Do you register when entering a wilderness area?

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest

Do you register when entering a wilderness area?

Always
17
25%
Yes, if there's a form left in the box
40
59%
Only if it's a busy trailhead
0
No votes
Only if I'm backpacking
3
4%
Rarely, it's too much trouble
3
4%
Never, it's too intrusive
0
No votes
Never for protest or political reasons
5
7%
 
Total votes: 68

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Grannyhiker
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Re: Do you register when entering a wilderness area?

Post by Grannyhiker » August 25th, 2011, 8:56 pm

Dan to the rescue, thanks! :D I have now cast my vote and hope that others who came in earlier have done so.

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Splintercat
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Re: Do you register when entering a wilderness area?

Post by Splintercat » August 26th, 2011, 3:41 pm

I did, Granny. Looks like several have weighed in, now, and we're a surprisingly law-abiding group, too..! :lol:

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Waffle Stomper
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Re: Do you register when entering a wilderness area?

Post by Waffle Stomper » August 26th, 2011, 4:07 pm

If somebody in protest does not fill out the form and nobody knows they are protesting is it really a protest?
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." - John Muir

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Grannyhiker
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Re: Do you register when entering a wilderness area?

Post by Grannyhiker » August 26th, 2011, 6:17 pm

I'm not sure why the protest, since the purpose of these permits is primarily to monitor the amount of use, which directly relates to the allocation of such things as trail maintenance funds. You can always just put your first name, or your username, or your trail name, or your dog's name, and your state, if you want to remain anonymous.

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Splintercat
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Re: Do you register when entering a wilderness area?

Post by Splintercat » August 26th, 2011, 7:49 pm

I'm not sure why the protest, since the purpose of these permits is primarily to monitor the amount of use, which directly relates to the allocation of such things as trail maintenance funds.
One argument I've heard is that the USFS has used this information (in the past) to portray trail use as declining, or minimal, and thus making the case for fewer resources for trails -- not more. This, despite the obvious problem with empty permit boxes and lack of participation via "protests" that surely undercounts what would be a fair sample. The "protest" option is therefore a way to make this point, I think.

I have no problem with the USFS using this data for good, not evil -- e.g., to figure out where the heaviest use is, and in turn, where MORE trails are needed. But I am leery that the reverse case might be made for lesser-traveled trails.

Tom

pdxgene
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Re: Do you register when entering a wilderness area?

Post by pdxgene » August 26th, 2011, 9:54 pm

So we should fill out maybe three or four each time?
:twisted:

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Water
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Re: Do you register when entering a wilderness area?

Post by Water » August 27th, 2011, 12:41 am

i use to always fill them out.

now, meh...i guess sometimes.

the writing implements available are normally horrid. I've often just started into a groove of hiking and don't want to stand around and swat skeetos and waste time. I will never ever put the stupid tags, be they camping, wilderness, or climbing permits externally onto my pack so it can blow around in the wind and bother me---no it gets crumpled and put somewhere. then at the end of the day I have TRASH, yes...after a few summers ago we had like 25 of these gdamn things in our gear room in a pile.. that i have to migrate to recycling, wonder if the bungee string is going to be a problem for that... etc.

three sisters pole ck TH updated their wilderness permit to SCANTRON style which is a royal pain in the ass to fill out with a blunt pencil, and heaven forbid you make an error, though the 'tag' you keep was the same size as your fortune from a fortune cookie so in that respect it was a minor improvement. that said if they moved to scantron style it leads me to below:

if this information is really all tallied and put into a database and analyzed, there is a ton of error based on changes in plans, people not even knowing the trail name or number they're on or will be taking, not filling these out, not having any available sometimes/or not having anything to write with.

if they were actually serious about this, if it was going into a database, they'd allow some sort of internet link so that you could actually just pre-register electronically. come on, after all, they excitedly updated their websites!!! :lol: puke
Feel Free to Feel Free

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Splintercat
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Re: Do you register when entering a wilderness area?

Post by Splintercat » August 27th, 2011, 8:56 am

So we should fill out maybe three or four each time?
Bing! Bing! Bing! Bing! As they say in Chicago, "vote early and vote often!" :)

(...not that I'd advocate such a thing... but apparently, Homer Simpson, Fred Mertz, George W. Bush and Lassie are regularly wilderness visitors on exactly the same day as me..! Kidding...! Nope, I'd use much less obvious names...)

:lol:
three sisters pole ck TH updated their wilderness permit to SCANTRON style
Well, that's a little disconcerting. Hopefully this stuff ISN'T being used as legitimate data... hmm...

Tom

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Excursionista
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Re: Do you register when entering a wilderness area?

Post by Excursionista » August 27th, 2011, 10:38 am

I just got back from some hikes around South Sister and I loved the professionalism of the scantrons, as well as the message boards at the trailheads. For example, they had laminated maps of lakes (Moraine, Green, etc) taken from Google earth, overlaid with topo lines, and marked with campsite locations. They even had brochures for topics such as "tips for low-impact camping at lake X." And for a day hiker, the scantron was easier to fill out and more legible than carbon-copy. As others have said, the pencils always suck and tying the permit outside a pack is a pain.

I guess I've always though the permit would help SAR locate missing hikers, in addition to monitoring trail usage, so I always fill out a permit when they're available.

But now I have to consider why some areas (like South Sister) have such nice TH boards and forms, and other equally popular places don't. One difference is location - pemit boxes at the trailhead tend to stay better maintained than those miles deep in the woods. But as for allocation of funds and resources, why do the Gorge and Mt. Hood wilderness trails look so shoddy compared to those at South Sister? We know Mt. Hood isn't spending cash on rangers... ;)

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drm
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Re: Do you register when entering a wilderness area?

Post by drm » August 27th, 2011, 7:26 pm

Water wrote:if they were actually serious about this, if it was going into a database, they'd allow some sort of internet link so that you could actually just pre-register electronically. come on, after all, they excitedly updated their websites!!! :lol: puke
I asked once about getting these stats and was told I would need to file a Freedom of Information request. Go figure. But I was told that they had it in a database.

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