Throwback: Dispersed Camping

NOTE: This is throwback article from when I ran another blog. The article was written in 2016.

Just got back in from a great trip to the Medicine Bow Mountain Range (Snowy Peaks) near Centennial, Wyoming. There, we spent the better part of a week dispersed camping. What is dispersed camping? Well, I’m glad you asked.

In short, dispersed camping is camping anywhere outside of designated, developed camp grounds. Many federal and state forest areas, parks, conservation areas, etc. allow this practice, but with stipulations. 

Rules vary depending on which property you decide to set up camp on. Forest Service, National Parks, State Parks, and the like, all have different requirements. Then again, within those same organizations the rules can change from property to property. For that matter, rules can change from season to season, and even temporary conditions can change what the rules are too.

For example, while staying on the Snowy Peaks, we were advised that we could, unless we chose a spot that had been previously used, construct a standard ring style fire pit if we needed to. Conditions were right for the allowance of ground fires. Of course, if you leave your camp the fire has to be 100% extinguished before you depart. Not doing so can result in fines, loss of privileges, or worse – forest fire(s).

Sometimes, when the weather has remained especially dry, and because of Wyoming’s cool arid conditions, the Forest Service may restrict ground fire(s). After all, the forest on the top of those mountains is a giant tinder box. Years of rampant growth has littered the ground with bone dry (an odd turn of phrase) wood.

PRO’S:

If a bit of solitude is your thing, truly getting away from it all, dispersed camping is for you. Not a lot of people do it. It’s hard, and depending on the type, and time of year, it can be a lot of work. As a result, it is likely that once you set up your own temporary parcel, you might not see another human being until you return to civilization. During our excursion to the Snowy Peaks, I could count on one hand how many other people we saw. If we had not set up camp within sight of the main road heading up the mountain, that number would have been zero. Our campsite was set up within site of the road, but it was out-of-the-way of foot paths, developed camping areas, and the road itself. We only saw the occasional dispersed camper driving further up the mountain.

It’s a truly unique experience. Who hasn’t, at some point, gone camping with a church group, scouts, or just a family outing to some developed camp ground, or backyard? I feel like a majority of people would have experienced something similar. With dispersed camping, that experience goes out the window. Everything you need either comes with you, or you don’t have it. After all, if you go to your local KOA and forget a toothbrush (for example), all you have to do is walk down to the trading post, general store, mercantile, or whatever clever name they use, and purchase one. Need more wood? Purchase a pre-cut bundle. Need wood when dispersed camping? Start hunting, cutting, and sorting.

It will develop skills you did not have before. dispersed camping is hard work. You have chores, quite frankly. Not to say you don’t, to an extent, with developed camping, but with dispersed camping, you have many more. In the case of our recent trip, we were at an elevation in which night brought cold. So, before darkness fell I had to make sure I had a sufficient amount of properly sized (cut) dry wood to feed our stove all night. While it wasn’t winter and we could have probably get away with doubling down with layers, we had a 2-year-old with us and her comfort meant happy baby. Happy baby means happy family.

Dispersed camping doesn’t suffer from many of the pollutions that can ruin, impede, or diminish an outdoor experience. How many times have you rolled up to a developed campsite only to realize that everyone else before you apparently didn’t understand how a trash bag worked? Or, the people across the way have out their cooler of beer and are blaring Lynard Skynard until the wee hours? Or, just the light(s) generated within the camp make it impossible to see the stars? Dispersed camping, you just won’t have that. For starters, people who disperse camp are more respectful of the land and understand, and practice, the tenants of leave no trace (if you don’t know what this is please see this website: https://lnt.org/ ). Additionally, you won’t have the light, sound, and physical pollution of sharing an area with other people.

CON’S: 

I mentioned the chores already. I don’t find that to be so much of a Con, but you might. After all, it’s tiring. However, I find it ultimately fulfilling. It’s still a consideration that could go either way with your experience.

Remember that lack of people thing? Sounds glorious, right? Well, that can be problematic as well. Suppose something happens. Help is nowhere to be found. In our case, we were near the peak of a mountain with no cell service. None. If something had happened, it would have been a long trip down the mountain. Now, in that case we had ready access to a road that led down the mountain (and a truck in which to traverse said road), but depending on the situation (and time of day/night), such a trek could prove perilous (when I say “road”, I mean a travel patch that is wide enough for a single vehicle winding down the side of a mountain without anything keeping you from driving off the side and no light to help you from going off the edge at night).

Now, the communication problem is a good excuse for me to sneak in a quick, and shameless plug, for the ARRL (Ham radio operators). If you have no interest in such things, get some. A good radio set up on that mountain could be the difference between a complete disaster, and the ability to call for help. Check out the ARRL here: http://www.arrl.org/

If solitude isn’t your thing, and you like walking over, grabbing a beer, and singing Sweet Home Alabama with the rowdy group across the way, then dispersed camping isn’t for you, unless your bring your group with. dispersed camping, however, isn’t a license to act up. After all, deciding to enjoy nature this way comes with a significant list of additional responsibilities.

Animals are also a consideration. Now, some might file this away under Pro, but I find the Cons outweigh the Pro’s. Why? Those additional responsibilities often revolve around stewardship of the ecology the animals depend on. Plus, remote areas may also come with its own set of predators, and therefore dangers/complications.

Of course, many would say, “Well, I’ll just make sure to take a gun with me” (concerning the predators), and that’s all fine and good, but be smart about it. Now you’ve introduced even further responsibilities. See how that can snowball quick? Here’s another quick shameless plug: If you’re going to carry a firearm, for any reason, make sure you are intimately familiar with that weapon, make sure it is a quality weapon that is properly cared for, and (most importantly) TRAIN with that weapon. Don’t be a yahoo (I’m looking at you mister nylon Blackhawk Holster with a Taurus pistol precariously sitting in it).

Dispersed camping requires much more equipment (potentially) and a greater skill set. If you don’t have these things, your trip can suck real quick. Again, you’re probably pretty isolated. It’s not like you can run down to the Mercantile. Plus, should you “need” something, it is unlikely that traveling at night will be an easy task. Case in point, the road I mentioned before we had to take to get on and off the mountain. I have NO (none, zero, zilch) interest in ever taking that road at night unless I absolutely HAD to. Any trips off the mountain (which took a long time one way) were restricted to the day, or I just did without.

You’re going to be cooking/preparing all of your food. There isn’t any running into town real quick for a burger. You can have your burger, but you’re cooking it. Then, you have to clean your cookware in a low impact manner. I prefer cast iron because it’s easy to clean. Often times a quick greasy wipe down and I’m good to go. Then, I just carry out the refuse later. Of course, if I’m backpacking (which I don’t do as much of anymore due to aforementioned child) I’m not carrying cast iron.

I want to kind of reiterate to an extent; to more deeply express the lack of services with dispersed camping. Many people, when you explain what dispersed camping is, are silently going through the checklist in their head thinking, “Yeah, I can do that,” or, “Do without that,” etc. However, there is one major thing that just never clicks. There are NO services, what. so. ever.

That’s right, there isn’t even an established place to poop. You need to poop? Yep, start digging a hole. I would do so ahead of time, because you’re not going to wan to be actively digging when it’s time to go. Just another “chore”.

And, the hits keep on coming. Your mobile device(s), yep, not going to work. Likely you’ll be in an area so remote you won’t have signal. If you do have signal, you’ll likely not have a way to charge your equipment. That’s ok, shut ’em off.

Conclusion: 

I don’t wanna any of these points to discourage anyone from trying their hand. Do some research, there are plenty of places to try dispersed camping at differing points of difficulty. Check with your local Forest Service, National Park Service, or State Park service facility to see what your area offers in the form of dispersed camping, or better yet, programs to get you ready.

As always,

Get. Outdoors.

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