Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 19:52:33 -0500
Reply-To: mcneely4@COX.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET>
Subject: Re: [NVC but camping!] In Canada's B.C.
In-Reply-To: <4FBD7CE0.2030500@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Mr. Squirrel, Wife and I found lots of no other people present, free or low fee campgrounds along creeks in the Blue Mountains couple of years ago. Similarly in the Crazy Mountains and East Crazy Mountains in Montana, Selkirk Mountains in Washington and Idaho. You can do the lookups for particular sites on the appropriate NFS sites. The key is no amenities. Most such campgrounds do have tables, may have water at a central spigot, often with a hand pump. But we use the creek water for almost all purposes. If we need it for drinking we treat it with bleach (2drops per quart) then aerate the hell out of it.
Even the more developed campgrounds in western Montana seemed to be only lightly used. In the Bighorns in Wyoming, we found ample places to camp without a campground (FS calls it "open camping" and you do need to check for the area where you are going to make sure it is allowed. It isn't everywhere).
mcneely
---- Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> I have made no secret that I find state parks in California, Oregon, and
> Washington to be really sucky. They are overly-manicured and crowded.
> "Cheek by jowl" camping is how I've referred to them in the past and I
> stand by my opinion. Can't stand them. To us, the lower the population
> density, the more primitive, the fewer amenities, the quieter and more
> secluded and the prettier they are, the nicer they are. Park us
> overlooking a lake without some yahoo running a generator and playing
> music nearby and we are very happy.
>
> So this summer, Mrs Squirrel and I have an opportunity to take a
> twelve-night trip from our home in Bend, Oregon.
>
> We could go east, stay in the U.S., visit Idaho, Montana, Wyoming; stay
> in quieter USFS campgrounds and wash up in small town motels; or we
> could head on a generally north by northwest course sorta-kinda up
> towards Seattle then to places unknown.
>
> Anyone got any perspective or suggestions on this? Y'all can pmail me so
> as not to chew up list bandwidth.
>
> --
> Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
> Bend, Ore.
> 1984 Westfalia. A poor but proud people.
> 1971 "Ladybug"-brand utility trailer ca. 1972 from a defunct company in
> San Clemente, Calif., now repurposed as The Westrailia.
--
David McNeely
| 
