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#1 |
Moving along
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6,670
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Campsite Claiming Etiquette
Typically public Adirondack tent sites are first come first served, I get that. But I’m just curious what is the common consensus on the etiquette of someone coming in on a Thursday to set up camp for the weekend, but then leaves & doesn’t come back until Saturday morning with several friends/family?
![]() I have definitely arrived on a Thursday before to try & claim a choice campsite for a weekend gathering, but never ever have I left the site unoccupied for a night or two only to return a couple days later to spend the weekend. Is this legal? Thoughts? |
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#2 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Brewster, NY
Posts: 356
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The only time I did that was in the late 80s on the Oswegatchie. I setup a base camp at one of the sites near the 5 ponds trail, left my canoe and then backpacked into Wolf and Sand for a couple of nights. I only did it in the early spring or late fall when the demand for campsites was very low and didn't take one of the "prime" sites.
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#3 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Rome, NY
Posts: 77
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I imagine it’s legal if it’s not for more than 3 nights? I leave that part to the people who know the exact letter of the law. I certainly don’t consider it ethical.
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#4 | ||
ɹǝqɯǝɯ
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 5,082
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It's definitely a dick move, and it's certainly not how state lands are intended to work.
Legally speaking... it's sort of a tricky issue. When I asked the DEC this exact same question a few years ago, I was told that the tent would have to be unoccupied for more than 48 hours for it to be something that the tent owner could be ticketed for. Here's the pertinent regulations: Quote:
Quote:
It's not uncommon in other areas of public lands to see a regulation requiring site occupancy during the first night that gear is present on-site. I've often thought that a similar regulation for state lands in NY would be beneficial. One additional thought: You can't claim exclusive use of any primitive tent site anyways, even after setting up gear onsite, excepting perhaps when the site is already filled to capacity. So while someone might legally be able to get away with showing up early (within the 48 hour window) to pitch a tent to seemingly "claim" a site for the weekend, other users would be well within their rights to also occupy the same site in the absence (and even the presence) of the first group. |
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#5 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Brewster, NY
Posts: 356
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I hope I wasn't making a "dick" move leaving my canoe and gear overnight while I hiked in and did maintenance on the 4 leantos I had adopted back then. I stayed the first night at the site on the river, the second night at Sand or Wolf and the third back on the river before heading on upriver. My recollection is only doing that once (because of all the tools I was taking in for each leanto); the other times I did an out-back in a day to check on each one. I guess I could have just stashed my canoe/gear in the woods and kept my fingers crossed until I returned.
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#6 |
Member
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 626
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The livery operator from Inlet used to set up a camp at Otter Brook, bring in parties on the weekend and leave the corral and tents all week when no one was hiring him. But the Ranger was not happy about that and he had to remove it. I've always wanted to set up a base camp at the WCLW trailhead in the plains and the hike to Brook Trout, do West the next day, hike out the third day, but the 48 hour limit has kept me from doing it.
How do you know when "the site is filled to capacity?" Good luck with trying to wedge into an occupied lean-to where the "residents" have not studied state law, much less an open air site. Last edited by Lucky13; 09-23-2019 at 10:04 AM.. |
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#7 |
Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Keene, New York
Posts: 317
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That "unoccupied for 48-hour provision" may go back to the days of permit camps on the Saranacs and elsewhere. Supposedly, if one left the camp unoccupied for more than 48 hours one had to take down the canvas tent that was over the tent platform and remove all their gear; but i don't believe this requirement was enforced all that much.
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#8 |
Mobster
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,180
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I'm kind of a dick myself.
I'd take down their tent and pack it up for them to nicely pick up on Saturday morning while I enjoyed a nice breakfast at "their" site. |
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#9 |
Member
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 626
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How would you know the site was abandoned, maybe Ma and Pa Kettle are out for a day trip, coming back in the dark, and you just vandalized their legally occupied camp?
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#10 |
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,645
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#11 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Brewster, NY
Posts: 356
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I am glad I only did it that one time, had nothing happen and made it a day hike after that. I would be pretty upset after returning (usually just before dark) from a day hike into the ponds to find my camp dismantled.
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"Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world." John Muir |
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#12 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 55
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There would be problems if I came back to my camp after a day trip to find some guy who made a bunch of assumptions dismantled it.
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#13 |
Last seen wandering vaguely
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Orwell NY
Posts: 882
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Me too, I often am gone from my campsite from early morning till late afternoon or evening, but I would be sad if someone took it away.
Zach |
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#14 |
Moving along
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6,670
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Agreed. I can see being gone from your campsite for the day (I do that often too), but for two nights seems a little rude.
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#15 |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 447
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I have encountered this numerous times and it has always angered me. Even in cases where it is legal, such as hunters getting special permission to leave campers on first come sites for weeks at a time, I would agree with DSettahr's sentiment on this subject. Taking a prime site for days at a time when you are not there, which frequently happens in places like Floodwood Rd and Horseshoe Lake, is definitely a d!ck move, legal or not. Where I live in the Finger Lakes region, this happens frequently at the roadside sites in the Finger Lakes National Forest and at some of the State Forest sites.
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#16 | |
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Northampton, MA
Posts: 373
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#17 | |
Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Saratoga Springs, NY
Posts: 398
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Quote:
I did have one jackass barge through my campsite while I was taking a nap. Dude walked right up behind me and yelled "hey". It scared the crap out of me. At a minimum announce your presence instead of sneaking up on someone. Unfortunately common sense is lacking by many. This is an interesting thread.
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#18 | |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Rome, NY
Posts: 77
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#19 | |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Brewster, NY
Posts: 356
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Quote:
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"Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world." John Muir |
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#20 |
Moving along
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