Random Camping Rants!

[bigalcal]

Instead of hijacking other topics let's have our own!! I know one of you out there has contact info on who to contact to complain about the abuse of this privilege. I think that would be a good place to start as ranting is great but not productive.

[Hawgstoppah]

I could go on a huge rant but suffice to say random camping has ruined the reasons I used to go fish the Livingstone / Oldman / Castle rivers. I hardly ever go anymore and do not even desire to go, until at least September / October when all the rednecks have gone home.

[jdangler]

I also used to fish the Livingstone a lot & for the exact same reasons I havent for a couple of years.

[troutlover]

I think that people should have to prove that they have a system set up for their waste if a CO stops by they are required to show him where they are set up to shat and that they are set up to properly dispose of it the forest along the liv is littered with shat and TP

[pokerfish]

Charge an annual random camping fee.

no camping within 100m of the river bank

Max stay same as the campsites - two weeks

there should be a bag limit on quadders - two annual tags. Although unlimited harvesting if they are in moving water.

[Sean84]

Charge an annual random camping fee.

no camping within 100m of the river bank

Max stay same as the campsites - two weeks

there should be a bag limit on quadders - two annual tags. Although unlimited harvesting if they are in moving water.

most of this is already in effect except the fee. which as much as those squatters annoy me respectable people should be allowed to enjoy the camping experiance for free, 100 feet from a stream or lakeis already a rule. not sure what you mean by bag limit for quaders if your talking about fish there already is a zero keep limit on trout expect for castle. There is just no enforcement, mainly for the distance from a stream.

[Vagabond]

How bout "NO CAMPING WITHIN 1km of FTR" and/or any other high traffic/problem area as may be necesary......similar to the 1km rule on Powderface Trail for instance??

[Dxh]

How bout "NO CAMPING WITHIN 1km of FTR" and/or any other high traffic/problem area as may be necesary......similar to the 1km rule on Powderface Trail for instance??

^^^^

This

[Hawgstoppah]

No one out there is listening to the 100ft from a river rule. Anywhere they can be 20ft or less from one they are. With their quads and dirtbikes. Any farther and it's waaaay to far to go to get a good wash in, ya know!!??

[Smitty]

How bout "NO CAMPING WITHIN 1km of FTR" and/or any other high traffic/problem area as may be necesary......similar to the 1km rule on Powderface Trail for instance??

 

 

I would rather have the reverse with the stream - how about no camping within 1km of a stream, 100 m by the FTR. Roads are already an eyesore, who cares if someone is camped near the road? I rather keep people away from the river.

 

Smitty

[Vagabond]

 

 

I would rather have the reverse with the stream - how about no camping within 1km of a stream, 100 m by the FTR. Roads are already an eyesore, who cares if someone is camped near the road? I rather keep people away from the river.

 

Smitty

I guess I'm looking at it if there was no camping allowed within 1km of FTR other than in designated campgrounds,that it would help eliminate the hoards of RV parks that spring up every weekend?

[Sean84]

I guess I'm looking at it if there was no camping allowed within 1km of FTR other than in designated campgrounds,that it would help eliminate the hoards of RV parks that spring up every weekend?

 

All this would do is push people of the oldman river road and Im not sure it can hold anymore people.

[Vagabond]

 

All this would do is push people of the oldman river road and Im not sure it can hold anymore people.

Understood,but that's why I said "other problem areas as required" as well.Not just the FTR,but easy access roads where people are prone to set-up party towns......it's such a gong show down along the Liv etc.....maybe if it took some effort to find a log haul road that wasn't graded to park an RV,most of the weekend warriors would opt for more BMW friendly environs?

[Sean84]

Understood,but that's why I said "other problem areas as required" as well.Not just the FTR,but easy access roads where people are prone to set-up party towns......it's such a gong show down along the Liv etc.....maybe if it took some effort to find a log haul road that wasn't graded to park an RV,most of the weekend warriors would opt for more BMW friendly environs?

Frankly it comes down to needing more enforcement of the rules already in place.

[pokerfish]

most of this is already in effect except the fee. which as much as those squatters annoy me respectable people should be allowed to enjoy the camping experiance for free, 100 feet from a stream or lakeis already a rule. not sure what you mean by bag limit for quaders if your talking about fish there already is a zero keep limit on trout expect for castle. There is just no enforcement, mainly for the distance from a stream.

Nope, was thinking about bagging a few and mounting the bikes on the trophy wall.

[Sean84]

Nope, was thinking about bagging a few and mounting the bikes on the trophy wall.

Haha yeah i think theres no limit on them.

[bigalcal]

After creating this topic I'm ashamed to say that I will be joining the ranks of the random camper. I have no other options. I promise I will be good.

[ÜberFly]

Al,

 

You and the cutty hut getting evicted?! Too many wild parties at Racehorse, eh!!

[bigalcal]

Yup!! Alberta Parks is enforcing the 16 day maximum stay!! I should say" As soon as that guy moves out of that sweet random camping spot in 14 days, I'll move in there!!"

[DonAndersen]

Random camping is the only way for a lot of folks to camp. The trailers etc of today will not fit into the campgrounds built 40 years ago. The campgrounds spots are just plain too small.

Further, the govt is shutting down campgrounds all over the place. Why? It appears like few use them.

 

Why should I pay >$20/day for a spot where there are rules regarding behaviour when I can camp wherever I want with no rules or payment.

 

Good God people - this is Alberta - we don't want to pay for anything and we certainly are enforced to death......

 

Or so I have been told by most everyone!

 

 

Don

[bigalcal]

Yesterday when the campground operator backed my trailer back into my spot after a 24 hr "eviction" he couldn't believe how difficult it was (Although he made it look pretty easy). He said there would be no way a big trailer could back in to my site. He did a lot of excavating and cutting trees last fall to widen the entry's to a lot of sites to accommodate today's larger trailers. Right again, Don!!

[vhawk12]

I could go on a huge rant but suffice to say random camping has ruined the reasons I used to go fish the Livingstone / Oldman / Castle rivers. I hardly ever go anymore and do not even desire to go, until at least September / October when all the rednecks have gone home.

 

I grew up random camping there, my dad grew up random camping and going to scout camps in that region and we really hesitate to go there anymore unless it's midweek for a couple days in September. However, I have to disagree with you, random camping has not ruined this place, people have. People who are uneducated in how to use and leave campspots for the next person, and/or show blatant disregard for the sustainability of the area.

 

This means that:

- No, I don't find the teepee you made by cutting down live/green lodgepole pines as awesome as you do

- Nor do I appreciate the broken table nailed to a tree to hold it up

- I am not impressed by the face you skinned off of a black bear and nailed it to a tree

- I'm all for being friendly, but really there's not room between the 50ft apart me and my brother are fishing for you....plus you're sketchy friends hanging out in the bush behind us are pretty creepy, nice mullet though

- Whoa, yeah, that is a big cuttie you just bonked, buuut pretty sure it's catch and release here on the Liv.

- Where am I headed? We're going to do some fishing at one of our favorite spots (dude's truck pulls a U-turn and follows)

- I don't really enjoy the rocks you're throwing at me, or in the river as I'm fishing because you think you're camping spot includes you're own strech of the river for that weekend

- I understand you don't want to venture too far into the woods, but that's no excuse to take shits beside every tree in a 15ft radius from your campsite

- Etc, etc, etc

 

The above experiences are all examples of human beings who either don't care, don't respect or have not taken the time or been told how to random camp responsibly. As I said, I random camp, I can count on two hands the number of times I've stayed in an actual campground, I know that when I go out, I do so responsibly and respectfully. Please do not lump me in with these idiots.

 

Unfortuntely, these people will wreck it for everyone and likely the ultimate answer is to get rid of random camping altogether. I would be in favor of a permit draw system to limit the number of people in the area at any given time and I would also be in favor of restricting the number of offroad vehicles in the area at any given time (honestly, I would prefer a total ban, but that's probably never going to happen)

 

It truely saddens me that my family no longer enjoys going back to a place that is so beautiful and I have so many childhood memories of, we went to get away from people and could, for the most part. I would like to take my grandchildren there someday, but right now, I don't even want to take my kids there.

[alan2]

The main reason those people behave like that is they don't have the desire or the ability to fit in with nature and the landscape as it exists, more like an attitude of dominating it or beating it into submission with something motorized.

They feel no real appreciation of or ties to the natural world, so in turn have no respect for it. That is why they crap anywhere, quad anywhere, light fires anywhere and everywhere, leaves beer cans everywhere and furthermore could care less what the rest of us think about them.

 

What's worse, many of'em have children that are learning those same ignorant attitudes.