How do I select an area to camp in without a campground?

Trip recommendations, current conditions, and other trail related Q&A
IsaacHughes
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How do I select an area to camp in without a campground?

Post by IsaacHughes » September 18th, 2021, 6:57 pm

Hey all, first post here!

I have the next few days off work and I wanted to go get some time in the wilderness by myself. I've done a fair bit of backpacking and camping but never anything solo.

I want to camp for three nights and just take it easy. However, I wanted to get away from actual campground and just spend some time in the middle of nowhere, while still being safe.

I decided I want to camp by Bull Run Lake, but as far as I can see there's no campsites or trails or anything. There's a road that leads past it on the South west side, NF-1025. How should I approach this, just go along that road, park in a ditch or off to the side, and then backpack down to the lake and find a spot to pitch camp? Are there any laws that speak out against this?

And if so, any recommendations for how to be as safe as possible and most prepared for anything?

Thank you all so much!

Aimless
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Re: How do I select an area to camp in without a campground?

Post by Aimless » September 18th, 2021, 7:26 pm

IsaacHughes wrote:
September 18th, 2021, 6:57 pm

I decided I want to camp by Bull Run Lake, but as far as I can see there's no campsites or trails or anything.
All unauthorized entry into the Bull Run Watershed is forbidden by law. You may not legally camp or hike anywhere within the boundaries of the watershed.

IsaacHughes
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Re: How do I select an area to camp in without a campground?

Post by IsaacHughes » September 18th, 2021, 8:00 pm

Aimless wrote:
September 18th, 2021, 7:26 pm
IsaacHughes wrote:
September 18th, 2021, 6:57 pm

I decided I want to camp by Bull Run Lake, but as far as I can see there's no campsites or trails or anything.
All unauthorized entry into the Bull Run Watershed is forbidden by law. You may not legally camp or hike anywhere within the boundaries of the watershed.
Oh no! Good to know though, do you recommend any other nice spots in the hood wilderness that would lend itself to a couple day camping trip? Preferably water but it's not necessary

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Bosterson
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Re: How do I select an area to camp in without a campground?

Post by Bosterson » September 18th, 2021, 9:33 pm

As Aimless said, the whole Bull Run area is off limits. Most other places in the wilderness are accessible, though. I would recommend checking out actual Forest Service maps (not Google) of where you want to go, both to see what's there and to see what's accessible. There are plenty of sites online where you can look at Forest Service maps, including their website.
IsaacHughes wrote:
September 18th, 2021, 6:57 pm
any recommendations for how to be as safe as possible and most prepared for anything?
It seems like maybe you have some concerns? It sounds like you're talking about car camping, which is generally as "safe" as things get (aside from "don't sleep under an avalanche slope," most things outdoors are pretty safe), so if there are specific concerns you have, maybe describing them will help us to answer.
#pnw #bestlife #bitingflies #favoriteyellowcap #neverdispleased

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retired jerry
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Re: How do I select an area to camp in without a campground?

Post by retired jerry » September 19th, 2021, 7:14 am

You said you wanted to park on side of road and hike a short ways to a camp

It's legal to do that most anywhere in National Forest as long as it's not marked otherwise

The road to Ramona Falls has a bunch of good spots. Close to Portland. Some traffic on that road though.

The Road to Badger Creek and Bonney Crossing Campground is on the east side of Mt Hood. Few people. You could just camp at Bonney Crossing, or hike up the Badger Creek Trail, or there are nice spots to camp along the road on the way

IsaacHughes
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Re: How do I select an area to camp in without a campground?

Post by IsaacHughes » September 19th, 2021, 11:10 am

retired jerry wrote:
September 19th, 2021, 7:14 am
You said you wanted to park on side of road and hike a short ways to a camp

It's legal to do that most anywhere in National Forest as long as it's not marked otherwise

The road to Ramona Falls has a bunch of good spots. Close to Portland. Some traffic on that road though.

The Road to Badger Creek and Bonney Crossing Campground is on the east side of Mt Hood. Few people. You could just camp at Bonney Crossing, or hike up the Badger Creek Trail, or there are nice spots to camp along the road on the way
I'll check those out, they sound super neat thanks!
As far as concerns, I just haven't really been out in the wilderness solo before and I didn't know if there were certain precautions to take against, say, wild animals or something of the sort. But it seems as long as I also have GPS and some sort of a map I should be fine as far as finding my way goes.

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retired jerry
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Re: How do I select an area to camp in without a campground?

Post by retired jerry » September 19th, 2021, 11:48 am

animals not usually a problem. bears around here just run away. there was that lady killed by a mountain lion a few years ago but that's rare

mosquitoes and biting flies can be quite annoying. Ticks maybe even worse. Sun can be a problem, more likely after years of exposure

getting lost, falling off a cliff, hypothermia are more likely risks

other humans rarely are a problem. Almost always near a road.

Aimless
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Re: How do I select an area to camp in without a campground?

Post by Aimless » September 19th, 2021, 12:56 pm

I'll second what Retired Jerry said. Generally speaking, people get in serious trouble in the PNW wilderness from falls, injuries, and hypothermia. Your chances of encountering any of those three hazards are higher if you become lost. The most common risk from animals is that chipmunks or mice will invade your food supply. Death or injury from large predators is easily the rarest problem you might face. You are statistically more likely to die from an anaphylactic reaction to an insect bite or bee sting than from a cougar attack, rattlesnake bite or bear attack.

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wildcat
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Re: How do I select an area to camp in without a campground?

Post by wildcat » September 19th, 2021, 1:52 pm

You don't even really need a GPS unit, if you have an up to date map and a compass and know how to use them then you'll be fine. It's how people navigated for centuries. GPS can be handy (and useful for recording tracks) but not absolutely necessary. I don't even have one myself but lots of Caltopo, Open Street Map, National Geographic and Google printouts (and occasional pieces of FAA sectional charts even though I don't fly; why? because they're there) and of course Forest Service maps.

Nice thing about paper maps is they don't have batteries designed to take a dump at the least convenient time and reception dropouts in heavily forested areas or inside buildings. You can also write on them.
Last edited by wildcat on September 19th, 2021, 3:10 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Chip Down
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Re: How do I select an area to camp in without a campground?

Post by Chip Down » September 19th, 2021, 2:18 pm

If I wanted to troll just for fun, I would create a new account and ask about camping opportunities at Bull Run Lake. :lol:

So, you want seclusion, but also water and scenery. Hmm. One thing to consider is drive/hike to a lake, and follow the inlet or outlet creek far enough to leave the flipfloppers behind, maybe 30 minutes or so. Or maybe just follow a creek up or down from a road crossing.

Note for those w/o offtrail experience: It can be easy, or it can be hard, and often you just don't know until you get there. Stay a bit away from the creek, so you don't get sucked into a gully where camping is impossible, and also to avoid a riparian-zone brushfest that often fringes waterways.

As for safety and preparation, there's really not a lot that can go wrong. Your drive is objectively the most dangerous step in your scheme.

Just off the top of my head, a fun possibility could be: drive hwy 26 past Rhododendron, turn left onto road 27, drive to the end where the road approaches wilderness and thus becomes a trail, and just stroll up towards Devil's Campground. There are creeks crossing the trail/road, lots of open forest where you can go in search of a nice creekside camp, and if you get bored you can hike the trail network around Zigzag Mountain. Although, come to think of it, the rain this weekend might fill up the mudbogs on rd 27, so maybe that would have been a better plan for a week ago.

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