Camping in non-permissive enviroments

mercop

mercop

Joined
Mar 26, 2002
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Over the last few weeks I have been doing my best to get out in the woods to shake out some new kit, specifically the sleeping bag from Eureka and the Superfly tarp from Warbonnet Outdoors. But like everyone else, life got in the way. Then, I got an idea.

I had to teach for three days, two days of driving and one day of land nav. The hotel had already been booked, but I canceled it. Besides shaking out the new gear, I also wanted to work on camping in a non-permissive environment. Or in other words acting like I was homeless. I was hoping for some cooler weather. It only got down to the low 50’s, but there was some heavy rain.

The goals were to pack light, sleep out at night, and during the day make use of the facilities at a local gym that I would have access too.
While I was driving in the first night, I called a local LEO buddy and told him where I planned to camp. It was deep enough into the woods that I had actually planned to leave my camp set up while I worked. My buddy told me that there was some heavy duty poaching going on in the area and that there would be officers in the woods all night. OK onto plan B. There are several hotels in the area, and I have stayed at both of them. One in particular had a nice wooded patch that was about 100 yards wide but pretty deep. I figured that it would be so easy to see light from the road that nobody would figure anyone would be in there for anything.

It was about 10:00 PM when I backed my vehicle up to the corner of the parking lot, right next to a maintenance shed that cast a nice shadow into the woods.

After taking my belongings out of my vehicle, like any other guest, I made my way into the wood line. Up until that point, I had not even taken my Warbonnet Superfly tarp out of the bag. That meant that I had no idea how it was to be set up or how much cordage I would need. There was a little miscalculation in my recollection of how close I would be to the road. Close enough that I was not comfortable even using the red lens on my Petzl Tactikka Plus headlamp. So I did the whole set up by feel. The tarp had 10 total lashing points. I used slip knots and taut line hitches to tie it off to the tree and stake it out. After cutting my paracord to the size I needed, I just tied a small overhand knot on the tip of each end to keep it from fraying instead of risking the chance of the flame of my lighter being seen.

It took me about 30 minutes to set up and I settled in for the night, sleeping in my Warbonnet Blackbird Doublenest Hammock. I was pretty beat after the three hour drive to get there, so I dozed off after setting the alarm on my phone. About an hour into my slumber, my wife called and woke me up. I had the phone all the way up because I sleep like a rock. The other problem with that is every time I got a text or e-mail it would sound too. I am going to add the smallest battery powered alarm clock to my kit that I can find.

I was not comfortable leaving my tarp and hammock up during the day, so having to be at work at 7:00, I got up at 5:00 and packed everything away while it was still dark. After showing up at work and freshening up in the bathroom, I went back out to my car and made my coffee with my Jetboil Zip Cooking System. Steaming hot coffee in about 2-3 minutes. I prepack my coffee and sugar mixture in little plastic bags. Then I just went to work like any other day.

We got done late that day. I headed to the office/gym to take a shower. My mistake was leaving my cell phone charging in the office when I went to shower; I came back and found the door locked. I would have no way of getting up in the morning, and especially did not want to get caught out in the daylight. I drove to the hotel where another instructor was staying and crashed on his floor that night. I took the opportunity to get a better handle on the tarp and attach paracord to all of the tie out points. Prior to settling in for the night, I went out back and fired up my small propane grill that used the one pound tanks. I cooked up some BBQ chicken that I had marinating in the cooler.

The last day was an earlier day. I went to shower and kept my phone with me. I was done around 5:00 and had to meet a buddy at 6:00 for dinner. Since it was already dark, I took the opportunity to make camp before dinner. I was in the hammock sound asleep by 9:00. During the night it poured, but I was bone dry and slept like a baby with the pitter patter of the rain. Luckily, it stopped for a while when I woke up and packed out.

I had a great time on this trip. The best part was saving the money on the hotel. Here are some thoughts-
There are plenty of places that you can camp while being hidden in plain sight. Many will require you to go in and out under the cover of darkness. The closer you can park your vehicle to the woods the better, less distance to travel. Park and ride rest stops are what come to mind. You want to park where people are used to seeing strange cars come and go.

The hammock and tarp, especially those from Warbonnet, are the way to go, especially for me. It doesn’t matter if it is raining; there is snow on the ground, or even if the ground is rocky. You are high and dry. Set up can be done in less than 20 minutes in the dark, and nothing is on the ground. The Superfly not only covered me, but it camouflaged me. You would have probably walked into me before you saw me.

The Jetboil Stove was great for getting my morning coffee. I have not used it extensively and purchased it on the recommendations from others. You could live quite comfortably as long as you could find canisters. Obviously if you are trying to go undetected, you can’t have a fire. Plus unless you need it for heat, you use a lot of energy and time attending to it. You can also find access to microwaves if you look.

Luckily I had the ability to shower at work. If I didn’t and was doing this long term, I would be looking for a cheap gym membership or the YMCA. I also picked up a Microfiber Towel that is more packable than a regular towel.

If for some reason I had to travel somewhere for a period of time or did end up homeless, I believe with some planning and preparation I could get used to this minimalist lifestyle. I plan on doing more of these in the future in different weather extremes.

For the record, had I been found in the area I was camping I most likely would have been just told to leave. I was between properties, and outside of sleeping there, I was committing no crimes.

Here is the link to the article including hyperlinks.
 
Sounds like an interesting trip
Being that close to "civilization" I would
have been too paranoid of being caught to sleep.
Nice writeup! :thumbup:
 
Great post. I like hearing about stealth camping experiences. Around here the most likely places are on a river island or sand bar but there are many in town type locations and woods, some fairly large. The ability to slip in, sleep and slip out could be a very useful skill. Its the ultimate "leave no trace" type camping in my experience. I try to camp like this even when on my own or a friend's property. I have also enjoyed reading some books about how the lrrp guys in vietnam would move and sleep. I have wondered if a storm kettle would be useful in a situation like you described. It would be pretty stealthy and efficient. I doubt a little smoke from dry wood would be noticed by most folks and it would keep the light from flame to a minimum. I have also begun using a hennessey hammock. It took me a while to get it set up and I have only used it twice now but I bought what they call snake skins that slide in and slip over the rope and hammock to make set up and tear down faster. Its kinda hard to describe how they work but you might check them out. They would be fairly easy to make and definately speed up the set up and tear down.

As far as the "trespass" issue goes I think that even if someone stumbled across you around here you woudnt get too jamed up except for rail road property, they are funny about that. If you know how to talk and you werent damaging anything or smoking a fat one you would probably just be asked/told to move on. Heck if I was working patrol I'd chat for a while, ask about your gear and probably give you a ride if you needed one. If bums rarely get arrested for it the chance of a working guy minding his own buisness getting arrested is pretty slim. Again, you arent hurting anyone. I imagine everyone has entered the property of another without permission. My issue would be if someone was asked to leave and refused.

Thanks for the post.
Josh
 
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My hammock has snake skins and they rock.

I am with you on the trespassing. We used to have tent cities where I worked. The would build them huge with blue tarps. They even put furniture in them. I would liken the are I was in to walking into the woods from a park and ride.- George
 
Cool stuff.

Do you have an underquilt for your hammock? I know the supertarp cuts down on the wind blowing under you but at 50* I would still be freezing I think when my bag insulation is compressed under me.
 
Good question bro, no right now I don't run a UC, but plan on making one out of a poncho liner. The Doublelayer Blackbird has a space for you to put a sleeping pad (and when it is cold I add a space blanket). It is actually between the layers and not sliding around under you. Nice set up and one of my favorite features.

I am involved with a lot of different forums since I do this stuff for a living, and it is amazing the different climates of each forum. I posted this on another forum, and many instead of looking at the lessons were upset about me trespassing. I want to state for the record here that I was actually on a huge military installation where I was authorized to be for work. Behind one of the smaller hotels that I have stayed at there is a pavilion with BBQs etc. I walked behind it, into the wood line to camp. I left no trace. Many of the formites considered that the same thing as sneaking onto Farmer Johnson's Farm and camping in his woods, I disagree.

When it comes to anything I follow the crawl, walk, run methodology. This one was crawl, if I failed and was spotted they would have likely told me to get in the hotel, where they would have seen that I have stayed over 20 times in the past two years and just canceled my reservation. A run would be I was out of town, something happened and while trying to drive home I had to find a place off the beaten path to sleep for the night. In this emergency I would not really care whose land it was because there would be chaos going on around me. For my walk phase I plan on setting out on the open road, finding a rest stop or park n ride, walking into the woods and spending the night...again unseen.

My hope that everyone reading this can see the value of being able to move and live unseen if need be.- George
 
Why did you not just turn off your cellphone while sleeping ? You would not be disturbed by the text n' e-mail messaged, and alarms turns the phone back on until you hit stop or snooze.
 
Very nice post. Enjoyed it. As to the trespass issue I have had people from time to time camp on me. As long as they're not cooking meth, growing weed, fugitives, or raising too much hell I generally tell them not to leave a mess and leave them alone. Usually. Getting permission is of course always better and in my area probably safer, absent exigent circumstances. On federal land around here there is no slack, you'll get the boot and at minimum a ticket (200.00 fine last I heard.) The op had a plausible reason to be where he was.

j_d said:
... I have also enjoyed reading some books about how the lrrp guys in vietnam would move and sleep....
Click to expand...

Do you have any titles you could recommend along those lines? My late father-in-law was a lurp commander in Vietnam so the topic is of interest to me, and on the topics mentioned may be of general interest to others. Thanks!
 
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Paranoid about being late for word, I have been late for work twice in my adult life, and one time it almost got me killed. So I am kind of funny about it- George
 
On kayak trips, I've camped/slept on land I'm sure was private.
As long as you're responsible and truly leave no trace, the experience is worth the risk IMO. Planning paddles around public campgrounds can very limiting.
In bed at dark and early to rise, and the chances of you getting caught camping on somebody's sandbar or island are pretty minimal.
 
It is generally recognized public law here that traveling and camping below the high water mark is lawful and not a tresspass. We fought this battle for years in Arkansas and finally got some meaningful court decisions that redefined "navagable waters" to include recreational use, not just commercial transport (barges, ferries, etc). While actual river/stream access might be restricted by adjacent lanowners, use of the waterways themselves cannot be.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that rivers that are navigable, for title purposes, are owned by the states, "held in trust" for the public. This applies in all fifty states, under the "Equal Footing Doctrine."

Rivers that do meet the federal test are automatically navigable, and therefore owned by the state. No court or government agency has to designate them as such.

The federal test of navigability is not a technical test. There are no measurements of river width, depth, flow, or steepness involved. The test is simply whether the river is usable as a route by the public, even in small craft such as canoes, kayaks, and rafts. Such a river is legally navigable even if it contains big rapids, waterfalls, and other obstructions at which boaters get out, walk around, then re-enter the water.

The states own these rivers up to the "ordinary high water mark." This is the mark that people can actually see on the ground, where the high water has left debris, sand, and gravel during its ordinary annual cycle. (Not during unusual flooding.) It is not a theoretical line requiring engineering calculations. Where the river banks are fairly flat, this mark can be quite a distance from the edge of the water during medium water flows. There is often plenty of room for standing, fishing, camping, and other visits.

States cannot sell or give away these rivers and lands up to the ordinary high water mark. Under the "Public Trust Doctrine," they must hold them in perpetuity for public use.

The three public uses that the courts have traditionally mentioned are navigation, fishing, and commerce. But the courts have ruled that any and all non-destructive activities on these land are legally protected, including picnics, camping, walking, and other activities. The public can fish, from the river or from the shore below the "ordinary high water mark." (Note that the fish and wildlife are owned by the state in any case.) The public can walk, roll a baby carriage, and other activities, according to court decisions.

States do have authority and latitude in the way they manage rivers, but their management must protect the public uses mentioned above. They can (and must) prohibit or restrict activities that conflict with the Public Trust Doctrine. "Responsible recreation" must be allowed, but activities that could be harmful, such as building fires, leaving trash, and making noise, can legally be limited, or prohibited, in various areas. Motorized trips and commercial trips can legally be limited or prohibited by state governments.

State and local restrictions on use of navigable rivers have to be legitimately related to enhancing public trust value, not reducing it. Rivers cannot be closed or partially closed to appease adjacent landowners, or to appease people who want to dedicate the river to fishing only, or to make life easier for local law enforcement agencies.

State governments (through state courts and legislatures) cannot reduce public rights to navigate and visit navigable rivers within their borders, but they can expand those rights, and some states have done so. They can create a floatage easement, a public right to navigate even on rivers that might not qualify for state ownership for some reason, even if it is assumed that the bed and banks of the river are private land. Note that this floatage easement is a matter of state law that varies from state to state, but the question of whether a river is navigable, for title purposes, and therefore owned by the state, is a matter of federal law, and does not vary from state to state. Note that a state floatage easement is something that comes and goes with the water: When the water is there, people have a right to be there on it, and when it dries up, people have no right to be there. But rivers that are navigable for title purposes are public land up to the ordinary high water mark, so that even when the river runs dry, people still have the right to walk along the bed of the river.

Only federal courts can modify the test of standards that make a river navigable for title purposes. States cannot create their own standards, either narrower or wider in scope. They can’t make definitive rulings about which rivers are navigable for title purposes, only a federal court can.

The situation gets confusing when a state agency or commission holds hearings about navigability and public use of rivers. Landowners, sheriffs, and other people tend to think that such an agency or commission can create state standards that determine which rivers are public and which are private. But these are matters of federal law which state agencies cannot change.

State agencies should make provisional determinations that various rivers meet the federal test of navigability for title purposes. These provisional determinations should be based simply on the rivers' usability by canoes, kayaks, and rafts. They should then proceed to the question of how to manage navigation and other public uses of the river. In these days of government cut-backs, the agency should look for solutions that use existing enforcement agencies rather than setting up new ones. Littering, illegal fires, offensive behavior, trespassing on private land, and numerous other offenses are all covered by existing laws, and offenders can be cited by the local police, sheriff's office or state police.
Click to expand...
 
I was more interested in the E&E aspect. I travel a lot by car and always have my gear, should I not be able to get a room, or for some reason have to hunker down where there is no other option, I wanted to see how well I could pull it off. I will be doing more of this.- George
 
Wow Codger, good stuff. Where is the quote from? It's interesting because it sounds like it applies to all states. Thanks for that info!
 
mercop said:
Good question bro, no right now I don't run a UC, but plan on making one out of a poncho liner. The Doublelayer Blackbird has a space for you to put a sleeping pad (and when it is cold I add a space blanket). It is actually between the layers and not sliding around under you. Nice set up and one of my favorite features.

I am involved with a lot of different forums since I do this stuff for a living, and it is amazing the different climates of each forum. I posted this on another forum, and many instead of looking at the lessons were upset about me trespassing. I want to state for the record here that I was actually on a huge military installation where I was authorized to be for work. Behind one of the smaller hotels that I have stayed at there is a pavilion with BBQs etc. I walked behind it, into the wood line to camp. I left no trace. Many of the formites considered that the same thing as sneaking onto Farmer Johnson's Farm and camping in his woods, I disagree.

When it comes to anything I follow the crawl, walk, run methodology. This one was crawl, if I failed and was spotted they would have likely told me to get in the hotel, where they would have seen that I have stayed over 20 times in the past two years and just canceled my reservation. A run would be I was out of town, something happened and while trying to drive home I had to find a place off the beaten path to sleep for the night. In this emergency I would not really care whose land it was because there would be chaos going on around me. For my walk phase I plan on setting out on the open road, finding a rest stop or park n ride, walking into the woods and spending the night...again unseen.

My hope that everyone reading this can see the value of being able to move and live unseen if need be.- George
Click to expand...

I did think it was informative and can see where you were coming from and have thought about this myself, especially if I had to get back to my family. You never know what the future holds.
 
mercop said:
I was more interested in the E&E aspect. I travel a lot by car and always have my gear, should I not be able to get a room, or for some reason have to hunker down where there is no other option, I wanted to see how well I could pull it off. I will be doing more of this.- George
Click to expand...

Yes, I understand. I was just pointing out one option for a place where a person can travel and/or camp without fear of prosecution for trespass. Most roadways, around here anyway, cross over navigble rivers at fairly regular intervals. Many towns are built adjacent to watercourses since at one time in history they were a chief means of commerce and travel.
 
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