profdant139 wrote:
So that is my question -- do they really mean I can just strike out on my own?? Has anyone else done that? What are your thoughts about breaking new ground? Can you help me overcome my feelings of guilt and remorse? ;)
Thanks in advance.
Like I said earlier, you can in certain places. The first time we ran into it was the Pawnee Grasslands in CO. We went to the controlling district office in Ft. Collins and the ranger told us the rules and showed us where to go on a huge map in the office. She didn't say, "Pick a site along here." She said, "Anywhere along here that you can get in to."
At the Grasslands there were no obvious previously used sites. The vegetation easily stood up to being driven on and our track in had disappeared the next day. The only obvious indication of where to camp was the road berm was cut to allow us to drive across it. I believe that the only restriction was no fire on the ground. We had a similar experience in WY, also. The Grasslands also had an established, primitive, shooting range. (BTW, there are 2 sections of the Grasslands. We stayed in the Western section. The Eastern section did have several sites established near the Pawnee Buttes area. The Western section also had a campground.)
Perhaps there are agencies that trust the campers to be responsible.
LS
