Ever had someone steal your camping spot?

[Marmaduke]

One time my girlfriend and I went to Mohican State Forest in Ohio. There are park and pack sites that require signing in and registering at a kiosk in the forest. It's free, but you have to fill the stuff out and write your name on a sheet so people know the site is occupied. We signed out a site, hiked 2 miles in, and some hillbilly and his very young son are camping in the site. He played the "i had no idea" game of course. I told them to vacate the site and he begrudgingly went to tell his son. I decided at that point to just hike out and let them keep the site rather then allow them to pack up, ruin that child's night (who had no hand in the fact that his father is a clueless billy), and potentially have that guy mess with my car in the parking lot. He seemed like the type. Was I being very judgmental here? Yes. Was I right? Probably. Anyways, every time we go to Mohican now, we have that fear....that potentially some dilweed is going to be in the site already without following the proper protocol.

[OneClick]

and some hillbilly and his very young son

Probably from Indiana

[jeff-oh]

Probably from Indiana

There are plenty of local Hillbilly's in that part of O-hi-ya

[jabraso]

If it's easy to get to, there will be too many people there. This is one of the main reasons I am backpacking more often now. I'm always on the lookout for a new "oasis" site that offers some solitude but isn't terribly difficult to get to. Also public campsites are too small and closely packed together for my comfort.

[cmc4free]

The closest local campground to me has rules in place that require the sort of protocol cougarmeat mentioned. It is primarily RV camping, but there are "primitive" sites at the back, carved out of the forest. The primitives are first come, first served - no reservations. The required process is to go all the way down there, set up a tent to claim the space, and then go all the way back up to the kiosk at the front to register and pay. It's a pain and I don't like to go there very often, but I'm guessing the process evolved as the method of creating least confrontation between opposing groups of campers and the folks managing the site.

Illinois, at least northern Illinois, doesn't offer a lot in the way of hiking trails that aren't a part of state parks or county forest preserves. As such, the campgrounds within these places typically have boilerplate rules against attaching anything to trees. I have once or twice taken a small dome tent and my Tensa4 stand and done exactly what cougarmeat suggested. Barely worth the hassle and especially not during peak season where there's no sense of isolation or privacy and you have to worry about your property being stolen anytime you aren't standing out in the open at your site. Backpacking and especially dispersed camping requires a journey farther north into Wisconsin or Michigan's UP.

[rmancare]

Years ago, I went camping in winter in the White Mountains. One state campground was open, meaning they plowed the main loop. We drove in, then shoveled out a space for our 2 cars in the 3+ deep snow took a good 30 min or so. We set up camp, put up a tent, built some snow shelters, etc.

Next day we drive back to our site after snowshoeing all day to find a van parked in the middle of our shoveled space. After we realized someone was still inside, we knocked on the door. The man that responded didn't care what we thought and he was staying there with his lady friend. We just stood around outside the moving van talking until they decided to move on in about 10 minutes.

I agree with the tablecloth as the cheapest easiest why to say 'Occupied'. Putting out a dishpan helps. Some places put Occupied notes on the post by the street (which then I have seen people put up their own in other places).

BTW.. First post after lurking and reading on here for about a year.

[SilvrSurfr]

If it's easy to get to, there will be too many people there.

Definitely. There's one campsite in the Pine Barrens, Mullica River, that is four miles from the nearest trailhead. You would be surprised at the yahoos that will drag a full-sized cooler, lawn-chairs and a boom box to that site four miles away. I've met a number of people dragging their gear to Mullica River to find Sasquatch. I guess Bigfoot has been sighted near there.

Another campsite, Lower Forge, is 6.5 miles from the nearest trailhead. That's way too far to drag a cooler, lawn chairs and a boom box. The site doesn't have a water pump, so that's another thing that keeps the yahoos away - they don't want to drink river water, and most of them don't know how to purify water.

The Delaware Water Gap is another incredibly popular place. I hiked to one campsite four miles from the trailhead and there were over 50 campers. However, at the next campsite, which was eight miles from the trailhead, there were zero campers.

[Halfed]

I avoid as much as I can campsites where people go. I like to be alone or only with my wife and hear the songs of nature at the most.
Have had enough bad experiencies with people talking outloud, music, and some drunk people...

[OneClick]

You would be surprised at the yahoos that will drag a full-sized cooler, lawn-chairs and a boom box to that site four miles away.

I've see people using some kind of a cart, like a rikshaw. How about just stopping at the Holiday Inn Express at that point?

[IRONFISH45]

Well my input is two fold.
1. To mark our site I put a bright red $ store tablecloth on the table and a empty H2O jug. If we are in a well used area I have a cheap kids pop up tent (for the dogs). Site is well marked as occupied, cheap pop-up tent implies little kids...

Lastly I made a 2ft. X 6ft. long banner with my family Totem. I think every family espwcially with kids should have their own totem or creast. Our totem tells our story and marks our place. Dharma eyading has the banners already, made just add your own design.

When I have a problem with people I haul out my cell phone and photograph their license plate. I record confrontations and I do call the Coppers if necessary.

I really detest campgrounds with lots of folks dragging along every type of junk the camping marketers are able to dream up.

Last time I camped in a well used Washington State Campground along The Columbia River there was a large group, adults & kids. Adults were fall down drunk. Little kids were wild running all over. Kind of dangerous geology for little kides. I politely asked thw kids not to take our food off our picnic table and I gave each kid a homemake cookie. Big mistake. A large male came ove and threatened me (I am a bit over 5ft. tall & female). Our dog Staffie x English Mastive scared the guy away. Then the party harty folks turned on their stereo playing BARNEY Does Dallas. Other campers complained things became ugly...We were locked in the park and no cellular reception, no PayPhone.
I was afraid they might run me down so I ended up sleeping on the picnic table. Never again, I do not fool around. Polite but firm.

I deliberately chose a dog that could pull a cart or electric wheelchair through snow. Well, I never used the electric wheelchair but I have a cart, my dog pulls the cart with our UL gear and we go. The wagon we use is small and has big wheels, goes almost everywhere through the mountains.