Unwritten Rules

[Hassilov]

I got to thinking about unwritten rules in the wilderness. Here's a couple I abide by. Post yours if you have 'em.

1.) You do NOT have the right to enter an occupied campsite anytime you want. Doesn't matter if it's public or park land. If I'm not there, show some respect and stay away from my wilderness home and belongings. If I'm there, ask me first if you want to come in. I'll be forgiving in the event of serious emergencies, and accepting of ON DUTY police, fire, medical or park people engaged in their work, but don't cross the line. In return, you should have the expectation that I'll let you come in camp if asked and you mean no harm. This may sound uncivilized to some but I think boundaries like this are fundamental to civilized behaviour. Parents, teach this concept to your children too.

2.) If you're able, leave some firewood for the next visitor of your site. Doesn't have to be a lot. Even kindling and birch bark would be greatly appreciated when they come in late in the day and exhausted. Last November, I travelled all day and only reached camp an hour before dark. Not much time to set up, cook something, AND gather firewood. Luckily there was a pile of split maple waiting in camp. Turns out it was the wood I left there a few months earlier. ;-)

 

[tknife]

#1 brings up an excellent point. I find most folks on the trail are pretty friendly and considerate. But there are those idiots (especially drunk ones) that have stumbled through my camp more than once. It always seems to happen late at night and includes laughing and talking loudly, tripping over and pulling out guy lines. I have been tempted to fire a warning shot over their heads.

 

[peripatew]

#3. Kind of plays off of #2, but help those in need. Nothing is more annoying than people who are horribly unprepared, or intoxicated. But help them out anyways. 100's of reasons why they are in the situation they are in. But I try to help anyone out that I can.

#4. Take out what you brought it! Nothing frustrates me more when people leave their trash in the bush or at campsites. Beer cans are the worst.

Nice post.

 

[absolutindian]

I have brandished a large, stout limb at drunken idiots on occasion. I try to do my camping away from most other people, but when I'm forced to camp near people, I always prepare. Can't stand idiots with no courtesy (or brains for that matter).

#5. Leave your campsite in the condition in which it was found, if not better. Take out everything you bring in. The site should not require any maintenance whatsoever prior to someone else using it.

 

[James_Terrio]

#6. Remember that sound travels very well outdoors and keep your radio's TV's etc. turned down accordingly. I do NOT go camping to listen to YOUR favorite sports team, music or soap operas.

I have been tempted to follow these kinds of people home, wait till they're all asleep, set up my amp under their bedroom window and blast them out of bed with some nasty metal riffs. See how they like it.

 

[Diomedes Industries]

I, personally, follow the rule of being very drunk, loud, and stumble through camp sites,.. at night.

TF

 

[Carolina River Rat]

#7: Control your damn dogs!!! I don't need your pitbull/rottie/dobie/crazed killing machine of unknown origins harassing me or my dogs while we try to relax around our fire.

 

[James_Terrio]

#7a That goes for kids, too!

 

[udtjim]

I have to echo the dog rule. Your dog may be harmless and friendly but If I wanted a dog in my camp, I would bring one, and I would keep it under strict control. Quite a few years ago my daughter, about 4 at, the time was bitten in the face by a so called friendly dog.

 

[Carolina River Rat]

#8: If you happen to be out and about at night and you're carrying one of those ridiculously bright "tactical" lights or a f______ Q-beam or some such to keep the scary darkness at bay, don't shine it in my face or into my tent.

 

[BushcraftBrainTrust]

I have to echo the dog rule. Your dog may be harmless and friendly but If I wanted a dog in my camp, I would bring one, and I would keep it under strict control. Quite a few years ago my daughter, about 4 at, the time was bitten in the face by a so called friendly dog.

+1:thumbup:. Sorry to hear your story.

 

[psmith27]

I am sure you have all had some negative experiences that are the foundations of your unwritten rules. Personally I don’t like to think of rules besides the overriding rules of nature when out in the bush. The great thing about the wilderness is that it is easy to re-locate. If what you are doing is enough of an annoyance to me I will pack it up and find another spot. In my experience getting into confrontations, or quietly stewing are piss poor choices. Someone the other day said "hike your own hike" I think this maxim can be extended to overnights as well. I won’t presume to tell you how to camp and you can kindly do the same. I can’t agree enough about the pack it in pack it out point though. I always leave the woods with less water than I entered with but significantly more trash. There is a lot of broken glass in the fire pits out here in CO.

 

[Fletcher Knives]

#9 If your teenage kids go snooping around other peoples campsites at night, I will assume they are grownups there to rape my wife and pump hot stuff into their chest.

#10 If there are 20 spots in the campgrounds and 19 are free, don't pick the one next to me. I'm not your friend.

#11 Fire crackers are a big no no. I will return fire and I'm all out of bottle rockets.

#12 If there are kids around having fun and enjoying nature, don't be a drunk redneck cussing as loud as you can. I will assume that your father didn't beat enough respect into you when you were a child and finish the job for him.

 

[Cpl Punishment]

1.) You do NOT have the right to enter an occupied campsite anytime you want. Doesn't matter if it's public or park land. If I'm not there, show some respect and stay away from my wilderness home and belongings. If I'm there, ask me first if you want to come in. I'll be forgiving in the event of serious emergencies, and accepting of ON DUTY police, fire, medical or park people engaged in their work, but don't cross the line. In return, you should have the expectation that I'll let you come in camp if asked and you mean no harm. This may sound uncivilized to some but I think boundaries like this are fundamental to civilized behaviour. Parents, teach this concept to your children too.

I'm not sure how this would be considered uncivilized. IMO, only a civilized person would ask.
I will pose one exception, however, and that's when some dummy prepares a campsite IN THE MIDDLE of the trail (seems the parks people around here like to do that). In which case, it IS my right to walk through, but personally, I do still announce myself, and say "Passing through".

#7: Control your damn dogs!!! I don't need your pitbull/rottie/dobie/crazed killing machine of unknown origins harassing me or my dogs while we try to relax around our fire.

#7b: If you are entering my camp, don't bitch about my crazed killing machine.

 

[Carolina River Rat]

#7b: If you are entering my camp, don't bitch about my crazed killing machine.

Which one, the dog, the warthog, or the Busse?

 

[Fletcher Knives]

I am sure you have all had some negative experiences that are the foundations of your unwritten rules. Personally I don’t like to think of rules besides the overriding rules of nature when out in the bush. The great thing about the wilderness is that it is easy to re-locate. If what you are doing is enough of an annoyance to me I will pack it up and find another spot. In my experience getting into confrontations, or quietly stewing are piss poor choices. Someone the other day said "hike your own hike" I think this maxim can be extended to overnights as well. I won’t presume to tell you how to camp and you can kindly do the same. I can’t agree enough about the pack it in pack it out point though. I always leave the woods with less water than I entered with but significantly more trash. There is a lot of broken glass in the fire pits out here in CO.

I see where you're coming from and if I'm by myself, I do the same thing, but when I take the time to set up my tent and make ready all of the necessities for the wife, then some asshat comes in, parks his truck next to my site, and he and all of his buddies climb out to start there drinking and cussing frenzy, I was there first and I'll convince them to "hike their own hike" somewhere else. When I have the wife with me, it takes a lot more time to set up everything that makes her comfortable. She's not as big into the roughing it camping as I am. At that point, I get very territorial.

 

[psmith27]

I can understand your point and even sympathize. I too have a wife that exponentially increases the number of peripherals I have to bring. For me, personally, it is a mind set. People only have the power over you that you give them. I won’t allow you being an “asshat” to rain on my time with the leaves and bugs. The greatest thing about life is that it has a habit of making the asshats pay dearly at one time or another. I am certainlynot going to talk about pumping people full of lead or the fear of my wife being sexually assualted. I have a plan for those occasions that I hope to never utilize.

If I see you in the woods, deep woods that I know you hiked into, you have already shown me something about yourself. I do agree that we are not friends, but we are brothers.

 

[Cpl Punishment]

I am sure you have all had some negative experiences that are the foundations of your unwritten rules. Personally I don’t like to think of rules besides the overriding rules of nature when out in the bush. The great thing about the wilderness is that it is easy to re-locate. If what you are doing is enough of an annoyance to me I will pack it up and find another spot.

One of the "overriding rules of nature", though is "finders keepers, losers get the f**k out".
To put it in a more "civilized" tone: If someone is already there, and what you want to do will disturb them, YOU move on. Truly independent and self-sufficient people understand that. It's the whiny, selfish jackasses that don't, and need convincing. Or maybe I'm just too confrontational.

#10 If there are 20 spots in the campgrounds and 19 are free, don't pick the one next to me. I'm not your friend.

No kidding, what is it about getting away from people by going camping that others don't understand (Of course, I guess this applies to taking radios, TVs, etc camping -- you can do that at home, don't do it at camp)?

#12 If there are kids around having fun and enjoying nature, don't be a drunk redneck cussing as loud as you can. I will assume that your father didn't beat enough respect into you when you were a child and finish the job for him.

Well, if I'm around we'll have to take turns, kinda like a tag-team match. People in general that have to ruins the outdoors experience for others, especially kids, really piss me off.

#7b: If you are entering my camp, don't bitch about my crazed killing machine.

Which one, the dog, the warthog, or the Busse?

Yes.

Although, you're most likely to see this than the Busse:

It also helps convince the inconsiderate folks mentioned above to move on.

 

[Carolina River Rat]

HA! I'd forgotten about the CAK. How much did that Il Bruche rig for that thing and your R-10 cost ya?

 

[sasha]

You guys are just found out why i like to camp as far away from everyone as i can. When i camp i dont like music, birds sing my song. I dont drink so i dont get the point why would anyone get drunked or buzzed how they say it. Kids i got no problems with but if they are wild and like to make more noise then a tribe of monkeys please keep them away. Never had any problems with dogs they might come over to sniff or ask for leftovers, Then always go away. I guess what makes me pissed the most is when i find a nice camp site just to find out some *&(*&^( left broken glass and garbage all over the place. Drunks are right up there as well easy to say i want to shoot them or beat some one up with a shovle but there would be too much to deal with the next day. Or how about some stupid $^#*@ that like to shoot guns all day long at trees and everything that is bolted down or not. You end up afraid to walk around the area so you wont get shoot by mistake. Oh i also hate when people just trash the outdoors, break things just to see if they can do it. Or set fire to old buildings or historic places. Wish someone was teaching the rules to kids before they grow up.

Sasha