High Sierra Topix

I discourage you from doing it as it is bad practice/form as previously noted to hold a campsite while you have no intention of occupying it for 3 days. It denies someone else from using it who might covet that site. It is gaming the system and the fact that others may do it doesn't make it right.

According to a Yosemite Ranger (just called), if you leave some articles out, like
some chairs or whatever, that shows your presence, and that your occupying that
site, then you can go ahead and lock the bear box and they will not rent it to
someone else.

I don't know about Yosemite but the last time I was at Grant Grove the regulations said that you must "occupy" the site. The site next to me had a large tent on Wednesday but no one showed up until Friday evening. Probably someone from Fresno "reserving" it for the weekend.

This practice is clearly against the regulations but you probably won't get caught if you leave enough gear to make it look occupied.

Hobbes wrote:

longri wrote:Legal or not, "holding" a site this long is gaming the system. It's bad manners.

I'm confused. When you pay for a camp site, don't you clip the receipt to the site marker? Isn't the paid date range clearly marked so that either the host and/or ranger can quickly check?

I see campsites that appear empty during the day all the time - maybe a chair or something present. Lots of people car camp, sans tent, and then take off for the day for side trips. So why not take something like a bundle of wood, a BBQ and maybe a chair to indicate someone is occupying the site?

That and a paid receipt is all that is necessary.

It's a matter of degree. If you're camping for a week and are gone one night it's no big deal. But some people arrive midweek and buy out sites in advance of the weekend in popular campgrounds. The majority of us who don't have this luxury are shut out, unfairly I think.

In the case of the OP it sounds like he just needs a storage locker.

markskor wrote:Not sure what vehicle (and how much room) you have available in your car but...
Rather than paying big bucks for a small stack of chitty wood, just pull over off 120, somewhere not near a popular trailhead, and hike in a few paces. Plenty of available wood is down everywhere.
Most will break up nicely over a rock.
I just throw/ rope a few pieces atop my jeep and save my money for other pleasures.

Might actually do that

longri wrote:In the case of the OP it sounds like he just needs a storage locker.

It's not that, but it is part of the reason. We are doing a birthday camp for a family member and want to a) Make sure we have a camp, and b) Have one that is by the water, which seems to be tough to get.

I do understand the whole, someone else could be using it for the days we aren't there, which does make me feel guilty, and does make me feel like I am 'cheating' the system, but if I pay for it as well, don't I have the right?

If you reserve on Rec.gov or show up at the campsite and place a paid ticket or a reservation by the host; it's yours. Case in point a couple of weeks ago I was in French Camp out of RCL and was supposed to meet a group whom I have never met other than on another forum that had reserved a certain site #. Well the site was too small for the whole group and the chose another spot. The host did not move the "reserved date" sign and I kept leaving msgs to an empty bearbox. Their original site still had their name and dates and went un used for the Memorial Day w/e. even though they transferred it to another number. So if they were to come up on Thurs of a 4 day paid ticket for all 5 days and leave a chair and show up for 2 days; it's still paid for/used by the F.S. bean counters even though un occupied. I think this may be open for debate but the people made the effort to come on the Thursday to pay the fees and leave a chair; why not claim it? Possession is 9/10th's of the law?

InsaneBoost wrote:...We are doing a birthday camp for a family member and want to a) Make sure we have a camp, and b) Have one that is by the water, which seems to be tough to get.

I do understand the whole, someone else could be using it for the days we aren't there, which does make me feel guilty, and does make me feel like I am 'cheating' the system, but if I pay for it as well, don't I have the right?

I would suspect that it's legal. So in that sense you have the right. If letter of the law is all that matters then go ahead and game the system with a free conscience. You won't be the only one.

There's a small but very popular campground where numerous times I've discovered that some people have stopped by midweek and purchased a number of the limited sites (the best sites of course) for themselves and their friends. One guy doing it regularly and publicly for a club he was leading was a lawyer.

Believe me, I can understand the frustration. We've tried to camp at multiple places with reservations and have had no luck because literally EVERYTHING is filled up. We were trying to stay at one of the Cabins at Mono Hot Springs and they literally are booked a YEAR in advance. Apparently when the people leave, they reserve the cabin for the following year.

I almost got into a fight with a couple of guys who came in a campground and just put a ticket on the post without dropping in the payment while they just drove to other campgrounds looking for a "better" site without leaving even a chair. I would just find a site that can be reserved. I have paid for a campsite to park my RV in while we backpacked for a few days to a week. So I guess I've done it.