real boondocking in CA

[wagoneer]

most of my camping was off the Yuba river about 30 miles off road and very steep canyons all around. It was on a claim a friend had called "The Blue Mule" Bunch of Irish co-workers, i was working as a framer. Cases of John Powers and lots of beer. You could hear dirt bikes off in the distance and the occasional pop pop. We stayed close to our fire at night and skinny dipped in the heat of the sun

 

[akrvbob]

I looked at these proofs, here's what i found. Only one of them (#5) refers to crimes in National Forests where two men were murdered.  So you have two verified deaths by a lone mentally disturbed man who was growing opium. That article goes on to make lots of vague acusations with out any evidence or proof. It might all be true, but it offers no proof and doesn't give any specifics of any other crimes.

Most of them are about crimes near Murder Mountain, which is on private property not the National Forests!!

Out of the millions of visitors to CA National Forests, you found evidence of two murders. Maybe that's enough to keep some people from visiting them but it won't bother me at all.
Bob

1) This report is just outside Fresno and has nothing to do with National Forests. I'd agree with you that cities are a terrible place to live if that is your point:
http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/apexchange/2013/02/09/ca--marijuana-farms-laotian-growers.html

2) This one is about a guy named Garrett going missing who worked on a marijuana farm and has nothing to do with National Forests. A rival farm got revenge. And it's about Murder Mountaiin and in the post below we find out Murder Mountain is in a subdivision, not the NF.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/09/11/humboldt-countys-murder-mountain-in-marijuana-country-living-up-to-its-name/

3)This one appears to be a blog with a lot of vague accusations without a single verifiable fact in it that I can find.
http://www.3ammagazine.com/politica/2002_jun/pot_county.html
She's where you got this statement:
"People shoot at cars they don't know. At people they don't know. Deep graves in the backwoods nobody's gonna find. And it does happen, unfortunately, because people are stupid. The greatest risk posed to growers is the theft of their crop by other growers or groups of armed local thugs, both in and out of uniform."

Nowhere is there the slightest hint of any proof of that statement, all we know is that she says it's true. It must be true because she wrote it and put it on the internet. Beyond that, there is nowhere in the article where she says it's happening in the NFs.

4) This one also has nothing to do with the National Forests. she describes right in it where the crimes took place:

"As reported by Kym Kemp, the area dubbed "Murder Mountain" is the Rancho Sequoia subdivision near the town of Alderpoint, about 45 minutes east of the 101 and Garberville. In 1968, the mountainous land was subdivided in response to a proposed dam project that was never built. Marijuana farmers snapped up lots as small as ten acres, and soon the area became notorious for law enforcement raids and rampant criminality."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/high-times/murder-mayhem-marijuana_b_4228303.html

This is about crimes in a subdivision, not in the NF!!! The marijuana farmers bought and own that land. Unless you are trespassing on private property, you are at no risk!!! You quoted this:
"Humboldt County police and private investigators are working to find Garrett, but investigator Chris Cook doesn't have much hope he'll be found alive, remarking to the Lost Coast Outpost that, "Is he alive? Probably not... I really want people to know that if you are coming up here, you could be taking your life in your hands."

This is the guy above who was a marijuana farmer and was murdered by a rival farmer. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE National Forests

5) Okay, this one actually is about the NF and two men who were killed in it.
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/04/local/la-me-fort-bragg-20110904 Here is how they describe the suspect:
"Two weeks later, Melo, 69, was gunned down. The suspect, Aaron Bassler, 35, was described by his father as schizophrenic and possibly also involved in Coleman's death. He had a bunker in the area and had been tending not marijuana but about 100 opium poppies, said Mendocino County Sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb. Melo was shot close by."

So you have two verified deaths by a lone mentally disturbed man who was growing opium. The article goes on to make lots of vague acusations with out any evidence or proof. It might all be true, but it offers no proof and doesn't give any specifics of any other crimes.

6) I don't understand why you included this one at all. It doesn't make reference to any crimes. In fact the author concludes that maijuana farmers should not be armed.
http://www.marijuanagrowershq.com/what-is-the-best-firearm-for-marijuana-garden-defense/

 

[highdesertranger]

steve I didn't mean to scare you about the pot growers. it's just something to be aware of. like bears. pot growers have never stopped me. as far as the new 49ers. yes if you pay full price it's expensive, but they run specials and have cheaper types of memberships. the one you quoted is for a lifetime. they are also transferable, so every now and again they come up for sale, the price is usually around 1k. the best bargain for beginners I feel are the local chapters of the gpaa. they have claims, group outings, and experienced people to show newbies the ropes. the new 49ers also has classes to help newbies out. good luck and may your pans be golden. highdesertranger

 

[steveh2112]

thanks all. if i do run into pot farmer, i hope they are from Laos, i can speak the language pretty well and my wife speaks it perfectly, hopefully we could talk our way out of a problem, probably end up drinking rice whiskey with them.

i'm probably not interested in that new 49ers club as i want to travel to many areas in the gold country, and maybe try Colorado gold too. as a newbee, i figure the first season is more about leaning than mining gold, so i need to take what i've been leaning online and apply it in the field. but, HDR, i really like the new 49ers website, they have some great tutorials and background on there.

 

[akrvbob]

I think the GPAA is your best bet. It's $85 to join and they give you a big book of claims you can legally work with lots in CA. Perfect for a beginner and then you can advance to some of the other clubs which are more hard-core.
http://www.goldprospectors.org/

Bob

 

[GotSmart]

OK Exclusively National Forest land. 

 
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/Violence-from-Pot-Farms-on-Public-Land-232943341.html
 
[font=Helvetica, sans-serif]“There are armed people patrolling those grow sites, and you have people up there trying to steal that marijuana, so you have almost in a gun battle,” Ko said.[/font]
[font=Helvetica, sans-serif]He said that includes six murders in 2012.[/font]


[font=Helvetica, sans-serif]Go where you want, but be extremely careful.  I have lived there, and know the people involved.  Now I stay out of the "public" land in Northern California.  I will boondock elsewhere.  [/font]


[font=Helvetica, sans-serif]Call me a liar if you want.  [/font]


[font=Helvetica, sans-serif]After all Bob knows everything.   :dodgy: [/font]


[font=Helvetica, sans-serif]If you knew that moonshiners had hidden stills in an area, would you go boondocking and hiking?[/font]

 

[highdesertranger]

I will tell you what scares me more than pot growers, bears, big foot, locust, or even alien abduction. deer hunting season. that's when I steer clear of the national forests. highdesertranger

 

[wayne49]

may sound stupid but how about a hang a big sign on my van in English and Spanish saying 'i'm only here for the gold, i'm not interested in your pot'

Yeah, because the DEA always wear blue jackets with "DEA" on the back and drive government vans.

 

[akrvbob]

Got Smart, I sincerely apologize, I don't in any way think you are a liar, that never, ever occurred to me.
Bob

 

[offroad]

Used to go hiking in western Kentucky looking for natural stone bridges. Moonshine territory. Many times on private land. We always would ask the land owner, or the house that was nearest the path we wanted to go. They always gave permission. -- point is just ask someone. Is it that hard to call the local ranger district? Stop at a garage and ask the mechanic about camping in the area? Maybe get your battery charged and get a good story.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

For whatever it's worth, here's my $0.02 on the issue.

I've been into guns my whole life.  I made my living for a number of years as an Armored Car Guard.  Over the course of a decade or more, I trained with many of the big names in firearms training - Ayoob, Awerbuck, Taylor, Farnam, and others.  The most valuable training I got was the training on how to stay safe and AVOID getting into a gunfight.  It can be summed up by three simple rules:

1.  Don't be Stupid.
2.  Don't hang out with Stupid People.
3.  Don't go to Stupid Places.

A story that starts out "My buddy told me about a hot new nightclub that just opened up in the bad part of town, so we decided to go down there on Saturday night and get wasted."  is probably not going to end well.

There's lots of National Forest and BLM land available to boondock on that's NOT in areas infested with criminals growing drugs so why choose to deliberately go to such a place?

As we like to say here, "My house has wheels."

As far as the gold goes, we have an active thread on New Mexico gold prospecting.  There's lots of places you can go that don't have drug dealers where you have a reasonable  shot at finding gold.  I seriously doubt that there's any areas of CA that the old prospectors overlooked or couldn't reach where you would find a new, undiscovered Mother Lode.

Finally, be aware that it's not just armed sentries you need to be concerned with.  They also seed the areas around their plots with booby-traps, deadfalls, pungi sticks, etc.

Don't be stupid.  Don't go to stupid places.

Regards
John

 

[akrvbob]

point is just ask someone. Is it that hard to call the local ranger district? Stop at a garage and ask the mechanic about camping in the area? Maybe get your battery charged and get a good story.

This is the bottom line! Call the Ranger station and say you've heard stories about pot growers, will I be safe here? That Ranger is in close touch with the County Sheriff, Federal LEOs and state Fish and Game (Fish and Game Officers are armed in CA) and they all back each other up on remote and dangerous calls. He knows exactly what's going on in his area and if he says it's safe, it's as safe as you can ever be in the NF.

He doesn't want to see you hurt or get a bad mark on his record so if there have been reports of problems he'll tell you to stay near developed areas.

He'll also know about the rules for gold prospecting and the historic record for the area. The Rangers are generally really good guys and you want to make them your friends. Although every so often you will run into an a**hole.
Bob
Bob

 

[GotSmart]

Great advice to follow anywhere.  (given several times in this thread.)

The local rangers just want a peaceful place to work.  Being pleasant will only get you good advice.

 

[wagoneer]

Yes I have lived in California the last 60 years of my life and have not been or felt endangered by drug cartels or drug thugs and have camped in places where this might have been a problem but the ol' I leave you alone you leave me alone has worked. Will continue to diversify camp with no foreseeable problem.

 

[highdesertranger]

well since it was posted that all the law leos have each others back, I thought I would add that in N. Cal. there is a lot of animosity between the locals and the feds. even between the N. counties and Sacramento. search the state of Jefferson. many of the sheriff departments will not enforce a lot of regulations from the forest service, blm, and fish and game. just thought I would mention this. btw this is just not N cal. highdesertranger

 

[akrvbob]

I read a news story a while back about a NF in CA where they had rescinded each others permission to have jurisdiction. That's usuually one a**hole Head Ranger of a forest who doesn't get long. In the Sierras they were tightly integrated. We had a campground that had lots of problems and they called the LEO every weekend and it could be any or all them who showed up, Feds, Sheriff or Fish & Game. We had one incident that was very remote when they were all there.

When it gets remote and the odds are bad they work together pretty well. They all want to go to home at the end of the night and leaving a fellow officer in a jam is really bad form, even if his boss is an a**hole.
Bob

 

[Gary68]

as a west coast pot smoker here is my take

"For the first time in generations, farmers in central Mexico have stopped planting marijuana.

Due to ample supplies up north, courtesy of medical and recreational cannabis legalization, cartel farmers can’t make any money off pot anymore, they told the Washington Post this week. The price for a pound of Mexican marijuana has plummeted 75 percent from $100 per kilogram to less than $25.

"'It’s not worth it anymore,'" said 50 year-old Rodrigo Silla, a lifelong cannabis farmer. He also told the Post he couldn’t remember the last time his family and others stopped growing mota. “'I wish the Americans would stop with this legalization.'”

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/Legal...-closing-americas-pot-farmers-cut-out-cartels

 

[GotSmart]

Just one question.  Was the author stoned when he wrote that? :huh:

As soon as it is legalized, the money will go out of the guerrilla grows and it will be safe to go back in the woods again.  The north coast counties will be safe to go into again.

 

[Gary68]

in a perfect world,yes,but this one has meth

 

[GotSmart]

  Meth is everywhere.  I used to live in 417 area code.  I was a caregiver for meth children.  It is a requirement here in Missouri to carefully check out any house to make sure it was not a lab at one time.  That gets in the walls and poisons the new owners...

Now that chemical is pure poison, and deserves the complete attention of all LEO.  Most of the production has been driven out of the US and is mostly made in Mexico. 20 years ago~~~ different story.  The cooks are dying off  Quickly...

Back to boondocking PLEASE!

I would love to be able to boondock in the coastal redwood forrest.  Ever been to Albion?