Sharing locations

[Jeep Virus]

Hi,

There was a discusion at one of youtube Chanel’s Trailrecon and dirth garage i think; Topic is about sharing trails, road and some great place to camp; If we share more people will come to see and not all of them will leave place better than they found it. So there is a risk that places will closed in the future!

What do you think?

 

[Robert OB 33/48]

It is a problem in Europe.
First of all, dont take all the area's of Europe seperate, but take Europe as a whole.
Most area's are crowded with people and normal infrastructure. And there are several laws that are in the way of driving into more remote area's.
That is problem one.
The second problem is the fact that there are more or less, talking very black and white, that uses 4x4 cars. maybe three.
1. The good overlander. tread lightly, does everything by the book. That is good, but they are a big minority.
2. The good non overlander, non offroader just driving Tarmac. No problems there.
3. The Offroader/Rockclimber and looking for obstacles person.
That is the big problem, they go and do whatever they like and will destroy the area's and are taking care of getting more and more restrictions.
Basicly, it is as Constantin says, sharing with people you know is a good thing, sharing in public isnt.

And this is a very black and white talk. That is correct. Dont feel judged personally.

 

[grubworm]

wonder what the odds of that really are?

i travel a lot and have yet to find any good places that nobody else knows about. even when i thought i had found a secluded spot, i just have to walk a few feet and find a pile of empty beer cans. if i did find a great spot that was fairly unknown, i would share it with a few friends that i know for certain wouldnt make a mess or tell a lot of others. i wouldn't publically post it on here, but there are a few members that i trust and would tell privately

 

[Robert OB 33/48]

The odds here is that Belgium already closed like 90 percent of all tracks.
And day by day we find more tracks closed.

 

[MMc]

I share around the campfire or in person. I like to get to know the person first. I don't share on the inter web. I watch places that I love go to hell in a handcart too many times. There is a movement by those younger than I that shares everything including GPS for the turns. It's a shame but out there.

 

[mamalone200]

Hi,

There was a discusion at one of youtube Chanel’s Trailrecon and dirth garage i think; Topic is about sharing trails, road and some great place to camp; If we share more people will come to see and not all of them will leave place better than they found it. So there is a risk that places will closed in the future!

What do you think?

This is definitely something that I think about. Unless I know someone, I don't share any trails or campsites that someone couldn't find with just a quick google search.

This might just be something I noticed, and perhaps it's an East Coast (U.S.) thing because our trails often aren't quite as remote as they are out west, but a lot of the trash I see on forest roads and dispersed campsites seems to be household trash dumps from locals. TVs, couches, bags of trash, and don't even get me started on all of the tires. I'd say for every beer can or bag of jerky thrown on the ground, I'll see about 5 dumped tires. I really don't think it's people who consider themselves "overlanders" getting trails shut down, I think it's mostly local hillbillies dumping trash and teenagers not cleaning up after their bonfires/parties.

Apparently there used to be jeep trails all over the Eastern Shore of Maryland (where I live), but they all ended up getting shut down about 20 years ago because the Department of Natural Resources didn't have the resources to clean up the trails. It's a real shame because now I have to drive a minimum of 5 hours to "overland".

 

[genocache]

I saw a scary video last night on YT, O*****nd L**y went to a DOOF, somewhere around Yosemite. I watched 'cause I never heard the term DOOF before. It appears to be a rave held out in the boonies.
From Wikipedia; " A doof or bush doof is a type of outdoor dance party generally held in a remote country area, or outside a large city in surrounding bush or rainforest. ... "Doof doof" is an Australian term for loud electronic music centred on a heavy bass drum kick. " Kinda a small scale Burning man.

Then this morning I drive into town to go grocery shopping and this old school bus painted lavender rolls through town, on the side of it is painted Priscilla the Queen of the DOOF.

I'd be ticked off If I went somewhere to escape and this circus rolled into camp, I don't care how clean they left it afterwards.

 

[Dusther210]

Hi,

There was a discusion at one of youtube Chanel’s Trailrecon and dirth garage i think; Topic is about sharing trails, road and some great place to camp; If we share more people will come to see and not all of them will leave place better than they found it. So there is a risk that places will closed in the future!

What do you think?

This is definitely something that I think about. Unless I know someone, I don't share any trails or campsites that someone couldn't find with just a quick google search.

This might just be something I noticed, and perhaps it's an East Coast (U.S.) thing because our trails often aren't quite as remote as they are out west, but a lot of the trash I see on forest roads and dispersed campsites seems to be household trash dumps from locals. TVs, couches, bags of trash, and don't even get me started on all of the tires. I'd say for every beer can or bag of jerky thrown on the ground, I'll see about 5 dumped tires. I really don't think it's people who consider themselves "overlanders" getting trails shut down, I think it's mostly local hillbillies dumping trash and teenagers not cleaning up after their bonfires/parties.

Apparently there used to be jeep trails all over the Eastern Shore of Maryland (where I live), but they all ended up getting shut down about 20 years ago because the Department of Natural Resources didn't have the resources to clean up the trails. It's a real shame because now I have to drive a minimum of 5 hours to "overland".

This is the same exact issue in NJ

 

[grubworm]

this old school bus painted lavender rolls through town, on the side of it is painted Priscilla the Queen of the DOOF.

another reason why its always good to have some cash on you when traveling....

 

[MOAK]

Most of you guys & gals know what we have, (fzj80 with off road trailer that will go anywhere our 80 will go. I tell no one where we go except family & good, friends and most of them have neither the time or the equipment to get there. We’re on a trip now , remote beach camping. Unfortunately remote beach camping here in the east has phone service.

 

[mamalone200]

Most of you guys & gals know what we have, (fzj80 with off road trailer that will go anywhere our 80 will go. I tell no one where we go except family & good, friends and most of them have neither the time or the equipment to get there. We’re on a trip now , remote beach camping. Unfortunately remote beach camping here in the east has phone service.

Without naming it, is this remote beach camping on an island in North Carolina run by the National Park Service? If not could you drop some hints? I only know of that one place for legal drive-on beach camping on the East Coast.

 

[MOAK]

Yes, there is only one place ( hint hint ) and I gotta ask, (rhetorically) once again- where are all the “ overlanders”? There might be half a dozen others camping on the south island. 90 degrees; steady winds; perfect beach camping weather and no one within our site.

 

[Moebius01]

Watched this video when it dropped, and admittedly I'm of mixed emotions. I can see the problem as I know too many people are the type that will trash areas, and ruin it for the rest. Hell, even the campground glamping I was doing several years ago I'd come across sites that the previous people had just left crap lying around and I had to spend time cleaning it up before we could even set up. But on the flipside, you have someone like me. I'm completely new to this, still even trying to get a rig and gear ready to take our first adventure, and as I'm trying to get my wife fully onboard, I'm wanting to find a couple big winners for those first trips. So once I'm ready to head out, hoping I can find some people to share a few good ones to start.

 

[Dustie Fenders]

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I want to protect the natural resources at all cost. Part of me wants to keep the areas I've enjoyed to myself. The reason I go out is for peace and refuge from the daily hustle & grind. On the flip side, being relatively new to this style of outdoor adventures, I appreciate those who've shared beautiful areas with those of us who are still learning the ropes. For me, I'm going to be more cautious with what I share on social media in general. But within this group, I like to believe we're all like-minded folks who follow the "leave it better than you found it" motto.

 

[MOAK]

@Moebius01; Your best bet would be to explore the national parks that have remote vehicle camping, then make your reservations. Big Bend, White Rim trail of Canyonlands, Cape Lookout, are just three that offer remote, primitive vehicle camping. This kind of camping is controlled, as in, it seems like you are out there on your own, and technically you are, however, in a national park, or state park, they know you are there and they’re looking after you a bit. That’s a great way to get started, the experience you garner in a controlled environment will enable you to have the confidence, knowledge & skill sets to then truly get off the grid.

 

[mamalone200]

Your best bet would be to explore the national parks that have remote vehicle camping, then make your reservations. Big Bend, White Rim trail of Canyonlands, Cape Lookout, are just three that offer remote, primitive vehicle camping. This kind of camping is controlled, as in, it seems like you are out there on your own, and technically you are, however, in a national park, or state park, they know you are there and they’re looking after you a bit. That’s a great way to get started, the experience you garner in a controlled environment will enable you to have the confidence, knowledge & skill sets to then truly get off the grid.

If you are like me and the nearest national park that allows remote camping is 10 hours away, you can also check out National Forests. Using a service like Gaia or Caltopo, you can use the forest service map and the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) overlay. This shows you where you are allowed to be, and lets you get a general idea of the road condition (Is it for passenger cars or high-clearance vehicles?). In most (but not all) National Forests, you can just pull over and camp wherever you want (so long as it's not blocking a road or in an area marked "no camping" ). You can usually link a few of these roads together and put together a nice little route. Usually if you see a spur road leading to nowhere, there will be a dispersed campsite somewhere along it.

You won't have a reservation or anything and the Rangers can't come looking for you if you don't "sign out", but you should always let someone trusted know where you are going and an idea of your itinerary anyway.

 

[bgenlvtex]

another reason why its always good to have some cash on you when traveling....

And to have a hot shower available!

 

[smritte]

I still have a few areas left I can go where I wont see people. I found them by exploring. My thought on sharing is I found these on my own, GO FIND THEM YOURSELF.
Part of the fun is finding them. Now its too much work. People want to pay for a gps app that has all the cool places (Yes they exist). Buy our app and share with everyone.
If this sounds selfish, so be it. I don't care.

You don't have to look into the wilderness to see how people trash things. Out here we have farmers markets and swap meets. Its a good thing the area their held CLEANS UP FOR YOU!
I went on a drive just after 4th of July. There's a stadium parking lot where people shoot fireworks. The place was a mess. It was several days after the 4th. The mess was still there.

I was the in charge of maintaining a black diamond 4wd route for 20+ years. This is a moderately hard route. The signs say please stay on the trail. This route was good enough to challenge most. Every month we had to run the trail, pick up all the trash and fix the damage done to the area around the trail. To top it off, people would winch our signs out of the ground. This route also had 3 historical points. We stopped making them public when they started getting vandalized.
In order to run this route you need a well modded vehicle. Normal people cant run the trail.

I ask you WHY would I want to share my spots?

Sorry, this hits a tender spot for me.

 

[grubworm]

Sorry, this hits a tender spot for me.

you put in over 20 years of your time and effort trying to maintain a trail...you certainly earned to right to feel that way.
its the folk who dont put in effort or have any skin in the game that destroy stuff.

i'm starting to understand now why a lot of people have the modded vehicles because thats about the only way to find nice places anymore.

 

[smritte]

its the folk who dont put in effort or have any skin in the game that destroy stuff.

I wish I could disagree. I really do. I don't like to think of people like that. Then I roll up on someone trashing something and they claim its their right to do it and want to fight me. We were told, don't confront people or even tell them its wrong. Take pictures. End result is, I still had to fix it, nothing ever became of it and the people who want these areas closed have more ammo.
Sigh.