of state people as well as state residents to get out in nature and enjoy the national parks, state parks, forest, deserts and shorelines. This ruling is about supply and demand pressure on limited resources meaning camping spots. You have an XL size populations in the states of California and Washington with parents and children as well as individuals wanting to go camping as many weekends as possible plus book camping spots for affordable one and two week long summer vacations. What is the viable solution? The solution is to limit how many days in a year you can stay so more people get a chance to reserve a campsite. These adaptations in public land management strategies get discussed at national meetings so it is natural more and more agencies in more states will say yeah, we should do that too.

abnorm · Jul 25, 2024

LargeMarge said:
"¡Ay! ¡Carumba! ¡That's a whole mess of plumas!"

Yeah the Plumas National Forest ahead has a "camping" closure Alert til Christmas

We're still in Modoc.........at a FREE 14 day campsite with the Ash Creek nearby...............

Out-numbered 10-1 by large Bovines and their early morning bellowing

BUTt..................Today the sky is Orange smoke and we had a Cal-Fire Helicopter fly 300 ft over our heads

wayne49 · Jul 25, 2024

Strange sight at Echo Reservoir in Utah, as I passed by on I-80 today. A chopper was dragging a bucket through the air. I assumed that they were going to pick up water from the reservoir for some fire somewhere. Or running a drill. A couple of non-local fire vehicles sighted earlier on I-80 may have been part of the activity. Meanwhile a ski boat was dragging a water skier around in the light rain. Reminded me of water skiing in the rain back in Minnesota. You were going to get wet anyway. Same deal with snow skiing, while it's snowing.

The day before on US-93, there was a unhealthy looking smoke plume coming from the west while on my way up to Ely. Yesterday, Wyoming had a bad air alert due to a smoke plume from fires in the west.

rruff · Jul 26, 2024

maki2 said:
This ruling is about supply and demand pressure on limited resources meaning camping spots.

Make more camping spots. Plenty of room in the west. For some reason we can never afford to pay for basic infrastructure...

It's just another example of chaos-making I think... which caused this problem in the first place... and instead of fixing that, they hassle people who actually aren't the problem.

I'm not going to be too worried unless they start going after people who camp far into the boonies away from everyone.

bullfrog ! · Jul 26, 2024

rruff said:
Make more camping spots. Plenty of room in the west. For some reason we can never afford to pay for basic infrastructure...

It's just another example of chaos-making I think... which caused this problem in the first place... and instead of fixing that, they hassle people who actually aren't the problem.

I'm not going to be too worried unless they start going after people who camp far into the boonies away from everyone.

It is sad that our countries solution is to punish those that are trying but need only to be left alone never the less helped to get by.

maki2 · Jul 26, 2024

bullfrog ! said:
It is sad that our countries solution is to punish those that are trying but need only to be left alone never the less helped to get by.

I do not think anyone is being deliberately punished. But I certainly think they are being ignored because power lies in wealth and that something thing they do not have.

WanderingRose · Jul 26, 2024

I don’t think people are being “punished”, either, but it’s a logical consequence of so many people trying to live in our forests.

I read that Gavin Newsome is clearing homeless encampments in California, and where I live that has also recently occurred.

They’ve given them a parking lot here, temporarily, but cleared them from public areas.

We need more affordable housing, absolutely, and better intervention for those struggling with mental health/substance abuse, but there are many who are gainfully employed, making good money, who want to live rent free.

Our public lands are not meant for that.

bullfrog ! · Jul 26, 2024

WanderingRose said:
I don’t think people are being “punished”, either, but it’s a logical consequence of so many people trying to live in our forests.

I read that Gavin Newsome is clearing homeless encampments in California, and where I live that has also recently occurred.

They’ve given them a parking lot here, temporarily, but cleared them from public areas.

We need more affordable housing, absolutely, and better intervention for those struggling with mental health/substance abuse, but there are many who are gainfully employed, making good money, who want to live rent free.

Our public lands are not meant for that.

I don’t think they “want” to live in a van or RV as much as they “want” to have a life similar to what middle class living should be as in being able have medical bills paid and have enough to start paying down credit card bills. Not having to abandon their kids so they can feed them by having 2 or 3 jobs just so they can keep a roof over their heads. We have allowed marketing and big money to go wild stripping the middle class of it’s wealth and putting our kids in debt with expensive college fees before they have a chance of getting housing or starting their careers. The ultra wealthy need to contribute to improving the work force’s lives and their children’s education and training as they will be necessary for a better America in my opinion.

Camping Rules and Regulations

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