Concerns about Forest Service Ticketing campers.

 

Recently, on a friends blog, he posted about the Forest Service ticketing people for “Living in the forest”  and I find myself quite upset by it.. feel free to visit the original post HERE.  In fact, I recommend it as a read for everyone.

What it seems to be in my opinion is an attack on those campers that are trying to make due with less.  I highly doubt that they are going after the 100k rv’s or 5th wheels that are out there used by full timers.. OR that they will bother a soul if you go and spend your time in the paid campgrounds.. but if you live in full compliance with the rules, if you practice “leave no trace” camping and move when you are supposed to, they still want to penalize you for not having a set address.

in one of the linked articles in the original post, it talked about a couple that is full time in a Class A, and because they had a sticker in their window from an LFTV(Long term visitors area, like those around Yuma, or Quartzsite Az) they were cited because obviously they lived in their RV.. It had nothing to do with the 14 day limit, nothing to do with whether or not they were abusing the forest in the area they were camped.   Personally, I think that’s an abuse of power by the NFS.

Wanted to put the word out for folks to be aware.. if wishes come true, it will get folks irked enough to put in a call to complain to the NFS.

Thank you for your time.

Bear Canyon Lake, Overguard Az area

beautiful area, actually Forest Service campground, multiple vaults for camping use, really large area set aside for camping.

Dirt road back into the campground, somewhat washboarded because of the high volume of use, but saw it being graded while I was there so they pay attention to it. Saw rangers 4 to 5 times a week while I was there.

The approach to the lake can be problematic if your a kayaker/canoer, it's down a switchback trail of about a 1/4 mile. not too steep, but tight manuvering if your carrying anything large. The water is very picturesque, and I hear there is good trout there.. I barely tried, but didnt catch anything. there are 2 other approaches that can be used to the lake, one is forest road 208 from the west end, and the other goes to the back side of the lake. The area accessed by forest road 208 does have campsites but no facilities, the back of the lake is pretty much undeveloped and you can find plenty of spots there. the advantage of the backside is that there is an access road that would make bringing in a boat much easier, you cannot drive to the water, but taking the 1/4 mile on a smooth incline is easier than switchbacking.

by the time I left here, I had been approached by the Forest service and asked to host here the next summer. I still have the contact info, but so far unwilling to commit to that.

Strawberry camp, North of Payson Az

just north of Strawberry Az, pulled off on a forest road and spent a couple weeks there pretty much undisturbed by others.

No facilities, a pure dry camp, was low 90's during the hottest part of the summer days, and the nights were very comfortable. I was close enough to the highway that I would sometimes hear traffic, but overall it was quite comfortable. Plenty of forage for firewood, no mosquitoes, good sun for the solar panels.