Those crowded camping sites - what about reservations?

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
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Should the Forest Service require reservations for more crowded backcountry camping sites?

Poll ended at July 24th, 2008, 8:06 am

Yes, for the most popular and crowded sites in summer.
3
27%
No, I'd rather take my chances and not have to reserve.
8
73%
 
Total votes: 11

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drm
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Those crowded camping sites - what about reservations?

Post by drm » July 10th, 2008, 8:06 am

The poll says it all.

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Paul
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Re: Those crowded camping sites - what about reservations?

Post by Paul » July 10th, 2008, 8:16 am

I'd rather not have to reserve, because for me, plans change, and I may want or have to take a different route. Although I will say, if the are is that busy that it needs reservations, I likely won;t be going there to backpack, at least not when it would be busy.
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."
- Will Rogers

Aimless
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Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:02 pm
Location: Lake Oswego

Re: Those crowded camping sites - what about reservations?

Post by Aimless » July 10th, 2008, 8:30 am

I make every possible effort to avoid those crowded places. But sometimes, on a section hike of the PCT for example, there's no real alternative that meets my needs. If I had to reserve a place in advance, too, it would just add that much more scheduling hassle and time constraint. I'd be thinking every day for the previous week that I need to arrive at X place on X day or my reservation would be no good.

A reservation system also requires enforcement, which is expensive and pulls rangers off other duties. It creates as many problems as it solves.

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