Gaming the system

[balzaccom]

On our last trip to SEKI, we met quite a few hikers heading up to Paradise Valley. We were hiking the Mist Falls Trail, one of the most popular in the park, and we kept running into to backpackers.

The first two were hiking out just as we were hitting the trail. And wouldn't you know it, they were not only lugging backpacks, but also hiking with a dog. A well-behaved dog on a leash, but a totally illegal dog nevertheless. A nearby hiker commented that he hoped a ranger would catch them.

But of course, no range did catch them, because they were hiking the day before Memorial Day weekend. And that means it was the day before permits were being issued by the rangers in the park. If you arrived before that day, all you had to do was fill out the self-registration form and hit the trail.

Those were far the last backpackers we met. In fact, we met group after group of them, more than fifty hikers in all. (The trailhead limit during official permit season is twenty-five, and those are spread out over several campgrounds. This year, the lower campground is closed, so the concentration of backpackers would have been dense, to say the least.)

And that doesn't count the ones who started before we did (at a leisurely 9 a.m. departure), those who started after we exited the trail at 2:15, or any of those who had started the day before and decided that the roaring Kings River wasn't safe to cross above Paradise Valley. Those hikers would have returned to Paradise Valley to camp that night as well.

We did a quick calculation with the wilderness rangers the next day, and figured that it was likely that nearly ninety people were camped in Paradise Valley that day. That doesn't sound like much of a wilderness experience.

The rangers were well aware of the problem. They explained that there is a social media group that shares tips on how to beat the National Park System. Great. All I can say is that if you camped with ninety people in Paradise Valley, you got everything you deserved for gaming the system.

By the way, the next day we hiked the Copper Creek Trail. Didn't see a soul. Let's keep that just between the two of us, okay?

Here's a link to our trip report from those hikes: https://www.backpackthesierra.com/post/ ... -of-heaven

[Wandering Daisy]

I doubt people who use a social media website to "game the system" are interested in a wilderness experience, rather prefer a social experience.

There are two sides to this coin. When people feel the "system" does not address their needs, they are more prone to game the system. A better system in the first place and spot enforcement would solve a lot of this. I never saw many signs of gaming the system in Yosemite's pre-permit period; they do a better job of enforcement and I think their lottery system for the permit period has more buy-in from the public. Perhaps SEKI needs to adjust the pre-permit season back a few weeks since snowpack melt is coming earlier; poor trail conditions would discourage many rule-breakers.

In the big picture, this is a burp in the system since it is only a few days or weeks that are impacted. There are bigger fish to fry.

I agree that civic responsibility to adhere to an "honor" system is lacking nowadays. Unfortunate, if backpackers will not "honor" the rules of the pre-permit period, it will be taken away and replaced by year-round reserved permits.

[Silky Smooth]

These silly sites and different groups on facebook/instagram are super annoying and encourage bad behavior. There is also a group called the public lands hates you that goes in the other direction, highlighting all the stupidity, check it out. People are sheep in the outdoors and only think about what they want. It is super frustrating seeing people knowingly willingly breaking the rules, because the rules don't apply for them because the don't get what they want. Also people are poor planners and just want to do things on a whim or because something is trending. I think of all the poor poppies the other year. A little enforcement would go a long way, unfortunately the culture in SEKI is not the same as Yosemite. I have seen this first hand the last 8 years.

[creekfeet]

Regarding gaming the system, I worked as an interpretive ranger or naturalist in a number of parks (including SEKI), so I’ll offer the ranger perspective. The biggest issue is that the only rangers who have the actual authority to enforce the laws are law enforcement rangers, and the next LE ranger to do a patrol off of pavement will be the first. For all other rangers your options are basically just threatening to radio an LE ranger, telling a person they need to leave the trail, or walking out with the rule breaker for the most awkward hike of your life. If you tell a person they need to hike back and they refuse, there’s little you can do.

From my experiences, most people were respectful, and often didn’t realize they were breaking a rule. However, dog walkers almost unanimously were always pricks. If they weren’t aware of the rules, they weren’t super happy to learn of them, and if they were familiar, they didn’t care.

But the thing is, I have no problem with gaming the system if it’s done in a respectful, stealth way. If a person has explored a park enough to know where they can illegally sleep in their car on some little known dirt road, I have no issue with that. Even with backpacking, I feel there’s a respectful way to game the system.

For instance, let’s say a solo person wants to spend a night at some hidden pond in the Tablelands, but the Lakes Trail quota is full. If that person has boots on the trail at 7 AM, takes the Alta Trail beginning in the Giant Forest, and hops into the Tablelands via Alta Meadow, they’re taking a route where they will not encounter a soul, and they’re sleeping far away from the highly impacted, destination lakes. And if the money issue is weighing on them, they can buy a $15 book at the visitor center and call it good. Unfortunately, the people most willing to game the system probably aren’t the ones that care much about doing it respectfully.

[dave54]

The trouble with an Honor System is too many people have a system and no honor.

It is impossible to write a series of regulations without inadvertently creating a loophole. For many people finding the loopholes is a personal challenge.

The people most likely to flaunt the regulations are the ones that feel disenfranchised and downtrodden. 'The Man' has beaten them down so many times they feel entitled to exact revenge any way they can. It is their way of striking back against their oppressors. Whether they really were oppressed or not is irrelevant. They think they are, so that is the justification for their action.

[Wandering Daisy]

The word "entitlement" is the overriding issue. It may even be more common in well-to-do people than the truly oppressed. And there is a grain of validity in "entitlement" since our taxes help support lands that are "public". The justification of "gaming the system" is rampant in all aspects of life nowadays, so it is not surprising that it spills over into backcountry activities. Unless it is addressed better in every-day life, it will also continue in backpacking, regardless of "wilderness ethic education". User "buy-in" is really needed for any regulation to be followed. Not sure how to address that.

The daily trailhead quota system also really needs an overhaul. It is often restrictive and does little to prevent over-use and bunching up. Limiting group size also seems ineffective- large groups just get two permits and then walk and camp together anyway. I like what Yosemite did for separating permits for JMT over Donehue Pass from people who just want to go in for a few days. I see many trailheads where site-specific adjustments are needed so that the quota system works for the average person too.

[balzaccom]

The people most likely to flaunt the regulations are the ones that feel disenfranchised and downtrodden. 'The Man' has beaten them down so many times they feel entitled to exact revenge any way they can. It is their way of striking back against their oppressors. Whether they really were oppressed or not is irrelevant. They think they are, so that is the justification for their action.

I'm not sure this is true. The people I see most often flouting the rules in the backcountry are those who feel entitled. Many have visited the area multiple times before, and often feel that the rules don't apply to them, because they're "locals" in some sense. They guy who insisted on flying a drone in Dinkey Lakes, the woman who took her dog hiking in Redwood Canyon in SEKI, the guy who was pulling live limbs off trees to make a fire in Emigrant...they all explained that they do it all the time, so it's OK.

They didn't act downtrodden or disenfranchised. They acted like they were part of a separate class that feels no need to obey any rules, because they are somehow special.

I don't buy it.

I really liked Creekfeet's response to this thread, focusing on those who evade the letter of the law while still finding a way to observe the spirit.

[SSSdave]

Well stated balzacom.

One can only imagine how some entitled may rationalize behaviors they are aware are illegal and that the majority of other enthusiasts would condemn. Some likely do so because they feel it is a way to get back at environmental advocates or government authorities or rule makers they dislike. Others have always been selfish littering pigs from their kid days maybe from like parents, that care not about damaging the planet in a list of ways. As long as they feel no pain and punishment, they are likely to continue their dog eat dog ways laughing as though it shows they beat the system. Others may have a long history since their juvenile days of exhibiting belligerent rebellious behavior whenever challenged, like its their tough style. Same ones may be prolific litterers. One wonders how many backcountry rangers find without wilderness permits since it is at stat they work to hide lest it make the public angry.

Backcountry rangers ought to bring along police dogs as a way to exert compliance without having to resort to force. Thus to the guy well above camp fire elevation limits, with a tent 20 feet from an alpine lake edge, a big pile of wood next to a rock pit he made, no wilderness permit, refusing to return to the trailhead, welcome to Rover. Also after a second warning to comply, there ought be a law that allows rangers to spray their tent and or backpack with say hot pink paint. I could easily think of other ways to deter.

[bobby49]

(part of a long anecdote)

The uniformed off-duty Yosemite ranger walks to the lake and sees a tent erected a few feet from the water's edge, so he walks closer to examine it. As he approaches, two men emerge from the trees, along with their dog. Seeing a potential for multiple violations, he walks closer to talk to them about it. He inquires as to whether it had gotten cold there last night (establishing that they had camped there overnight, and without a permit).

He informs them of the violations, but they start to intimidate him by grabbing him by the lapels. He gets loose and backs off. Then he walks out to the road and gets a call placed to the law enforcement rangers. Law enforcement shows up and stakes out the car of the backpackers. When they emerge from the trail a while later, just as they unlock their car, the rangers show up, handcuff him, and impound the car and the dog. They are incarcerated that night. The next day, the backpackers plead guilty to it all, including interfering with a federal officer (the off-duty one). They are fined, and then they get to pay the towing and impound fees on their car and their dog. The moral: just follow the rules.

[Wandering Daisy]

There is outright illegal behavior and then "gaming the system" which may simply be finding a loophole and taking advantage of it. SEKI specifically says no quotas apply pre-permit, whereas Yosemite has free self-register permits, BUT still with trailhead quotas. There is a sign-up sheet for each trailhead. If the trail you want is full, and you write yourself a permit and do not sign the sheet, that is "gaming the system" to an illegal end. SEKI simply has a system where 50 people camped in Paradise Valley before Memorial Day is not "gaming the system", but a result of no quotas.

Sneaking in without a permit at all, is simply illegal. Gaming the system during permit reservation season may involve having all your buddies get on the internet and applying whether they intend on going or not. You have gamed the system to give yourself better odds.

A lot of what is said in the posts above, to me, is simply illegal behavior. The only thing you are gambling on is the odds that you will be caught. Is that gaming the system?