Camping off-trail on AT

imported
#1 
									Hey, just wondering, is it okay to set up camp on the AT in some place other than the designated camp sites, like for example, a smooth patch of ground next to the trail.   

									_Goatee_
#2 
									It depends on the section you are in but in general the rule is 200 feet from the trail or a water source. Having said that there are plenty of "stealth" sites right on the trail. Whenever I stay at on umofficial site I make sure I leave it as I found it. No fire ring or cut down vegitation etc. I generally use a hammock set up which is very low impact and if I have a fire I make a small fire pit by laying down a flat stone and surrounding it by other rocks to make the ring. I use no wood bigger then the diameter of a hot dog and in the morning after making damn sure it is completely out I scatter the ashes and stones I used so you cannot tell I have been there.

									_Big B_
#3 
									For most of the trail it's OK.  You will pass through about 40 different State and Federal Lands, Forests and Parks.  Some of them regulate or attempt to regulate where you can camp.  I don't take most of these attempts very seriously.  It can be very difficult for them to police.  You can be as stealthy or as flagrant as you want.  It is very rare for any thru hiker to ever be "confronted" over this issue.

									_Francis_
#4 
									Thanks for the info!  Sometimes you don't always feel like being boxed in by other tents after a long day of hiking, I'm sure you both can relate, so this was very helpful!

									_Goatee_
#5 
									Last year when I was in Maryland, I camped off trail and a person running the trail banged on my tent in the morning and gave me grief about camping off trail.  I don't know how he found me.  I'd done it in other states, so I thought it was no big deal.  I packed up and left at my planned time.  Maryland was the only place I had a problem.

									_That Guy_
#6 
									Being a poor ignorant aussie I will just have to explain that I didn't understand the rules because of the language barrier. :lol :tongue 

									_Jim_
#7 
									The LNT rule of thumb when camping away from AT shelters is:

  • Avoid lightly impacted (previously used) as well as completely pristine locations directly along the trail corridor.

  • Choose a moderately impacted site directly along the trail corridor as you happen to find one.

OR

  • Choose a completely pristine aka “stealth” camping site far enough away from the trail corridor that you will likely be the only one ever to use it.

Also avoid having campfires in ANY of these camps, in order to minimize impacts (even if there is already a fire ring present). No one really likes to encounter this sort of thing away from the shelters and the freshly-used campfire rings only encourage more of the same.

For the best odds with mice and other critters, choose pristine stealth sites only and keep them well away from any established campsites, as any location along the AT showing evidence of previous campers is most likely on the nightly marauding circuit.

									_blisterfree_
#8 
									In order to rehabilitate and restore many degraded areas along the AT in Connecticut, in 1980 the state's AT management partners created designated campsites and prohibited any open fires on the trail in Connecticut.  Anyone camping outside of the designated sites will,  most likely, be trespassing on private land.  Our protected corridor is very narrow in most places and it's really important for the Trail community to be good neighbors.  We've had several fires from unauthorized campfires here, including a major fire in 2002 that burned 476 acres and threatened private homes.  Please help the maintaining club ensure that we're good neighbors and treat the Trail lands with respect.

Elaine LaBella
Trails Committee, Connecticut Chapter, Appalachian Mountain Club

									_The Walking Stomach,  Kent, CT_
#9 
									Yeah, good advice, Walking Stomach. And just another reminder that it's really hard to beat the herd when it comes to the AT. And by that I just mean that the trail is too heavily used to get away with pretending you're Daniel Boone on a pioneering voyage through uncharted Appalachia. Unless of course, you're willing to suspend disbelief and assume the nightly role of Boone the avid AT shelter user and adjacent camper. Hike on...

									_blisterfree_