You guys are awesome!!! I’m thinking I need to start looking for some national forest, that seems like the way to go. I’m up in NH, by the way - I won’t be heading out west any time soon. (Which is too bad, because I hear it really is great…)
Oh, and Kalhoun:
Damn!! I’m glad he was OK - that’s definitely a little further afield than I want to go…
PS - Am I the only one who feels it’s somehow wrong to be asking about getting away from civilization on the internet? Anyway, thanks again 
http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/gallatin/index.php?page=recreation.cabins.bozeman.garnet_mountain
Looks like they took the other two that I recall off the listing. The area was hit pretty hard by fires last year.
Well, why didn’t ya say so?! Them’s my stompin’ grounds.
Here are the WMNF camping regulations and here’s my website with lots of info.
For a nice “get away from it all” sort of hike there are lots of great possibilities. I’d recommend heading to an established campsite for your first overnight if you really want to backpack. There are lots of good possiblities up in the Whites proper, but keep in mind that on weekends they tent to be busy. Something like 3 Ponds, Flat Mountain Pond, or Eliza Brook will give you fairly easy access, beautiful scenery, and few people.
If you want to camp near the road, but not with RVs and other car campers, the Fourth Iron campsite in Crawford Notch is a walk in, about 200 yards, which really cuts down on the crowds.
Feel free to drop me a line, my email address is on the website.
Very pre-. I believe he was permanently traumatized by the experience.
I would also suggest National Forest lands. They often have “primitive” campsites (no water, pit toilet) at the end of dirt roads that are somewhat maintained. I have a favorite that I stay at in the Sierra NF with the captivating name of “Camp 4 1/2” which indicates that it is 4 1/2 miles from the nearest pavement. Last year I took the two little gaffers there for the weekend (ages 2 and 4) for some fishing. Turning my 2WD truck around on Friday afternoon, I promptly buried one of the rear tires in a pocket of really loose, shifty sand. So, I unloaded the truck, set up camp and let the boys go off on their merry way. A couple of hours of digging and jacking up (repeat and repeat…), and finally loading the bed with about 1000 lbs. of river cobbles, I got the damn thing out.
A ranger came by on Sunday morning and had a cup of coffee and we chatted for a bit. I asked him - “Incidentally, how often do you guys come by here because I got my truck stuck on Friday and was wondering how long I would have waited for someone to pass by?”
He answered “Oh, we usually get up here usually at least twice a month!”
Few camping experiences can beat sleeping among the giants.
That link was supposed to be to http://www.redwood.national-park.com/camping.htm :smack:
Tricksie little scrolling links…
Christ, that’s unbelivable. I can sure understand how that can be traumatizing. Its amazing what humans are able to undure when they have to. I would of curled up and died probably.
Another big fan of the National Forest Service checking in here. Most of the primitive NFS campgrounds I have visited have been well maintained, and usually have pit toilets and a water source, which is all I need for cvilized car camping. They also tend to be less rule-intensive than “campgrounds” or recreation areas administered under the National Park Service (whole different branch of the Gummint, Interior Department as opposed to Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service), which can be important if you’re travelling with a dog, as I do. Many of the NPS areas are downright dog-unfriendly, in my experience, and they tend to attract more RV-types. To be fair, the NPS has an entirely different mission than the NFS, and I think they are even more woefully under-funded. Since they have the responsibility for the major “destination unto itself” areas, such as Yellowstone NP and Great Smokey Mountains NP, they deal with much, much larger crowds.
NurseCarmen, here are a couple of suggestions for Colorado. The Routt National Forest north of Steamboat Springs is very nice, with some great primitive campgrounds and good hiking opportunities. If you prefer central Colorado, the Crested Butte area is great and not too crowded in the summertime (it is primarily a ski resort, although it is highly regarded by the mountain biking crowd also). There are a bunch of NFS primitive campgrounds just southeast of there, near the collegiate peaks area, or, if you can forgo the official fire rings, water source, and pit toilets, you can just follow the road north from Crested Butte past the Gothic area and camp for free in the woods near the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area. Wherever you go, my experience has been that there is no such thing as a bad place in the Colorado Rockies. Have fun, and I wish I could be there.